Hillfield Court is a famous art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 residential mansion block in Belsize Park

Belsize Park

Belsize Park is an area of north-west London, England, in the London Borough of Camden.It is located north-west of Charing Cross and situated on the Northern Line. It borders Hampstead to the north and west, Kentish Town and Gospel Oak to the east, Camden Town to the south east and Primrose Hill...

, in the London Borough of Camden

London Borough of Camden

In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...

, built in 1932. It is located off Belsize Avenue and can also be accessed from Glenloch Road. It is one of the many purpose built mansion blocks on Haverstock Hill between Chalk Farm

Chalk Farm

Chalk Farm is an area of north London, England. It lies directly to the north of Camden Town and its underground station is the closest tube station to the nearby, upmarket neighbourhood of Primrose Hill....

 and Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...

. It is close to the amenities near Belsize Park tube station

Belsize Park tube station

Belsize Park tube station is a London Underground station in Belsize Park, North-West London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line, between Chalk Farm and Hampstead stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It is located at the northern end of Haverstock Hill...

, as well as the shops of Belsize Village, South End Green and Hampstead.

History

Hillfield Court sits on what was once a large country estate known as the Belsize Estate. The first recorded building on the site of what today is Hillfield Court was built in around 1646. It was known as the Blue House and was one of many rural abodes in the area belonging to wealthy merchants, who wanted a country residence within easy reach of London. The Blue House was accessed directly from Haverstock Hill. Little is known about the residents of the Blue House but evidence suggests that in 1650 it was occupied by one John Mascall and in 1679 by Thomas Butler. Between 1761 and 1773, the house was rebuilt and extended by merchant William Horsley.

In 1808, the Belsize Estate was split into 9 leasehold estates. The Hillfield leasehold, as well as the adjoining Belsize House leasehold (around 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) in total) were bought by James Abel.http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=22638&filename=fig09.gif

In 1841 Basil Woodd, a Bond Street

Bond Street

Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...

 brandy merchant bought the lease from Abel, a 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) estate set within the boundaries of Belsize Avenue, Belsize Park Gardens and Belsize Grove. By this time, the area to the west of Haverstock Hill was dotted with many country abodes. The former Blue House had by this stage been renovated, modernised and renamed Heathfield House, a stuccoed 6-bedroom house with a library. Woodd acquired the freehold of the land in 1857 and sometime between 1864 and 1867 he built another house on the south end of the estate for his son Robert Ballard Woodd - This house was called Woodlands. Whilst Woodlands was demolished in 1901 to make way for higher density housing, Hillfield House remained until 1928 when it was demolished. The land and the freehold were then sold to Hillfield Estates, owned by property developer Colonel Griggs.

Griggs took on the project of redeveloping the site to cater for the high demand for mansion blocks. The main project on the site was the construction of Hillfield Court, so named in commemoration of the grand house that had previously stood on the site. The building project also involved the construction of two other mansion blocks - Tudor Close to the back of the estate; and, on Haverstock Hill, Hillfield Mansions. The latter building incorporated the first Odeon cinema in London, since demolished and replaced by the highly regarded Screen on the Hill cinema (since changed hands & renamed the Everyman Belsize Park). The destruction of the house and the development of the estate were met with some local opposition, however. From its inception Hillfield Court was considered a very prestigious block, not least because of its magnificent, spacious gardens.

During the Second World War a barrage balloon

Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...

 was anchored on the Hillfield Court lawn. Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 personnel were housed in a ground floor flat ready to launch the balloon when necessary. These large, airborne barriers protected important installations against low-level air attack.

Each flat was originally rented out on a five year lease until 1969 when inflation

Inflation

In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

 saw tenants for the first time being given the opportunity to purchase their flats on a 99 year lease

Lease

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...

. However the freehold of Hillfield Court was placed in the hands of managing agents for the first time in the mid 1970s. According to various residents, the death of owner and builder Colonel Griggs brought the shattering realisation that Hillfield Court would have to be sold - unfortunately, to “unscrupulous experts at asset stripping

Asset stripping

Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a...

”. The twenty one flats that had not been previously sold to tenants were now sold with the intention of building townhouses with garages and an access road on the much loved gardens.

Fighting back vigorously, the Residents Association organised speeches, TV interviews and meetings with Camden Council in the hope of saving their garden. Eventually this did prevail – a preservation order was placed on every tree. Camden council had refused the company permission to build and the residents were elated.

By 1985 residents had ensured that the landlord’s potential for making money was small. Hillfield Court Limited was formed and 80 residents became the new shareholders of the block. While the management of Hillfield Court has experienced many highs and lows, the residents have always been very proud of their block with its high level of community spirit. The Hillfield Court Residents Group meet monthly to discuss the running of the block. At present, the interior communal areas are undergoing renovation.

Notable former residents

Although no blue plaque

Blue plaque

A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....

 appears on the building, Hillfield Court has been home to many interesting and famous people over the years. These include actress Diana Wynyard

Diana Wynyard

Diana Wynyard, CBE , whose birth name was Dorothy Isobel Cox, was an English stage and film actress.-Life and career:...

, author Barnaby Williams, novelist Kay Dick and the photographer Bill Brandt

Bill Brandt

Bill Brandt was an influential British photographer and photojournalist known for his high-contrast images of British society and his distorted nudes and landscapes.-Career and life:...

. The wet-stamp of many of Brandt's photos reads "Bill Brandt, 58 Hillfield Court, Belsize Avenue, NW3" and have sold at Christies for many thousands of pounds. Additionally,directors of many films as well as one of the leading actresses in the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 Musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...

have also lived there.