South Square, NW11

Road in/near Hampstead Garden Suburb, existing between 1912 and now.

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(51.57972 -0.18983, 51.579 -0.189) 
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Road · * · NW11 ·
FEBRUARY
3
2022
South Square is the name of the southern part of Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Raymond Unwin’s 1905 proposals for a garden suburb at Hampstead showed a central core near to the location of what became Central Square. This point was the highest in the suburb and thus its proposed buildings would become the focus in views from surrounding streets. There was to be a library, a hall, an Anglican church, a chapel and shops. The east side of the square was to be filled with housing.

As 1908 dawned, Edwin Lutyens was appointed consulting architect to Hampstead Garden Suburb (HGS) and was directed to focus his energies on the central area, including the Institute. Lutyens’s drew a sketch plan for Central Square and presented to the General Purposes Committee of the HGS Trust on 18 February.

Henrietta Barnett, whose idea the suburb had been, was known not to approve it and suggested an alternative arrangement in a letter of 24 February. This plan captures what would become the final form of the Central Square, with the Institute and related buildings on the east side with churches defining the north and south boundaries.

There is no evidence to show what relationship this plan may have had with Lutyens’s original plan - whether it was entirely new or merely a refinement.

But the early success of the suburb led to plans to extend Hampstead Garden Suburb eastward on land totaling about 300 acres and owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. This was before the central area had been laid out. The proposals for the square and its buildings since 1905 had been based on the premise that they would form the eastern boundary of the Suburb.

Unwin understood that doubling the size of the Suburb had implications for the Central Square, and he set about revising the plans. His new plan was ready by August 1912 and there is nothing to suggest that Lutyens’s had been consulted.

The additional of the new land put the Square at the centre of the Suburb. The challenge was now to open up a view of the extension from Central Square, thus uniting the two halves of the Suburb.

Unwin imagined a prominent crown of public buildings surrounded by public spaces near to East Finchley Station, at the apex of the new triangle of land. There would be a theatre, meeting rooms, shops and buildings. There wouls also be a market for selling the fruits of the ’co-operative effort’ which Unwin was still hoping would flourish in the Suburb.

Lutyens eventually modified his Central Square proposals to take the growth into account, and the east elevation of the Institute should be understood as his eventual concession to the Suburb’s growth.




Main source: The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust
Further citations and sources


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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

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Comment
Wendy    
Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT   

Polygon Buildings
Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings.

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Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT   

Road construction and houses completed
New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only.

Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Comment
Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT   

Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS)
One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc.

I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Comment
Charles   
Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT   

My House
I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s.

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NH   
Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT   

Telephone House
Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000

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Comment
Paul Cox   
Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT   

War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street
Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there.

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Comment
Diana   
Added: 28 Feb 2024 13:52 GMT   

New Inn Yard, E1
My great grandparents x 6 lived in New Inn Yard. On this date, their son was baptised in nearby St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

Source: BDM London, Cripplegate and Shoreditch registers written by church clerk.

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Comment
Vic Stanley   
Added: 24 Feb 2024 17:38 GMT   

Postcose
The postcode is SE15, NOT SE1

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LOCAL PHOTOS
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North End Road, NW11
TUM image id: 1492987726
Licence:
Bute Mews
Credit: Godfrey and Barr
TUM image id: 1658403397
Licence: CC BY 2.0

In the neighbourhood...

Click an image below for a better view...
Constructing Golders Green station (c. 1904)
Credit: London Transport Museum
Licence: CC BY 2.0


View towards Central Square
Credit: Hampstead Garden Suburb trust
Licence: CC BY 2.0


Meadway Gate (c.1924) An album of watercolours depicting a variety of Hampstead Garden Suburb scenes was painted between 1923 and 1925 by William Isaac Aston.
Credit: William Isaac Aston (1857-1939)
Licence:


Hampstead Garden Suburb from Willifield Way (1914) Golders Green crematorium can be seen in the background
Credit: William Whitehead Ratcliffe/Tate
Licence:


Waterlow Court, a Grade II* listed building in Hampstead Garden Suburb Waterlow Court was designed for ’businesswomen’ by Baillie Scott and built by the Improved Industrial Dwellings Company - opening in 1909.
Credit: Wiki Commons/Dudley Miles
Licence:


The corner of Corringway and Corringham Road in Hampstead Garden Suburb (2021)
Credit: Instagram/@audsbitsnbobs
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