John Spencer Square is a neo-Georgian residential garden square in the heart of the Canonbury conservation area in Islington, London.[1]
John Spencer Square | |
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General information | |
Location | John Spencer Square London, N1 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°32′46″N 0°05′57″W / 51.5461°N 0.0993°W |
Completed | 1965 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William Floyd Nash |
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] as his fashionable country retreat.[3]
The neo-Georgian open quadrangle apartment blocks, bordered by Compton Road, St. Pauls Road, Prior Bolton Street and St Mary's Grove,[4] were built on land sold in 1954 by the Earl of Northampton to property companies Western Ground Rents[5] and Oriel Property trust.[6] It was designed by William Floyd Nash in a neo-Georgian style reflecting the 18th century architecture of Canonbury.
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.[7]
The development, comprising 80 apartments of one to three bedrooms, was built by Canonbury Construction Co. in 1963-4.[8][9] 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 took up residence in April 1965.[10]
The John Spencer Square Management Company acquired the freehold in 1985 and still manage the estate.[11]
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