Marlborough Mansions is a residential block in
Fortune Green, NW6
E. J. Cave, one of the district’s most prominent Victorian builders, built the
Cannon Hill estate where Marlborough, Buckingham and
Avenue Mansions were built in the triangle formed by
Cannon Hill,
Finchley Road, and
West End Lane in 1896-1900.
Conductor Sir Adrian Boult lived at at 78 Marlborough Mansions on
Cannon Hill and has a blue plaque to his memory there. Nigel Balchin, the novelist, died in 1970 also in Marlborough Mansions.
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Beckford’s Estate Beckfords, belonging to the family of the same name, consisted of 15 acres north of Mill Lane and west of Fortune Green Lane. Canterbury House In the last half of the nineteenth century, a white house called Canterbury was built on the then southern fringes of West End. Cedars A local West Hampstead builder, Thomas Potter, constructed Cedars in 1878. Cholmley Lodge Cholmley Lodge, a two storeyed stuccoed house, was built in 1813. Cock and Hoop The Cock and Hoop Inn was standing on the corner of West End Lane and Fortune Green Road by 1723. Flitcroft Flitcroft was a 50 acre estate at Fortune Green and West End, named after its owner in the 18th century. Fortune Green Fortune Green was originally part of the district of Hampstead but became physically separated from it by the building of the new turnpike road (now Finchley Road) in the 1830s. Fortune Green Fortune Green lies to the north of the ancient village of West End. Hackney College The Village Itinerancy Society, a Congregationalist college, was transformed into Hackney Theological Seminary. Hillfield By 1644 Hillfield was already mentioned in parish records. Lauriston Lodge Lauriston Lodge, now the site of Dene Mansions, was a large house in West Hampstead. New West End New West End was created in the 1840s on the Finchley Road. Poplar House Poplar House was occupied by one of the first developers of West Hampstead, Thomas Potter. Potter’s Iron Foundry In the nineteenth century, many West Hampstead people had jobs in Potter’s Iron Foundry. Ripley House Jeremy Jepson Ripley built a house and coach house after 1814, with a large garden north of Lauriston Lodge. Sandwell House Sandwell House was owned by three generations of the Wachter family. The Black Lion The Old Black Lion was established in 1751 as a beer house. Thorplands Thorplands was an estate south of Mill Lane. Treherne House Treherne House was built in the mid eighteenth century, West End Hall West End Hall (once called New West End Hall) was one of the mansions of West End (West Hampstead). Woodbine Cottage Woodbine Cottage was situated at the south-eastern corner of the Flitcroft estate. Dennington Park Road, NW6 About 1881 Dennington Park Road was constructed on the line of Sweetbriar Walk, the old path to Lauriston Lodge. Heath Drive, NW3 Heath Drive, one of the roads connecting Hampstead with the Finchley Road was originally West Hampstead Avenue. Holmdale Road, NW6 Holmdale Road runs from Mill Lane to Dennington Park Road in West Hampstead. Inglewood Road, NW6 Inglewood Road, NW6 was one of the last roads to be built in West End, West Hampstead. Lithos Road, NW3 Lithos Road is a part of the NW3 postal area which lies west of the Finchley Road. Mill Lane, NW6 Mill Lane forms the boundary between Fortune Green and West Hampstead. Ulysses Road, NW6 Ulysses Road is one of a series of streets named after the Trojan War. Welbeck Mansions, NW6 Welbeck Mansions, flats notable for their ironwork balconies, were built north of Inglewood Road in 1897.
Fortune Green was originally part of the district of Hampstead but became physically separated from it by the building of the new turnpike road (now Finchley Road) in the 1830s.The name of Fortune Green is derived from
foran-tune meaning in front of the tun, probably an inn in the area.
Originally Fortune Green was a patch of manorial waste, now in the north of the ward, where local residents had the right to graze animals, dig turf and play sports. The Green dwindled considerably in the 19th century when the lord of the manor granted enclosure rights for about a third of the area.
Lying on the south-west side of the Finchley Road, Hampstead town council decided to build its overflow cemetery here in the 1840s.
The arrival of the Midland Railway in 1871 brought rapid development and many large houses were demolished in favour of higher density buildings. Victorian residential buildings display considerable variety in their design and detail and there are a number of large distinctive red brick mansion blocks, most of which have remained unaltered.
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