Description
Highgate Enclosures consists of three landscaped areas on the south-west side of Highgate Road that formed part of the old village green of Kentish Town, a once extensive area of commonland that was gradually enclosed. This district was marked as 'Green Street' in John Rocque's map of 1746. By the C19th they existed as green enclosures separating the villas of The Grove from Highgate Road, by 1906 overlooked by the Edwardian Lissenden Gardens Estate. In 1940 an air raid shelter was built in the most northerly enclosure for use by tenants of the estate. The railed gardens have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Kentish Town Green |
|---|---|
| Site location | Highgate Road/Lissenden Gardens |
| Postcode | NW5 1NB |
| What3Words | ///crab.toys.quit |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | London Overground: Gospel Oak. Tube: Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Highgate, Archway (Northern) then bus. Bus: 143, 210, 271, 214, C2, C11 |
| Research Updated | 1 August 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Highgate Enclosures consists of three landscaped areas along Highgate Road, opposite which is Grove Terrace Squares (q.v.). They once formed part of a more extensive village green of Kentish Town, an area of commonland that was gradually enclosed; this district was marked as 'Green Street' in Rocque's map of 1746. By the C19th remnants of the green existed as garden enclosures separating the C19th villas of The Grove from Highgate Road. When the Lissenden Gardens Estate (q.v.) was built between 1898-1906 by Arthur William Armstrong over the former site of Clevedon House in The Grove and land to the rear, he constructed the public roadway leading from Highgate Road to Gordon House Road and also landscaped and planted the area that forms the most northerly area of Highgate Enclosures. He had at an early stage offered to enter a covenant not to build on the enclosures in his attempt to get his scheme approved by the LCC in 1897. In WWII an air raid shelter was built in the most northerly enclosure by May 1940 to serve tenants of the Lissenden Gardens Estate, consisting of a trench covered with a roof; during bombing an average of 80 people found shelter there.
These gardens today have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating, and are railed from the road.
These gardens today have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating, and are railed from the road.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ285859 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.3893 |
| Site Ownership | LB Camden |
| Site Management | Parks & Open Spaces |
| Listed Structures | LBII: K2 Telephone Kiosk in Lissenden Gardens. |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Dartmouth Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Public Open Space (Small Local). Strategic View Corridor |
Gallery
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Lissenden Gardens Estate is a small Edwardian development by Alfred Armstrong comprised of 3 red-brick Arts and Crafts style blocks of mansion flats, Parliament Hill Mansions, Clevedon Mansions and Lissenden Mansions. Built between 1898-1906, the estate was designed by Boehmer and Gibbs, whose initial plan of 1897 went through various changes but from the first incorporated a garden. This was laid out in 1899, later converted to tennis courts, with a Gardener's Cottage built on the north side. The plane trees on the estate roads and other landscaping provided a green foil to the buildings and a footpath gave access to Parliament Hill Fields. The Gardener's Cottage has been replaced in 2010 by a modern house designed by J J Lorraine for his family to live in.
Grove Terrace Squares are three strips of public gardens located between Highgate Road and the slip-roads serving the Georgian houses of Grove Terrace and Grove End. The land was acquired by the LCC for £754 in order to preserve it as public open space and it was maintained by St Pancras Vestry, later Borough Council. The 'squares' were previously enclosed but the railings were removed in WWII when civil defence chambers were built underground, a staircase to which is still visible. They have wide swathes of lawn into which are set a series of shaped flower beds with seasonal displays, shaded by mature trees including oak and London plane.
York Rise Estate was built as a garden estate for the St Pancras Housing Improvement Society in 1937-8, designed in neo-Georgian style. The Society was founded in 1924, its aims to buy and convert poor quality old properties or build new housing for only a small profit. The London Midland & Scottish Railway invited the Society to build a new estate on railway lands north of Kentish Town and each of the 5 blocks was named after a railway or engineering pioneer: Brunel, Faraday, Newcomen, Stephenson and Trevethick. The estate was laid out with formal gardens between Faraday and Newcomen, a playground between Newcomen and Brunel, six drying grounds that still retain their concrete posts; originally there were allotments behind Trevithick.
