John_Spencer_Square

John Spencer Square

John Spencer Square

Residential building in London, England

John Spencer Square is a neo-Georgian residential garden square in the heart of the Canonbury conservation area in Islington, London.[1]

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It is named after Sir John Spencer, a wealthy city merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1594, who lived in nearby Canonbury House[2] as his fashionable country retreat.[3]

History

The neo-Georgian open quadrangle apartment blocks, bordered by Compton Road, St. Pauls Road, Prior Bolton Street and St Mary's Grove,[4] were built on land sold in 1954 by the Earl of Northampton to property companies Western Ground Rents[5] and Oriel Property trust.[6] It was designed by William Floyd Nash in a neo-Georgian style reflecting the 18th century architecture of Canonbury.

In the early 1950s, most of the Victorian villas on the site were bomb-damaged or dilapidated and planning permission for a development was granted in 1963 by Islington Borough Council.[7]

The development, comprising 80 apartments of one to three bedrooms, was built by Canonbury Construction Co. in 1963-4.[8][9] The first residents, some still living at the square, purchased their off-plan flats for under £5,000 in 1964, before building was completed and took up residence in April 1965.[10]

The John Spencer Square Management Company acquired the freehold in 1985 and still manage the estate.[11]

Notable residents

References

  1. [1]
    "London Gardens Trust: John Spencer Square". Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Islington Rapunzel". Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  3. [3]
    Cherry & Pevsner, Bridget & Nikolaus (1998). The Buildings of England: London Volume 4: North. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300096538.
  4. [4]
    "John Spencer Square". Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Parliament Hansard". Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. [6]
    Guillery, Peter; Kroll, David (25 July 2019). Mobilising Housing Histories: Learning from London's Past for a Sustainable Future. Routledge. ISBN 9781000702347. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  7. [7]
    Cooke, Emma (9 February 2021). "Architects Guide Londons Fascinating Unknown Buildings". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. [8]
    Baggs, A P; Bolton, Diane K; Croot, Patricia E C (1985). "Islington and Stoke Newington parishes". In Baker, T F T; Elrington, C R (eds.). Islington: Manors. Vol. 8. London: Victoria County Histories. pp. 51–57. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2021 – via British History Online. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. [9]
    Forshaw, Alec (2001). 20th Century Buildings in Islington. London: The Islington Society. ISBN 9780954149000.
  10. [10]
    Cosh, Mary (1993). Islington Parish. The Squares of Islington. Vol. 2. London: Islington Archaeology & History Society. ISBN 0950753262.
  11. [11]
    "John Spencer Square Management Company Limited". UK Government Companies House.
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