John Spencer Square Explained
| John Spencer Square |
| Location: | John Spencer Square
London, N1
United Kingdom |
| Completion Date: | 1965 |
| Architect: | William Floyd Nash |
| Website: | https://www.johnspencersquare.com/ |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 15 |
| Coordinates: | 51.5461°N -0.0993°W |
John Spencer Square is a neo-Georgian residential garden square in the heart of the Canonbury conservation area in Islington, London.[1]
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
Notes and References
- Web site: London Gardens Trust: John Spencer Square. live. 7 October 2021. 7 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007133102/https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=ISL042.
- Web site: Islington Rapunzel. live. 7 October 2021. 7 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007133102/https://historiclondontours.com/tales-of-london/f/islingtons-rapunzel.
- Book: Cherry & Pevsner, Bridget & Nikolaus . The Buildings of England: London Volume 4: North . Yale University Press . 1998 . 9780300096538.
- Web site: John Spencer Square. live. 7 October 2021. 7 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007133102/https://www.johnspencersquare.com/.
- Web site: Parliament Hansard. live. 5 October 2021. 5 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211005145518/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/jan/29/western-ground-rents-limited.
- Book: Mobilising Housing Histories: Learning from London's Past for a Sustainable Future. 9781000702347. live. Guillery. Peter. Kroll. David. 25 July 2019. Routledge . 16 December 2021. 10 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230210185827/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJelDwAAQBAJ&dq=Oriel+Property+trust&pg=PT191.
- News: Architects Guide Londons Fascinating Unknown Buildings. The Telegraph . 9 February 2021 . live. 7 October 2021. 7 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007133101/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/architects-guide-londons-fascinating-unknown-buildings/. Cooke . Emma .
- Book: T F T . Baker . C R . Elrington . Christopher Elrington . Islington: Manors . A History of the County of Middlesex . A P . Baggs . Diane K . Bolton . Patricia E C . Croot . 8 . Islington and Stoke Newington parishes . Victoria County Histories . London . 1985 . 51–57 . British History Online . 5 October 2021 . 3 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140903112428/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=10343 . live .
- Book: Forshaw, Alec . 20th Century Buildings in Islington . 2001 . 9780954149000 . The Islington Society . London .
- Book: Cosh, Mary . The Squares of Islington . 2 . Islington Parish . Islington Archaeology & History Society . 1993 . 0950753262 . London . Mary Cosh .
- Web site: John Spencer Square Management Company Limited . UK Government Companies House.
