When the railway stations on Crouch Hill and Crouch End Hill in were opened in 1867-8, the building of houses in the area entered a new phase with demand from would be commuters. This was accelerated in the 1880s when many of the large estates and houses were sold off . Much of it was bought by  the Imperial Property Development Company (IPDC).

Building plots were then sold to speculative builders who could only afford to build a modest number of houses at a time. (You can see this clearly in Glasslyn Rd where there are three or four distinct styles and designs representing different builders and timings)

In the mid-1880s there were difficult times for the building trade with many developers getting into financial difficulties. As a result the company (IPDC) could not afford to buy all of Rowledge Farm and so it remained fields. These became Crouch End Playing Fields.

This also gave rise to our GMTRA street format, where Tivoli and Montenotte roads would have been intended to continue on a parallel to Park Road, they became truncated when the money ran out. 

Vintage Photography

The late 1800’s was also a time when there was an increasing interest in photography with many early enthusiasts keen to document and record the changing appearance of their local area. As a result there are numerous fascinating images of our neighbourhood.

We add photos that might be of interest to local residents here. If you have an interesting historical photo please share with us and we will add it to the album.