Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Oldest Survivng Terraced Houses in England at Green Lanes

Image: ©Hugh Flouch

The oldest surviving terraced houses in England are just a stone's throw from Harringay off the end of Green Lanes on Newington Green.

Dating from 1658, 52-55 Newington Green houses are extremely rare survivals of pre-Restoration and pre-Great Fire town houses, and as such are one of the most remarkable groups of seventeenth-century buildings in London.

Grade 1 listed, Hackney Council's asset regsiter lists them as "the oldest terraced houses still surviving in England".

During the decade or so prior to the Amercian Revolution, the terrace was something of a hotbed of dissent as the resident of number 54, dissident preacher Dr Richard Price was visited by many of the American ‘founding fathers’ including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.

How many times have I driven or ridden past this spot and never noticed!

Tags for Forum Posts: newington green

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Permalink Reply by Martin (Woodside) on May 13, 2015 at 16:12

Some modification to the gable one one of them, glad they G1listed, another little gem on our doorstep.

E A Poe must have walked past these when he lived nearby, if only buildings could talk!.

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Permalink Reply by Lesley Ramm on May 13, 2015 at 17:28

How amazing.

More info can be found on English Heritage and on Islington Council's website which mentions the poet Samuel Rogers who is buried in St Mary's Churchyard Hornsey.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on May 13, 2015 at 17:45

Thanks Lesley. I hadn't mentioned Rogers as my understanding was that it was uncertain as to whether he was born at number 52. However, I assume that the document you link to was written by an Islington archivist or some such. So perhaps Rogers' place of birth is, after all verified. So, thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Martin (Woodside) on May 13, 2015 at 18:30

Very interesting, found this Samuel Rogers poem on the web as I can't find any on my bookshelf (hope I haven't broken any copyright laws), very much the style of his contemporaries e.g. Coleridge:

Mine be a cot beside the hill,
A bee-hive's hum shall sooth my ear;
A willowy brook, that turns a mill,
With many a fall shall linger near.

The swallow, oft, beneath my thatch,
Shall twitter from her clay-built nest;
Oft shall the pilgrim lift the latch,
And share my meal, a welcome guest.

Around my ivy'd porch shall spring
Each fragrant flower that drinks the dew;
And Lucy, at her wheel, shall sing
In russet gown and apron blue.

The village-church, among the trees,
Where first our marriage-vows were giv'n,
With merry peals shall swell the breeze,
And point with taper spire to heav'n.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on May 14, 2015 at 7:30

Thanks Hugh. Must have passed these a hundred times without noticing them. Don't you itch to see what's happened to the interiors?

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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on May 14, 2015 at 20:12

I've checked in my patchy Open House booklets to no avail - but the Wikipedia page on Newington Green names the architects who have recently renovated two of the four houses. Perhaps they might help - or even a knock on the door?

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on May 14, 2015 at 21:30

What you could do is have a word with the friendly Turkish cobbler at 52. He's been there for donkey's years apparently. At a minimum you could see inside his shop.

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Permalink Reply by Mike C on May 14, 2015 at 12:45

Great shot of these houses, Hugh. There's lots of cool old stuff around Newington Green, and so easy to miss.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on May 14, 2015 at 17:22

Another Newington Green titbit here and a walk exploring the Green's dissenting history tonight!

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Permalink Reply by Itsjono on May 15, 2015 at 8:41

Friend of mine flatted in one of these, the right hand one I think, a few years ago. Every room is massive, but the bathroom, my god, bigger than my whole flat. They have a piece of uncovered interior wall in there, covered by a sheet of Perspex, so you can see the original plaster or whatever it is. The odd part was that the front door opened into the dining room.