Hampstead. A corner of London that people long to call home. A place that locals long never to leave. There’s nothing saccharine about it, nothing feigned, nothing transitory. It has a maturity – a civilised appreciation of the things that make life worth living. Beauty, art, ideas, creativity, health, peace, nature, tradition, hospitality, home. To live here is to live well. And to live at Fitzjohn’s is to live life to its fullest.

“ONE OF THE NOBLEST STREETS IN THE WORLD”

So said Harpers’ magazine of Fitzjohn’s Avenue in 1883 – less than a decade after the road had first been conceived by Sir Spencer Maryon-Wilson, owner of the Hampstead estate. His vision was of a ‘truly imposing’ tree-lined boulevard, which would rise towards the village on the hill from the popular new turnpike of Finchley Road.

Set back to either side of the avenue were some of the finest residences in all of London, commissioned by diamond merchants, ship builders and steel magnates – but also by some of the age’s most notable artists: John Pettie at No. 2, Frank Holl at No. 6, and Edwin Long at No. 61. Fitzjohn’s Avenue has retained an air of assurance, refinement and nobility ever since.

Parliament hill
Kenwood House
Barbara Hepworth's 'monolith empyrean'
There’s nowhere quite like HAMPSTEAD HEATH. There is no design to it. No attempt to create some idealised version of nature. No landscaping, carefully framed vistas, or manicured lawns. It is a heath not a park – a glorious oasis of nature itself, so beloved that it has resisted the concrete sprawl of the city. A place for fresh air, invigoration, pleasure and inspiration. Where Keats fell in love, Constable set up his easel, and music played in Elgar’s head as he explored its winding pathways. And all just ten minutes’ walk away from Fitzjohn’s.
To an outsider, it seems preposterous to call Hampstead a VILLAGE – sitting as it does just four miles from the thrum of central London. But spend any time here and it starts to make sense. The island-like isolation of its hilltop location. The way that its lanes, alley-ways and cut-throughs seem to make it more accessible on foot than by car. The proud independence and personality of its many local shops, delis, cafes and restaurants. The untamed heathland on its doorstep. The way that people are more likely to know each other, more likely to have been here for years, more likely to end up staying here for years longer. Hampstead has an identity all its own. As a thriving modern community. As London’s favourite village.

FITZJOHN’S
FAVOURITES

Eating

VILLA BIANCA RESTAURANT GAUCHO GAIL'S BAKERY LA CREPERIE DE HAMPSTEAD MELROSE AND MORGAN

Drinking

THE FLASK THE HOLLY BUSH HORSESHOE THE WELLS TAVERN GINGER AND WHITE

Shopping

HAMPSTEAD VILLAGE MARKS & SPENCER WAITROSE CUBS BOOK WATERSTONES

Things to Do

KENWOOD HOUSE BURGH HOUSE HAMPSTEAD HILL GARDEN & PERGOLA PARLIAMENT HILL FENTON HOUSE

Culture

CATTO GALLERY EVERYMAN CINEMA KEATS LIBRARY

TELL ME MORE

ABOUT OUR HOMES EXCLUSIVELY FOR THOSE ENJOYING LIFE OVER 55

*Required