Description
The Hillview Estate was built in the 1890s to house the poor and today comprises 210 flats, a layout of mansion blocks around central courtyards. Once bleak spaces these have been transformed into gardens. The area, once known for high levels of crime and prostitution, is now greatly improved although it was faced with demolition by Camden Council, unable to afford the necessary modernisation. However, the residents' collective, Short Life Community Housing, was able to save the estate and the buildings were sold to the Community Housing Association, now One Housing Group. Hillview has long been the home of actors, artists and musicians, including Kenneth Williams, Shane McGowan of The Pogues and for 25 years held an annual community festival. The courtyard gardens between the blocks show different characters.
Practical Information
| Site location | Whidborne Street |
|---|---|
| Postcode | WC1H 8HJ |
| What3Words | ///forces.enjoyable.union |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: King's Cross. Bus: 10, 30, 45, 46, 59, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 390, 476 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ303826 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | One Housing Group |
| Site Management | One Housing Group |
| Dates | 1890s |
| 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 | No |
| Local Authority | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Area of Special Character: Central London Area |
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
Judd Street Open Space was created in the 1950s as part of Cromer Street Estate, which was built for St Pancras Borough Council in 1949-51 on a bomb-clearance site. In the C18th the area was largely pasture, although a bowling green is shown on the Cary map of 1795 to the north of the site of the park today. The Boot public house on Cromer Street also dates from the C18th. Adjacent to the park is the late C19th Church of the Holy Cross. Judd Street Open Space has been re-landscaped in recent years, including new gates with a leaf motif, winding paths, a dog exercise area separated by shrubbery from the main garden overlooked by the housing estate. A plane tree remains from earlier planting.
Argyle Square garden appears on an estate plan of 1832, although the garden itself was probably laid out in the 1840s when the first buildings were built around the square. The original layout had 4 entrances, perimeter trees / shrubs and a perimeter path, a line of 3 trees at either end of the garden and a central tree. By 1877 an east-west and a north-south path were added, dividing the garden into 4 plots, and 2 semi-circular beds around the central tree. The current layout dates from 1995, albeit with some later changes. Access was originally restricted to the residents of Argyle Square and a few adjoining houses, but it is now a public garden. Six mature London plane trees from the earlier layout survive and it is overlooked by surviving C19th terraces along most of three sides. Enclosed by reproduction cast iron railings, it has been redesigned to incorporate a tarmac sports pitch, children's playground and landscaping with shrubs and planting.
Regent Square Gardens were originally laid out for the private use of residents of the surrounding houses built from 1829, of which only the terrace on the south side of the square remains. Maintained by a Committee of residents, the garden was an enclosed rectangle with exits on each side linked by a curving perimeter path and bisected by another path along its short axis, with perimeter trees and a few trees in the centre. The garden was later opened to the public. By the 1950s the layout comprised a straight perimeter path and central oval path, and further changes took place in the 1970s. The current layout of 1995 as part of King's Cross area improvements is closer to the original. Planting consists of shrubs and herbaceous perennial plants, the central area mainly laid to lawn crossed by a serpentine path, and the garden has a number of the original London plane trees.
