3, The Grove, Highgate
History
In the 17th century, Highgate was a hamlet to the north of London situated in the midst of the extensive Middlesex estate of the Bishops of London. Nos. 1–6, The Grove, Highgate were built in around 1688 by a City of London merchant, William Blake. Constructed in the gardens of a large mansion called Dorchester House, the speculative development was intended by Blake to fund a charity school he had established in the main building.
In 1816, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, moved to the Highgate home of his doctor, James Gillman, seeking treatment for his addiction to opium. In 1823 the Gillmans moved to No. 3, The Grove, installing Coleridge in a suite of rooms on the top floor. He remained there until his death in 1834; writing, revising and republishing earlier works such as Kubla Khan, receiving visitors and becoming lauded as "the Sage of Highgate".
In 1931 the house was bought by J. B. Priestley, using the profits from his novels, which had brought literary and worldly success since the publication of The Good Companions in 1929. He engaged Seely & Paget to reconstruct the house and the landscape architects Mawson's to redesign the garden.
In the 21st century, No.3 was home to the model, Kate Moss. Moss sold the house in 2022.
Architecture and description
Bridget Cherry, in her 2002 revised London 4: North edition of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describes Nos. 1–6, The Grove, as "the finest group in Highgate". The row was originally built as three pairs of semi-detached houses, of two storeys with dormers above. Most have been greatly altered since. No. 3 is now of three storeys, with a basement and a slate roof. The construction material is red brick.
No. 3 is a Grade II* listed building, the listing including the low wall which fronts the house, and its wrought iron railings and lamp.
Notes
- ^ The National Trust owns a painting of Coleridge’s “Sky Parlour” at No.3 by the illustrator George Scharf. The painting is held at Coleridge Cottage.
- ^ As an example, No. 5 was completely rebuilt in the early 1930s.
References
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002, p. 402.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002, p. 409.
- ^ "Nos 1–6 The Grove (site of Dorchester House Garden)". www.british-history.ac.uk. British History Online. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "The Sky Parlour occupied by Samuel Taylor Coleridge at No.3 The Grove". National Trust. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Coleridge's Life in Highgate" (PDF). Friends of Coleridge Society. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Samuel Taylor Coleridge". London Remembers. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Highgate". Coleridge Memorial Trust. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Priestley, J. B. (1894–1984)". English Heritage. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Nobbs, David (5 June 2014). "The Good Companions by JB Priestley". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
- ^ Historic England. "3, The Grove and attached railings, wall and lamp (Grade II*) (1378978)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Mawson and Partners, Landscape Architects". archiveweb.cumbria.gov.uk. Cumbria Archive. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Holmes, Richard (26 May 2011). "Kate Moss moves into Coleridge's Xanadu". The Guardian.
- ^ "No. 3, The Grove". Marcus Parfitt Estate Agents. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Louise (11 February 2022). "Kate Moss sells Highgate mansion to move to Cotswolds". Metro News.
Sources
- Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). London 4: North. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8. OCLC 846526006.
