Like many of the postcodes in Camden, this area is incredibly varied. It stretches from the bustling heart of Camden Town all the way up Camden Road into the leafy and affluent suburbs and mews around Cantelowes. To the south west of the area, Camden provides all of the liveliness and amenities one could wish for, and the busy Camden Road offers no shortage of convenient and well connected transport links. While Camden Road itself is a noisy and congested road at all times of the day and night, the smaller roads leading off it are surprisingly quiet in comparison. In these residential streets you find varying sizes of predominantly Victorian but also Edwardian houses, many of which are split up into flats to accommodate the diverse population. The large halls in the middle of the area mean that you will often find students relaxing in the large amount of green spaces, which also make for a convenient retreat away from the crowded centre of Camden.

Originally part of the large rural manor of Kentish Town, the area was obtained in 1788 by Charles Pratt, 1st Earl of Camden, who transformed what was a rural retreat for the wealthy into a residential urban town. York Way, which marks the eastern edge of the area, forms the border between Camden and Islington, and has been used as an important transport and drovers’ route since the Middle Ages when it was known as Mayde Lane. The building of the Regent’s Canal to the south of the area positioned Camden at the heart of London’s canal network and began the district’s industrialisation, bringing with it large red brick warehouses and terraces of small Victorian cottages. Further north, the houses become larger, and were built as this part of the area developed into an affluent suburb alongside the introduction of the railways, which gave wealthy city workers a clean and peaceful part to live in while still having easy access into town. The area was relatively untouched by the Blitz in comparison to the rest of Camden, which has allowed the original terraces to survive today. However, the impact that it had on canal and rail transport had knock on effects, particularly to the more industrial south, turning the poor but heavily populated area into an undesirable wasteland. Still, the cheap rents and development of the former warehouses and stables of Camden slowly attracted artists and musicians to the area, beginning its transformation into the artistic part of town that it is today.

It is rare for a supermarket to be lauded as an architectural masterpiece, but, nestled between a Gothic Revival church and Camden’s busy Victorian terrace lined thoroughfares sits Sainsbury’s superstore. Completed in 1988 at a cost of £14,000,000, the strikingly modern building is influenced by car manufacturing techniques, utilising an arched roof with metal cantilevers and columns to create an enormous uninhibited retail space. Despite its modern aesthetic it fits in surprisingly well with the industrial terraces and shops nearby.

Like much of Camden, the area is busy and polluted, as well as a hotbed for tourism. Luckily, however, this area reaches up to the north and away from the packed canalside streets, and, as one resident mentioned, “we are located so close to Camden that we can get transport anywhere in London, but far enough away to escape the hustle and bustle if we want to.”

Much of the area will be affected by the construction of HS2, bringing with it a great deal of noise pollution and disruption. Camden Street Bridge will be closed in order to widen it to deal with the increased traffic. There is also “the largest of Camden Council’s community investment projects” currently underway in the area. The Agar Grove development is set to provide 500 affordable homes for new and existing tenants, as well as regenerating many dead end street routes and poorly connected roads. It will also be Passivhaus accredited, which means it will use fabrics that dramatically reduce the requirements for space heating and cooling, making the building incredibly energy efficient. Unlike other large projects in nearby Camden, this development has been welcomed by some locals due to the affordability of the properties that will be on offer.