Quite simply one of the prettiest streets you’ll ever see. Yellow London brick that glows amber in the sunshine; cottage style homes bursting with charm; gardens fragrant with roses – this is Harmood Street. Wide and leafy, lined with lime, cherry, rowan and plane trees, it’s an oasis of tranquillity. Local traffic favours nearby Ferdinand Street, allowing Harmood to luxuriate in a bubble of peace. Apart from a school and a long-established bookshop, the street is entirely residential, affording a serene retreat from the bustle of the day.
The area now covered by Harmood Street was originally a road that bisected part of the ancient Tottenhall Manor. Laid out in the 1830s, construction of the houses wasn’t complete until 1849, and most of the houses date to this early Victorian period. The majority of the homes enjoy two storeys with slate valley roofs and established front gardens. Many have stucco surrounds to the windows and front doors, and are part of a conservation area.
The finest houses are on the east side, towards the junction with Clarence Way: here dreamy conservatories are swaddled by mature gardens. Across the road, new houses have replaced what was once a bus depot and frame the entrance to Collard Place: an upmarket private gated mews built in 1995. The mews enjoys the best of both contemporary and historical architecture, being both unashamedly modern and yet sympathetically matching nearby period design with its iron railings and segmental doorways. Nearby is the attractive 1930s apartment block Harmood House. Continuing onwards, number 66 is a double-fronted period house at a right angle to Harmood Street. It forms the beginning of a quaint row of terraced houses blessed with large front gardens. This is Powlett Place, its charm and seclusion reinforced by being accessible only on foot via a small pathway. The northern end of the street is flanked by larger buildings, notably the former pub, the Harmood Arms, a three-storey building that has now been converted into flats.
And what is there nearby to tantalise, amuse and engage you? Firstly, at Chalk Farm Road you’ll find the world famous Stable Market, its entrance framed by the imposing Chalk Farm Tavern and a jewellers. The market offers over 700 stalls, offering a diverse range of goods from vintage clothes to alternative fashion, antiques and collectibles, crafts, footwear, furniture, and international food from every corner of the globe. When you’ve browsed your fill, cross over Prince of Wales Road and relish the verdant expanse of grass, twining pathways and sun dappled benches in the Talacre Open Space.