Away from the hurly burly, hoo-ha and kerfuffle of London, is Cranleigh Street. It's a small residential road which, thanks to some clever planning by LB Camden, is peaceful, having no cut-through for road traffic. As the Second Witch in Shakespeare's play that cannot be named said, 'When the hurlyburly's done, when the battle's lost and won,' she might have added, 'that's the time to go home to Cranleigh Street!' The street's cobbled stones, not so good for horses due to slippage when wet, provide a smooth quiet ride for residents' cars as they pull up to their homes.
Cranleigh Street lies just south of Oakley Square, off Eversholt Street. Most of the architecture is attractive 1930s mansion blocks. It is close to multiple transport links. Pedestrians can easily reach St Pancras and King's Cross within five minutes or four minutes to Euston Station. Having lived in this street all his life, a resident could only find one negative aspect: his friendly local pub, the Neptune, had closed in 2011. This is soon to be developed into luxury flats and warrants a sympathetic design as it is such a pulchritudinous Victorian building.
Two blue plaques adorn the walls of two separate properties. These bear witness to famous residents who have lived in Cranleigh Street, such as Charles Dickens (1824-1929), Mike Leigh OBE and Alison Steadman OBE (in the early 1970s). The plaque to Dickens was unveiled in 2013 by the actor Simon Callow to mark the writer's life in the area. Dickens even based part of his story David Copperfield on the street. The second plaque is there to mark the time Mike Leigh (Film Director) and Alison Steadman (Actress) lived together in a top floor flat of Brook House. Leigh was so disgusted by the condition of his flat, he lobbied the Camden Council to buy up the place and make the necessary repairs. Dickens and Leigh/Steadman lived 100 yards apart in different eras but they were all concerned with the political matters and social injustices of their day. Cranleigh Street has come a long way and is now a coveted location (and the street wants you to know it doesn't hold itself responsible for the break up of Leigh and Steadman).