Highgate

Highgate
Highgate seen from Parliament Hill
Highgate is located in Greater London
Highgate
Highgate
Location within Greater London
Population10,955 (2011 Census. Ward)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ285875
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtN6, N19
Postcode districtNW5
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
London
51°34′18″N 0°08′41″W / 51.5716°N 0.1448°W / 51.5716; -0.1448

Highgate is a suburban area of London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, 4+12 miles (7 kilometres) north-northwest of Charing Cross.

Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live.[2] It has three active conservation organisations: the Highgate Society, the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum and the Highgate Conservation Area Advisory Committee, to protect and enhance its character and amenities.

Until late Victorian times, it was a distinct village outside London, sitting astride the main road to the north. The area retains many green expanses, including the eastern part of Hampstead Heath, three ancient woods,[3] Waterlow Park and the eastern-facing slopes, known as Highgate bowl.

At its centre is Highgate village, largely a collection of Georgian shops, pubs, restaurants and residential streets,[4] interspersed with diverse landmarks such as St Michael's Church and steeple, St. Joseph's Church and its green copper dome, Highgate School (1565), Jacksons Lane arts centre, housed in a Grade II listed former church, the Gatehouse Inn, dating from 1670, which houses the theatre Upstairs at the Gatehouse[5] and Berthold Lubetkin's 1930s Highpoint buildings. Pond Square, behind the High Street, is a registered village green, and is the centre of communal activities which take place in the elegant buildings of the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution and Highgate Society facing the Square.

Highgate is best known for the Victorian Highgate Cemetery, in which the Communist philosopher Karl Marx and the novelist George Eliot are buried, along with many other notable people.[6] Adjoining is Holly Village, the first gated community, built in 1865, which is a Grade II* listed site.[7][8]

The village is at the top of Highgate Hill, which provides views across central London. Highgate is 136 m (446 ft) above sea level at its highest point.[9]

The area is divided among three London boroughs: Haringey in the north and east, Camden in the south and west, and Islington in the south and east. The postal district is N6.

  1. ^ "Camden Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. ^ Lowe, Felix (19 February 2008). "Highgate trumps Chelsea as priciest postcode". Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ Walk London: Capital Ring Section 11, Hendon Park to Highgate Archived 2 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Things to do in Highgate village - visitlondon.com".
  5. ^ "History of The Gatehouse Pub Highgate". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Highgate People". Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Why Was Holly Village Built?". London x London. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  8. ^ "1-12 Holly Village, Non Civil Parish - 1379116 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
  9. ^ "London topographic map, elevation, relief". topographic-map.com. Retrieved 26 April 2021.