Haddo House Estate

Set back from Highgate Road on the west side is the Haddo House estate built for the St. Pancras Housing Association between 1963 and 1965. The scheme is composed of a seven-storey slab block and adjoining two-storey housing, one terrace of which faces on to Glenhurst Avenue. The architect was Robert Bailie, a former assistant to Eric Lyons – Lyons’ influence can be seen in the houses [1]. The main block has a set-back upper floor. The horizontal arrangements of tiled panels and bands of glazing on the long elevation form a rhythm with the open balconies. The stair towers are curved in plan and clad almost entirely in glass, with fins between slim glazing bars producing a ribbed effect and contrasting against the horizontality of the rest of the façade. At the back of the estate is Clanfield House, a purportedly ‘clumsy block with ugly sloping profile’ which was added in 1971 [2].

[1] Franklin, G. & Harwood, E. (2014) Housing in Lambeth 1965-80 and its National Context (Historic England: Research Report Series)

[2] Cherry, B. & Pevsner, N. (2002) London: North (London: Penguin) p.395.