Cholmeley Lodge
Cholmeley Park, London N6
Architect: Guy Morgan and Partners
Register for similar homesOffering outstanding views of London’s finest landmarks, this three-bedroom penthouse apartment occupies perhaps the best position in Cholmeley Lodge, a beautifully preserved Grade II-listed Art Deco building in Highgate Village.
Designed by the architect Guy Morgan, Cholmeley Lodge is described by Historic England as “one of the finest surviving 1930s mansion blocks by an acknowledged expert in the genre”. The building has porterage, unallocated off-street parking, lift access, communal hot water and heating, and a communal roof garden.
This apartment is accessed on the fifth floor, and has a long entrance hall with hanging space for coats. The dividing wall between the reception room and dining room has been removed to create an expansive and wonderfully bright crescent-shaped living space, which is ideal for entertaining. Doors open onto a south-facing terrace with distant views towards the City. There are large amounts of built-in joinery.
The kitchen has access to another terrace at the rear of the building, with views over trees to Alexandra Palace. There is a south-facing master bedroom with a wall of built-in wardrobes, two further bedrooms and a modern bathroom.
The flat exudes the elegance and grandeur of the Art Deco era, having retained its original timber floor, Crittall windows and curved walls, as well as an Art Deco fireplace.
Cholmeley Lodge is very well situated, standing at the foot of Highgate High Street, with all of its shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants, and directly opposite the open spaces of Waterlow Park. Further areas of parkland can be found at Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Wood. The Northern Line at Archway provides direct access to King’s Cross, the West End and the City, and there are convenient road links to the A1, leading to the M1, A406 and M25.
Highgate has excellent educational opportunities, with two top private schools, Highgate School (co-educational day school for ages 3-18) and Channing (girls’ day school for ages 4-18). There are also two well-regarded state primaries, St Michael’s and Highgate Primary, plus Montessori and nursery schools in Highgate Village. School buses from the Village also serve Haberdasher’s Aske’s & North London Collegiate.
Tenure: Leasehold with Share of Freehold
Service charge: approx. £4,807.96 per year including heating and hot water
Ground rent: approx. £87.50 per year
Read more about the area in our Resident’s Guide to Highgate.
Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.
History
Cholmeley Lodge is a six-storey block of 54 flats built in 1934-5 to the designs of Guy Morgan.
The development is made up of three curved crescents, giving a scalloped outline, with staircase towers and lifts at the rear. The curve is emphasised by boldly projecting balconies on each floor, with projecting bays above the entrance to each section of the development. Each of the four doorways is set behind fluted surrounds under a curved canopy, with glazed double doors complete with long handles.
Morgan’s design was originally intended for the seafront at Bournemouth. However, the planners objected to its modernity, wanting Tudor timberwork to soften the aesthetic. As a result, the architect withdrew his plans and recycled them in the more progressive environment of Highgate.
It is interesting to compare Cholmeley Lodge with Berthold Lubetkin’s Highpoint I, which is situated nearby on North Hill and was built at a similar time. Whereas Lubetkin’s building bears the hallmarks of the International Style imported from eastern Europe, with its white-painted render, ribbon glazing and flat planes, Morgan’s design is Art Deco in style, using yellow brick and cast stone. That said, Morgan did install a decidedly Modernist sun deck on top of Cholmeley Lodge, with banks of small individual stores to serve as windbreaks.
Cholmeley Lodge has similarities with Guy Morgan’s other well-known London landmark, Florin Court in Charterhouse Square. With its wonderfully sinuous front elevation, Florin Court was used as the fictional residence of Agatha Christie’s character Hercule Poirot.
