John Spencer Square

John Spencer Square is a neo-Georgian residential garden square in the heart of the Canonbury conservation area in Islington, London, England.[1]

John Spencer Square
General information
LocationJohn Spencer Square
London, N1
United Kingdom
Coordinates51.5461°N 0.0993°W / 51.5461; -0.0993
Completed1964
Design and construction
ArchitectWestern Ground Rents
Website
https://www.johnspencersquare.com/

It is named after Sir John Spencer, a wealthy city merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1594, who lived in nearby Canonbury House.[2]

History

The neo-Georgian open quadrangle apartment blocks, bordered by Compton Road, St. Pauls Road , Prior Bolton Street and St Mary's Grove,[3] were built on land sold by 1954 by the Earl of Northampton to property companies Western Ground Rents[4] and Oriel Property trust[5]

In the early 1950s, most of the Victorian villas on the site were bomb-damaged or dilapidated and planning permission for a development was granted in 1963 by Islington Borough Council.[6] The development, comprising 80 apartments of one to three bedrooms, was designed by Nash, the Surveyor for Western Ground Rents, and built by Canonbury Construction Co. in 1963-4.[7][8] The first residents, some still living at the square, purchased their off-plan flats for under £5,000 in 1964, before building was completed, and moved in in April 1965.[9]

Notable residents

References
  1. "London Gardens Trust: John Spencer Square".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Islington Rapunzel".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "John Spencer Square".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Parliament Hansard".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Guillery, Peter; Kroll, David (25 July 2019). Mobilising Housing Histories: Learning from London's Past for a Sustainable Future. ISBN 9781000702347.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Architects Guide Londons Fascinating Unknown Buildings".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes. Victoria County Histories. 1985. pp. 51–57.
  8. Forshaw, Alec (2001). 20th Century Buildings in Islington. ISBN 9780954149000.
  9. Cost, Mary (1993). The Squares of Islington Part 2 Islington Parish. Islington Archaeology & History Society. ISBN 0950753262.
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