Map of Auction Lots, 12 August 1840

the most important day in the history of primrose hill

Not an understatement!

On 12 August 1840, at the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, the third Lord Southampton auctioned off almost all of what is now Primrose Hill Village. The street plan and building lots laid down in the auction catalogue determined the subsequent history of the area. Martin Sheppard, the leading historian of Primrose Hill, will give an illustrated talk on the results of this auction. As the auction lots were sold freehold, buyers were able to build houses as they liked or to use them for business purposes, making Primrose Hill a mixed area, not an estate.

7.00 p.m., Tuesday 29 March, The Community Centre,

Hopkinsons Place, NW1 8TN. Admission: £5 (includes a glass of wine)

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