London N5Sold

Highbury New Park II

The living room is exceptionally grand and enjoys a wonderful quality of light through the expansive fenestration

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This wonderful two-bedroom apartment is located on the beautiful tree-lined avenue of Highbury New Park. It is set laterally on the raised ground floor of a handsome, semi-detached house, which is positioned within a conservation area; internal accommodation extends to almost 900 sq ft. The main living room enjoys wonderfully grand proportions as the former principal reception room for the entire house; features include a full-height quintipartite canted bay window, fine plasterwork, and a grand chimneypiece. The apartment also benefits from sole use of its own section of the west-facing rear garden.

Setting the Scene

Highbury New Park was developed by Henry Rydon upon a site of some 100 acres in the late 1850s, with this house believed to be designed by the noted Victorian architect Charles Hambridge. For more information on the area, please see the History section below.

Set back from the road behind a low rendered wall set with decorative balusters and two entrance piers, the house itself is a grand structure in the high-Victorian style. Built from yellow brick set in Flemish bond and three bays wide, it has smart dressings of red brick, stucco, and stone. The house also has a Welsh slate roof, typical for London townhouses of the period.

The Grand Tour

Steps lead from the front garden to the round-arched main entrance and its grand stucco porch, which opens to the apartment’s immediate and private entrance at the raised ground floor. The apartment occupies the entire floor, with the living room and kitchen at the easterly range, at the front of the plan; sleeping quarters are positioned to the rear, overlooking the peaceful gardens.

The living room is exceptionally grand, spanning some 24 feet in depth, and enjoys a wonderful quality of light through the expansive fenestration. Walnut floorboards run underfoot throughout the apartment; exquisite original plaster cornicing outlines the perimeter of the room’s soaring ceiling. A chimneypiece with large decorative corbels and a cast-iron insert is positioned centrally, with a pretty hearth laid with encaustic tiles.

The kitchen is a wonderfully bright room, with windows at both southern and easterly aspects. Chalk-colour panelled cabinetry rests beneath iroko work surfaces. Appliances are concealed behind cupboard doors; a separate pantry area is set to one side.

At the rear of the plan, two bedrooms overlook the garden through tall windows set into the bay, with verdant views beyond. The main bedroom has plentiful wardrobing with a wall of fitted cupboards; the second bedroom has direct access to the rear garden.

Designed to complement the bedchambers, the bathroom has a subtly aquatic theme with walls clad in Delft-style blue and white tiles. A sink is set into a vanity unit with storage cupboards underneath, and a roll-top clawfoot bath are all by the Albion Bath Company. There is a connected shower over the bath, with all brassware for the space in a traditional design and chrome plated.

The Great Outdoors

The private west-facing garden is accessed from the rear of the apartment by descending an original, wrought-iron exterior staircase and along a path to the garden’s York stone terrace. Surrounded by shrubs and a beautifully mature bay tree, the terrace is the perfect spot for lunch or drinks in warmer months and enjoys direct afternoon sun at the very best part of the day — from late morning till mid-afternoon.

Out and About

Highbury New Park is in an excellent location, close to Newington Green’s burgeoning culinary scene and a great selection of parks, including Highbury Fields and Clissold Park. Fashionable Dalston and Islington’s Upper Street are also close by. Head west and Highbury’s butchers, delis and quaint cafes make for an easy Sunday morning stroll, as do the village-like shops and markets along Stoke Newington’s Church Street. Highbury Barn is around the corner, with its highly regarded butcher, deli and cheese shop. There are further provisors at Newington Green, including bakeries, a greengrocer, an Italian deli, a florist and a health food shop, as well as numerous restaurants including Primeur, Jolene, Westerns Laundry, Farang and Perilla.

Highbury & Islington station (Victoria Line and Overground) as well as Canonbury station (Overground) both provide brilliant connections into central London and the East End, alongside multiple bus routes.

Tenure: Share of Freehold
Underlying Lease Length: 989 years remaining
Service Charge: Approximately £1060 per annum
Council Tax Band: E

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. Inigo has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.

History

Highbury New Park was built to provide homes for the Victorian emerging middle classes, who were looking for refuge from the City of London. It coincided with the urban park movement of the mid-19th century that marked the time, hence the wonderful parks and green spaces that make up the area.

The houses were planned on a north-south axis and upon a wide ‘boulevard’, cutting through an enchanting arcade of 200 now-mature London plane trees. The immediate area is famous for its literary connections and was once home to the likes of Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell (the latter penned chapters of 1984 in The Canonbury Tavern).