I stumbled on to this place quite by accident when I was walking back toward central London after a visit to Highgate Cemetery. (I posted about Highgate here.) I took this photo and the one below but, I really had no idea what it was. I wanted to slip through that arch to get a closer look but, a sign reading "private property" kept me out. When I came across the above photo again, I examined that sign out front that read Chester Road and I went to my trusty London map and found the road and a little mark identified as "Holly Village". So, off I went to Google and found the following information.
Holly Village was built in 1865 by Baroness Burdett-Coutts a little known Victorian Philanthropist. She had the architect Henry Darbishire design the property of 12 houses (some detached and some semi-detached) including the above elaborate gatehouse. It was built in a style that is now called Victorian Gothic.
The above photo was taken from the side as I walked past. Apparently all the homes are now privately owned and they all surround a park-like green space that is common to all the homes. One article I read said that the homes here are highly sought after and owners tend to stay in them so there are seldom any for sale.
Be sure to check out the link above, the website has lots of photos from inside the village that I didn't get because of that "private property" sign.
4 comments:
Beautiful... and thanks for the link!
I like this place a lot. Thanks for the historical commentary. I can see why nobody would ever want to leave the village. I'd imagine home there pass down from generation to generation.
Wonderful photos.
I love the idea of an English village Sharon.. and the village green :) if I was lucky enough to own one of these I probably wouldn't ever move either :)
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