Eton Court

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History

We Know Eton Court

Eton Court was built between 1925 and 1928 by Eton Estates. Namely Martin and Alistair Harvey of Eton Estates looked after the original construction of Eton Court.

The design was primarily drawn up by the Architect T Merrison Garrod in 1925, with modifications continuing until 1928.

According to the Greater London District Surveyors' Returns, flats at Eton Court appeared between 1927 and 1930 and occupants were first listed on the Electoral Register in 1928.

The site for Eton Court was officially cleared for building by January 1926 and construction took place in three sections up until 1928.

The name Eton Court was not officially approved until 1935.

It was named after Eton College which is formally called the ‘College of the Blessed Mary of Eton besides Windsor’.

They were luxurious, with modern conveniences and unusually spacious family flats. Each flat had five bedrooms, two WC’s, two bathrooms, a box room, a dining room, lounge, reception with a balcony, kitchen and a servery. The basement included the caretaker’s accommodation along with an underground garage.

In the 1940’s the owners of Eton Court were then General London & Urban District Properties Limited.

We Know Eton Avenue

Eton Avenue was originally called Bursars Road. It was found on the edge of the Eton College Estate which covered 243 acres between Eton Avenue, Primrose Hill, Regent Park Road, Chalk Farm station, Swiss Cottage, Haverstock Hill, Avenue Road and Englands Lane.

Eton Avenue was approved in 1882 and the name was authorised in 1902.

It was mainly developed with large houses, many with stabling, by William Willett between 1886 and 1894 but building continued up to 1910. The road was built on land belonging to Provost and Fellows of Eton College as part of the Eton College Estate. This estate was originally the old manor of Chalcots (later known as Chalk Farm) comprising 243 acres (98 hectares) in total.

We Know Mansion Blocks

The first Mansion Blocks were built 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.

They were a particularly popular innovation in polite Parisian society. 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 per annum, 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.

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.

They were a particularly popular innovation in polite Parisian society. 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 per annum, 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.

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 identity 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 are more appropriate than ever.