london Perched high on a hill, many Highgate homes have stunning views, especially near Highgate Cemetery, so it’s no wonder it’s long been a favourite of the wellheeled. From Highgate it’s a short stroll across the heath to Hampstead which has its own village-like atmosphere and where a café culture thrives in its treelined streets. Unsurprisingly, both neighbourhoods are among London’s priciest spots but Richard Galland, managing director of Octagon’s North London division, explains why they remain such draws for buyers. “Highgate offers high end buyers a sense of village-like privacy and seclusion, which is hard to come by so close to central London. Hampstead Heath, which commands superlative views over the city, is on your doorstep, and international buyers are particularly seduced by the excellent private schooling in the area.”
Enduring appeal
Mr Galland may build prime new homes but he’s quick to credit the area’s conservation society for ensuring its heritage and atmosphere remain special. “With the Highgate Society continuing to protect the character of the area, it is very much an exclusive postcode, and once buyers purchase here, they rarely want to leave.” New build is rare in the area but Mr Galland is proud to have created something special. “We have had the rare, exciting opportunity to build two Georgian style villas on The Grove, and our priority was to blend these new homes in with the surrounding architecture - it’s an unspoilt area, and we wanted to keep it that way.” Glentree International is the selling agent for The Grove and their MD Trevor Abrahmson has sold luxury homes in and around Hampstead and Highgate’s historic villages for years to what he calls ‘discerning buyers from the capital and abroad’. “It is easy to see why this residential enclave is so desirable since it ‘ticks many boxes’. You can buy properties with gardens up to 11 acres in size at prices that are a quarter of what Kensington, Holland Park or Knightsbridge have to offer. Nine hundred acres of parkland separate these two villages with an abundance of flora and fauna.” Mr Abrahmson recalls the 17th-18th centuries, when he says ‘London was a dirty and smelly place’ and people made a pilgrimage to Hampstead and Highgate to partake of their ‘healing’ waters and clean air. Today they come for the schools. “This is certainly the place to bring up families with its proximity to the all-important American School, a Mecca for international folk, and Highgate School, probably the best facilitated public school in a major metropolis anywhere in the world,” he says. Highgate and Hampstead golf courses are on the doorstep, unique for most major financial capitals says Mr Abrahmson who has watched many nationalities settle here. “The Russian Trade Delegation Compound 86
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