Pioneering Holly Lodge Estate’s special birthday
Rain clears for a sing-song and a dance
Thursday, 4th July 2024 — By Caitlin Maskell
Celebrations at the estate in Highgate [Jenny Quiggin]
A HISTORIC estate in Highgate has marked its centenary with an array of celebratory events.
Once a rural retreat for philanthropist Angela Burdett Coutts, Holly Lodge began providing homes for single working women in 1924 – a time when it was hard for them to find accommodation.
Natasha Rao who has been running history walks on the estate said: “The assumption was that ladies would be attached to a husband or male relative to rent, so these flats were quite pioneering in that sense and the sense of community that came out of that. It was quite a radical idea.
“There was a restaurant on site for the ladies where the community centre now stands. It catered for the lady workers and they would get reasonably priced meals at this block because most of the flats were built as bedsits so they didn’t have kitchen facilities and it was a social space for them as well.”
The flats changed hands between different housing associations a number of times and then eventually it passed to the London Borough of Camden.
“In the 1950s the Homes for the Working Ladies ceased to exist but unofficially the London Borough of Camden continued the policy of housing single women,” said Ms Rao.
“I was housed there when I was at school with my mother and the whole block was just single parents so I think they continued that for some time. It’s so green, it’s really beautiful and aesthetically you couldn’t ask for better. It’s a lovely place to live.”
The centenary of the estate has been marked by history walks, an exhibition in the community centre and a party held at the Holly Lodge Gardens on Sunday.
Roger Elliot, co-chair of the Holly Lodge Community Centre said: “We have a garden party every year in tradition of Angela Burdett Coutts. The grounds once enabled her to have lavish garden parties and we’ve kept up that tradition.”
Virginia Cleugh, who has been a Holly Lodge resident for 28 years said: “The party was bigger and better than previous years. After a couple of hours the rain cleared off and we all danced in front of the band. There was a mixture of people from the flats and houses and we all get on well, so it was nice to see everyone.”
