Number 3 And Attached Railings, Wall And Lamp

In the 17th century, Highgate was a hamlet to the north of London situated in the midst of the extensive Middlesex estate of the Bishops of London. Nos. 1–6, The Grove, Highgate were built in around 1688 by a City of London merchant, William Blake. Constructed in the gardens of a large mansion called Dorchester House, the speculative development was intended by Blake to fund a charity school he had established in the main building. In 1816, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, moved to the Highgate home of his doctor, James Gillman, seeking treatment for his addiction to opium. In 1823 the Gillmans moved to No. 3, The Grove, installing Coleridge in a suite of rooms on the top floor. He remained there…

Bridget Cherry, in her 2002 revised London 4: North edition of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describes Nos. 1–6, The Grove, as "the finest group in Highgate". The row was originally built as three pairs of semi-detached houses, of two storeys with dormers above. Most have been greatly altered since. No. 3 is now of three storeys, with a basement and a slate roof. The construction material is red brick. No. 3 is a Grade II* listed building, the listing including the low wall which fronts the house, and its wrought iron railings and lamp.