Tufnell Park, Islington
A distinctive 19th-century residential scheme, characterized by wide, tree-lined streets and individually styled housing, situated north-east of Kentish Town
23 Carleton Road, Tufnell Park
From early times this was part of the manor of Barnsbury, which in the 15th century possessed a moated farmhouse at what is now the eastern end of Tufnell Park Road. William Tufnell inherited the manor in 1754 and soon afterwards changed his surname to Jolliffe. The estate later passed to his brother and down through his family, thus regaining the Tufnell connection. The area was known for its dairy farms until the early 19th century but in 1822 the family sought permission to grant building leases and created Tufnell Park Road two years later. Other roads were named after branches of the extended family.
Most of the terraced houses were built in the 1850s and 1860s, often with separate gabled roofs to make them look like semi-detached houses. Only two architects were employed throughout the project but they built adventurously, differentiating each street and sometimes every villa within a street. Façades were often plain but imaginatively ornamented, especially around the windows. The Byzantine-style church of St George was included as part of the project, endowed for the Free Church of England in 1868. Tufnell Park station opened in 1907.
Like much of Victorian north London, the 20th century brought the subdivision of many of the houses and municipal replacement of others, so that most of Tufnell Park’s residents now live in flats, rented privately or from the council or housing associations. More recently, some houses have been reunited as the middle classes recolonize the locality, especially on the western side. Tufnell Park’s main ethnic minorities are of Turkish, Bangladeshi and Somali origin.
Channel 4’s comedy series Spaced (1999–2001) was set at the fictional 23 Meteor Street (actually Carleton Road), Tufnell Park. The show’s acutely accurate portrayal of twenty-something flat-sharing life made it a cult hit.
The musician and campaigner Bob Geldof was living in a squat on Tufnell Park Road in 1977.
Postal districts: N7 and N19
Station: Northern Line (zone 2)
London Historians
