The Caledonian Estate is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, early Edwardian estate towards the northern end of the Caledonian Road in

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. It is situated next to Pentonville Prison. The Estate was built on the site of the classical Caledonian Asylum from which the Road took its name. Pevsner describes the building as having been constructed between 1900 and 1907, though

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describes it as having been built between 1904 and 1906. A pamphlet produced by the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

notes that, though the Council had accepted an offer from the Asylum for the land by January 1901, construction could not begin until December 1904 as the trustees of the school needed time to erect new buildings elsewhere. The architect was James Greenwood Stephenson (1872–1950); and was designed during his time in the Housing of the Working Classes Branch of the

Architect's Department. Susan Beattie states that it is one of the two "most successful" flatted estates in the first decade of the twentieth century (along with Stephenson's Chadworth Buildings in Lever Street).

Architect

Stephenson had been a student at the South Kensington Schools, before working as an improver and then a draughtsman under Sir Arthur Blomfield from 1892 to 1893. He joined the LCC the following year. Stephenson became an associate of the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

in 1896, sponsored by Blomfield (as well as the Scottish architect, John Slater). At this time (that is, between its formation in 1893 and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

), the work of the 'Housing of the Working Classes' branch of the LCC's Architecture Department has been said to have "the right to be counted among the highest achievements of the Arts and Crafts movement in English Architecture". Some propose William Riley, the chief architect of the LCC, as the original architect of the Estate, and 'Rob' Robertson (1866–1939) declared on his application to the RIBA that he had "taken a leading part in designing all the large housing schemes for the LCC – for example ��Caledonian Estate".

Style

The Estate consists of five blocks built in a mixture of

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

and

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

styles. The five blocks, Carrick House, Irvine House, Burns House, Scott House and Wallace House, are named for Scottish locations and writers (including

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, Sir William Wallace and

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

). Two blocks, Carrick and Irvine, are parallel to the road (these blocks were originally called Bruce and Knox) and the remaining three, Scott, Burns and Wallace, are organised around a large courtyard. The entrance arch is described in Pevsner as "bold". Pevsner further describes the estate thus: "The access to the flats from iron balconies is typical of this phase. Serious five-story blocks in red brick and glazed terracotta, enlivened with Arts and Crafts details, e.g. the parapet curving up over the octagonal end bays and the pointed relieving arches over the windows filled with herringbone brick, as favoured at the same time by

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

at the Belgrave Hospital. Playful but vandal-proof steel gates throughout by Hutchinson and Partners." Housing for the Working Classes-109

The block forming the quadrangle is built on the open access balcony plan (somewhat unpopular at the time). The buildings themselves are, as Susan Beattie states, "the basis for a masterly exercise in Arts and Crafts design". She states: "the grid of horizontal and verticals established in the balconies and living-room bays is reinforced in the ground floor arcades and massive buttressed entrance blocks. Its severe geometry serves to heighten each contrast of solid with void and light with shade and to sharpen the effect of each modest flourish of decoration in the iron and brickwork" She goes on to note that the specially designed garden gates and balcony railings "play an important part in creating a sense of place" and are "among the finest examples of architectural ironwork to have been produced in London at this period". The buildings were granted

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

status on 30 September 1994.

Filming location

The estate was used as a location in the Apple TV series Slow Horses.https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/town-hall-collects-more-than-750k-from-movie-makers Islington Tribune date=14 April 2023 , access-date=19 November 2024

References

{{coord, 51, 32, 45.5, N, 0, 07, 03.6, W, display=title Housing estates in the London Borough of Islington Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington Grade II listed residential buildings Arts and Crafts architecture in England