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Hampstead Garden Suburb

Hampstead Garden Suburb is an example of early 20th Century domestic architecture and town planning located in the London Borough of Barnet in North West London. The master plan was prepared by Barry Parker and Sir Raymond Unwin.

It was founded in 1907 by Henrietta Barnett, who, with her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, had started Whitechapel Art Gallery and Toynbee Hall. Among the scheme’s aims were:

it should cater for all classes of people, and all income groups
there should be a low housing density
roads should be wide, and tree-lined
houses should be separated by hedges, not walls
woods and public gardens should be free to all
it should be quiet (no church bells)

All this needed a Private bill before Parliament as it was counter to local bylaws.

In the 1930s the "Suburb" (as it is known by locals) expanded to the north of the A1. While more characterful than most other suburban housing, some of the housing to the north is considered, overall, of less architectural value.

On Central Square, laid out by Sir Edwin Lutyens, you can find two large churches - St. Jude's Church and The Free Church - as well as a Quaker Meeting House. There are two mixed state primary schools in the Suburb, Garden Suburb and Brookland. There is also a state girls' grammar school, Henrietta Barnett School. The school used to house The Institute, an adult education centre, but most of The Institute has now moved to accommodation in East Finchley opposite the tube station, with the opening of a new purpose-built arts centre. Shops and other services are provided in the shopping parades of Market Place and Temple Fortune, with Golders Green and East Finchley within walking distance for those who live at either end. Little Wood houses an open-air arena which is used for summer theatrical performances.

High house prices and the very small proportion of housing association housing means that Hampstead Garden Suburb has an almost entirely upper-middle class population. It is also home to several celebrities, including the last King of Greece; Sir Donald Sinden; Jonathan Ross; Martin Bell; Marc Sinden; Lord Winston; David Matthews and chat-show hosts Richard and Judy. Noel Edmonds and Elizabeth Taylor once lived here, as did Alastair Sim; Robert Donat; Tony Hancock and Harold Wilson.

The Suburb has an active Residents' Association, with some 2,200 households in membership, which is co-ordinating an ambitious programme of events supported by 25 Suburb organisations for its Centenary Year in 2007.