Highbury Quadrant Estate, including Nature Gardens

Highbury Quadrant was originally laid out in the 1850s as part of Highbury New Park estate developed by Henry Rydon on land once owned by Francis Maseres, which had passed to Robert and William Fellowes. By the 1860s around 45 detached and semi-detached villas had been built on the two arms of Highbury Quadrant. Following WWII, this was one of a number of areas of Highbury that was rebuilt as municipal housing, replacing the Victorian houses that had suffered bomb damage. The LCC's Highbury Quadrant Estate was one of the largest of these estates, providing 611 dwellings in 40 blocks of 4 and 5 storeys. Siegfried Charoux was commissioned by the LCC on the recommendation of the Arts Council, an example of the LCC's practice of providing sculptures on its housing estates, many of which still stand. Although it appears to be made of terracotta, the work is actually a synthetic resin combined with powdered stones; over time the surface deteriorated through exposure to the elements and lack of maintenance rather than vandalism, although it suffered some graffiti. It was restored in 2008 by Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd at the request of, among others, local residents on the estate; a plaque near the sculpture provides information about the LCC and the restoration of Charoux's sculpture in 2008 acknowledging its importance to local residents.

During the Covid pandemic, three nature gardens were created on under-used areas on the estate, developed and cared for by local residents, and now managed under a license from Islington Council by Elizabeth House Community Centre. Elizabeth House in Hurlock Street was set up in 1993 as a charitable trust, The Highbury Vale Blackstock Trust, by a group of local residents and influential activists after the community centre here was threatened with closure. Its board of trustees is drawn from local residents, professionals and users, and its remit is to support local people as widely as possible. Elizabeth House provides everything from leisure classes and education, after-school activities, holiday playschemes and youth groups.

In 2019 Elizabeth House had run a series of community consultations, in partnership with Octopus Community Network’s Urban Growing Programme, HQE Tenants & Residents Association, and Islington Council, asking local people for ideas on what to do to bring these three green spaces on the estate back into community use. Despite being designated as ‘enhanced wildlife spaces’, they had become overgrown and inaccessible. Following the consultations, Elizabeth House successfully applied to the Greener City Fund (Mayor of London) to develop them into community nature gardens. About the size of five tennis courts, the ambition was to support and empower local people to transform these green spaces using permaculture principles of ‘Fair Share, People Care and Earth Care’. The aim of the project was to improve biodiversity and to provide opportunities and access to gardening and nature-based activities for the local community, particularly young families. The nature gardens now include a mini meadow, food growing spaces and a small orchard as well as a number of wildlife habitats. "An early collective decision was that the newly renovated spaces would be community led, with an evolving programme of workshops to support local people to gain the skills necessary to renovate and design the spaces, to improve soil health, increase bio-diversity and garden for the benefit of the community and the environment." Further funding is now being sought in order to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the project. The gardens have been named The Meadow, The Woodland Garden and The Orchard and are situated behind Block 233-387 Highbury Quadrant. They run as a membership scheme, which is free to join, and now has over 100 members. The gardens are accessible to local residents who can take part in gardening and nature based activities on Saturday mornings.