Antrim Mansions

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History

We know Antrim Mansions

The first recorded listing of Antrim Mansions is found in the Application for Drainage section of Holborn Library’s Local Studies. This application was made in the spring of 1896. By the autumn of 1897, residents of flat numbers 1-28 were registered as ratepayers.

It was Harry Cave, the son of Edward Jarvis Cave, one of London’s most successful property developers of the 19th Century, that developed Antrim Mansions, funded by the Caves’ Irish Solicitors.

Famous Residents of Antrim Mansions

George R. Alymer was a painter who lived in Antrim Mansions in 1899. His works are exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Herbert Farjeon, Critic and Playwright lived in the block during World War One.

James Agate, Critic, lived in Antrim Mansions just before World War Two.

Simon Ward, Actor also lived in Antrim Mansions.

We know Antrim Road

In 1897 Antrim Grove and Antrim Road started life together as Antrim Street. By 1913 however, pressure from the residents caused the two sections to split and go their separate ways. Today, the north-west side of Antrim Grove retains some of its original semi-detached villas, some still with bow windows and hung tiles in small scale Willett style, others looking late Victorian. Antrim Road is largely occupied by Antrim Mansions, contemporary with the road itself and consisting of several blocks of charming flats enhanced by balconies and evergreens.

We Know Mansion Blocks

The first mansion blocks were built in Paris in the early 19th Century, providing luxurious residences for the growing urban upper middle classes. As the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Europe it brought about a population boom in the major cities, and mansion blocks were devised to provide luxurious housing for wealthy white collar workers. As the centre of the cities became increasingly crowded the blocks provided this growing class with housing that boasted impressive entrances, generous elevations and balconies reminiscent of mansions.

In spite of their popularity on the continent, Londoners were initially sceptical about this new style of accommodation. In the 1850s a spacious mansion flat would set back the buyer somewhere in the order of £50-200, but the idea of living in such a communal manner was entirely contradictory to the dominant Victorian social ideals of the age. Firstly, and most importantly, apartment dwellings were simply not considered ‘proper’, but it was not just a case of old English snobbery; there was also widely held fear that this new type of residence would increase the risk of burglary and the spread of infection and disease.

However, by the 1880s London society had gradually warmed to the idea and the decade was marked by a flurry of mansion block construction across the city.

We Know Belsize Park

Renowned for evading the public eye, Belsize Park was a historical secret until 1317 when Edward II’s Lord Chief Justice left 57 acres of land to the monks of Westminster. During these times Belsize was a sub-division of the manor of Hampstead and the church let out parcels of land to those they saw fit to build country mansions on their glorious estate.

The first streets of Belsize were laid in the 1850s and from 1870 to 1900 many of the surviving stretches of greenery eroded as main thoroughfares developed. While Belsize Park remained an “in between area”, set between the hustling heart of the city and the smaller nucleus of Hampstead, an influx of the “comfortably-off conferred upon this area of London an indentity of a kind…” (Saint, A. 2000)

The term Belsize – first applied in the early 18th Century – was adapted from the French term Bel Assis, meaning ‘beautifully situated’. Belsize Park was coined in 1870 when property developer Daniel Tidey orchestrated an extensive construction project in the area. Two hundred years later and the name is more appropriate than ever.