College Crescent, NW3

Road in/near Swiss Cottage, existing between 1842 and now.

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(51.54485 -0.17509, 51.544 -0.175) 
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Road · * · NW3 ·
APRIL
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2021
College Crescent was built by the Eyre family.

The Eyre family were local landowners and became keen to promote building. In 1794 a plan was drawn up on the model of Bath, with a crescent, circus and a square. The plan was never executed but from 1802 development on the Eyre estate was directed by John Shaw, a young architect inspired by the town-planning ideals of the late 18th century. In 1803-4 he exhibited views of a projected circus and in 1807 building began on the Marylebone portion.

In 1819 Col. Eyre began the first of several attempts to promote the construction of a public road through his estate, ultimately successful in the Finchley Road Act of 1826. Finchley New Road and Avenue Road, the southern part of which existed by 1824, went northward into the Hampstead portion of Eyre’s land and were built by 1829. The Swiss Cottage tavern was built at the apex of the two roads by 1841.

College Crescent was then laid out in the 1840s, and by 1852 the first thirteen houses had been built there. These houses were stuccoed terraces with iron balconies built by W. Wartnaby.

More buildings included the school for the blind, built in 1848 at the southern junction of College Crescent and Avenue Road and enlarged in 1864, 1878, and 1912; of brick with stone dressings, it had an Italianate central block with two wings.

The North Star pub opened in 1850 and, enclosed by the curve of College Crescent, the New College of Independent Dissenters, for training ministers, was opened in 1851 in a building designed in an early Tudor style by J. T. Emmett. He also designed the college’s Gothic chapel, opened soon afterwards to the south, at the junction of Avenue Road and Adelaide Road.

Immediately south of the blind school a large house, Sunnyside (later St. Columba’s hospital), with a Greek Doric porch, was built by 1862.

Samuel Palmer, of the biscuit firm, lived at no. 40 College Crescent, a large house called Northcourt built in 1881.

New College and much of College Crescent were pulled down in 1934 and replaced by Northways, two concrete blocks of flats and shops by London & City Real Estate.

Redevelopment of the site previously occupied by the school for the blind, St. Columba’s hospital, and the New College Chapel, was considered in 1957. A scheme for a civic centre was published in 1959 by the architect, Basil Spence, and part of it, the library and the adjoining swimming baths, was opened in 1964.

In 1962 Hampstead theatre opened on a site north of the library that had been intended for civic buildings.

Originally the street has three names along its length. From the North Star it was ’College Villas Road’. The following section was ’College Terrace’. Only the final section near to the Blind School was it ’College Crescent’.




Main source: A History of the County of Middlesex | British History Online
Further citations and sources


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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

Comment
Chris hutchison   
Added: 15 Oct 2023 03:04 GMT   

35 broadhurst gardens.
35 Broadhurst gardens was owned by famous opera singer Mr Herman “Simmy”Simberg. He had transformed it into a film and recording complex.
There was a film and animation studio on the ground floor. The recording facilities were on the next two floors.
I arrived in London from Australia in 1966 and worked in the studio as the tea boy and trainee recording engineer from Christmas 1966 for one year. The facility was leased by an American advertising company called Moreno Films. Mr Simbergs company Vox Humana used the studio for their own projects as well. I worked for both of them. I was so lucky. The manager was another wonderful gentleman called Jack Price who went on to create numerous songs for many famous singers of the day and also assisted the careers of Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. “Simmy” let me live in the bedsit,upper right hand window. Jack was also busy with projects with The Troggs,Bill Wyman,Peter Frampton. We did some great sessions with Manfred Mann and Alan Price. The Cream did some demos but that was before my time. We did lots of voice over work. Warren Mitchell and Ronnie Corbett were favourites. I went back in 1978 and “Simmy “ had removed all of the studio and it was now his home. His lounge room was still our studio in my minds eye!!


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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Comment
Wendy    
Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT   

Polygon Buildings
Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings.

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Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT   

Road construction and houses completed
New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only.

Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Comment
Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT   

Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS)
One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc.

I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Comment
Charles   
Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT   

My House
I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s.

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NH   
Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT   

Telephone House
Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000

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Comment
Paul Cox   
Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT   

War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street
Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there.

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Comment
Diana   
Added: 28 Feb 2024 13:52 GMT   

New Inn Yard, E1
My great grandparents x 6 lived in New Inn Yard. On this date, their son was baptised in nearby St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

Source: BDM London, Cripplegate and Shoreditch registers written by church clerk.

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Comment
Vic Stanley   
Added: 24 Feb 2024 17:38 GMT   

Postcose
The postcode is SE15, NOT SE1

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LOCAL PHOTOS
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Swiss Cottage
TUM image id: 1455364693
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Royal Free Hospital
TUM image id: 1469364080
Licence: CC BY 2.0
Victorian house under construction
TUM image id: 1483541885
Licence: CC BY 2.0
Soldier’s Daughters Home from the "Illustrated London News", June 19, 1858 The Royal School, Hampstead was founded in 1855 as the Soldiers’ Infant Home before becoming the Royal Soldiers’ Daughters’ School on this site in 1867. It was established "to nurse, board, clothe and educate the female children, orphans or not, of soldiers in Her Majesty’s Army killed in the Crimean War". The Daughter’s School, as described in 1902: "At the back a large extent of grass playground stretched out westward, and at the end of this there was a grove of trees. On one side of the grass is a large playroom built in 1880 by means of an opportune legacy, and on the other a covered cloister which led to the school, standing detached from the house at the other end of the playground. An old pier burdened with a mass of ivy stood up in the centre, the only remnant of this part of old Vane House. A portion of the ground was profitably sold for the frontage to Fitz John’s Avenue." The school site is now used as a senior campus of North Bridge House School.
Credit: The Illustrated London News
TUM image id: 1458756121
Licence:
Frognal, NW3
Credit: Google Maps
TUM image id: 1557403884
Licence: CC BY 2.0

In the neighbourhood...

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Swiss Cottage
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Aerial view of Goldhurst Open Space
Credit: Google Maps
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At Hampstead Heath station, a Stratford bound Overground train emerges from Hampstead Tunnel - the other end of the tunnel can be seen behind the oncoming train.
Credit: nick86235
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St. Mary’s Town & Country School logo as a woven badge
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Belsize Avenue in Belsize Park
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Houses in Eton Avenue (2011)
Credit: Geograph/Mike Quinn
Licence: CC BY 2.0


Finchley Road Metropolitan Railway station exterior (1910) Wood Lane station - the one confusingly advertised on the sign - was built near Shepherd’s Bush in west London to serve the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition and the 1908 Olympic Games.
Credit: London Transport Museum
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St Johns Court (built 1938) This development, beside Finchley Road station, is a classic 1930s block.
Credit: https://manchesterhistory.net/
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Frognal, NW3
Credit: Google Maps
Licence: CC BY 2.0


Tower block, Swiss Cottage On Winchester Road, taken from Fellows Road
Credit: David Howard
Licence: CC BY 2.0




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