Highgate and Hornsey’s retail heritage

 

Shopping parades – rows of shops, often with flats or offices above forming a unified architectural composition – were built in large numbers in London in the later Victorian and Edwardian period, providing a retail hub for London’s burgeoning suburbs.  Often designed in ornate and flamboyant styles, and in many instances incorporating pubs and banks, they illustrate the eclectic architectural tastes of the period. 

The talk, focusing on Archway Road, Muswell Hill and Crouch End, will look at some of the best examples of this often under-appreciated building type, and also the surprising number of surviving  Victorian and Edwardian shop fronts – now quite rare both in a local and national context – which are sometimes disguised by ad-hoc signage and cladding. 

The talk will be accompanied by an exhibition of views of shop fronts by the Highgate Watercolour Group. Attendees are invited to stay and enjoy the pictures with a glass of wine after the talk. A selection of the pictures can be seen here.