Archway to Highgate 6

The last part of my walk took me through the former Burdett-Coutts estate and up to Highgate tube.

The "Tudor cliffs" built in the 1920s along Langbourne Mansions, Makepeace Avenue and Oakeshott Avenue are in fact social housing.  They were originally constructed by Lady Workers' Homes Limited to provide accommodation for single women living in London (flats and bedsits).  The blocks are now owned by Camden Council on a 150 year lease and the single-women-only restriction has been lifted.

Wide private roads (protected by gates), generous provision of trees and garden areas, and use of high-status "Tudorbethan" architecture make this a highly-desirable location.

Above:  the Tudor detailing is just a facade, and round the back you see utilitarian 1920s services, enlivened by a few balconies.  Modernists would hate this estate - for them the idea of a facade is anathema.  And yet any philosopher will tell you that to be fully human is to live behind facades (both metaphorical and literal) and no-one can survive for long in the full glare of "truth" and "honesty". 

Above:  I love this mini recycling centre.  It appeals to my sense of order, categorisation, care for the environment.  If I have my way I would put a Grade 2 order on this little area.