A Guide to Crouch End

In Crouch End, you could almost forget that you are less than five miles from the City of London thanks to its village-like atmosphere and quaint charm. Here Anthony Pepe, a home lettings agency in Crouch End, take a closer look at one of the most fashionable parts of London and why it’s such a great place to live in, and move to.

History – and Housing

In Middle English, ‘crouch’ means cross, while ’end’ refers to an outlying area. Some think the area may have effectively been a border between two different manors initially.

In housing terms, Crouch End was originally (in the 18th and early 19th centuries) home to wealthy merchants who didn’t want to live in the City of London; during this period the area was still largely rural.

In Victorian times, the area was more working class in character, as the advent of the railways meant it was more urban; by the end of the 19th century Crouch End was more of a middle-class area of the capital.

After the Second World War there was a big social housing programme undertaken by the government (partly to compensate for the homes destroyed by bombing during The Blitz), so the area became more working-class again. However, because of this initiative the area became heavily populated with students (landlords bought up the social housing and let the homes out as flats) partly to offer local accommodation for colleges such as the Hornsey Art College.

In more recent years, Crouch End’s demographic has become more of a mixture, as wealthier residents have moved in again, while the Hornsey Art College has relocated to part of Alexandra Palace, while the building itself is part of a local primary school.

The area still retains a lot of its history, and it has a good mix of Victorian and Edwardian houses alongside more recent developments.

Crouch End Today

Two iconic buildings still dominate the skyline in Crouch End – Hornsey Town Hall, built in the 1930s as a seat of local government, and the red-brick Clocktower, pictured above, which was unveiled in 1895.

The tower was designed by the architect Frederick Knight and was originally built as a memorial to Henry Reader Williams, a local wine merchant and councillor.

The town hall has recently been redeveloped to include a hotel, an arts centre, and a series of one- two- and three-bed apartments. There are plenty of familiar faces who have made Crouch End their home, including comedians Alan Carr and Katherine Ryan, as well as actor Simon Pegg.

Crouch End doesn’t have its own tube station, but some consider this a benefit as it means the area doesn’t have to cope with a mass influx of visitors and tourists and has helped the area retain its ‘village-y’ feel. The lack of a tube station has also potentially contributed to keeping the area’s house prices down – it’s cheaper than both neighbouring Highgate and Muswell Hill.

Other Facilities

Most of the shops and restaurants in Crouch End are independents rather than big chains, which is great for those looking for unique shopping and dining experiences.

While Crouch End itself doesn’t have a designated park, there are plenty nearby in neighbouring areas (particularly in Hornsey and Highgate) - the famous Alexandra Park sits on the northern border, and the nearby Priory Park has a Green Flag award (the benchmark international standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces).

There are three state secondary schools, and seven primary schools, in the Crouch End area (the N8 postcode).

As with the shops and restaurants, the cinemas sum up the nature of the area – the independent Art House and the Picturehouse. The area also has its own symphonic choir and also puts on the Crouch End Festival every year – one of the capital’s biggest community arts festivals (some events are hosted in neighbouring districts).

And the Church Studios in the site of the former Park Chapel has been used by many famous recording artists over the years, including Adele, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and many others; Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics was responsible for converting the chapel into its new function.

Anthony Pepe – a Home Lettings Agency in Crouch End

If you are interested in moving to the area, or even moving out, then as well as operating as a home lettings agency Anthony Pepe also offers functions as a traditional estate agents in Crouch End.

For more details of the services that we can offer you, follow this link. You can also either call us on 0208 348 2545 or email us at crouchend@anthonypepe.com.