Hillfield Court

Hillfield Court is a prominent art deco residential mansion block in Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1934.

It was known as the Blue House and was one of many rural abodes in the area belonging to wealthy merchants, who wanted a country residence within easy reach of London.

[1] The land was bought by Hillfield Estates Ltd, a company formed in 1933 by FL, WJ and AG Griggs (Frank, William and Alfred).

His design for Hillfield Court provided 113 flats over six storeys, in seven different layouts and intended to suit a variety of tenants.

Royal Air Force personnel were housed in a ground floor flat ready to launch the balloon when necessary.

Eventually, according to various residents, there came the shattering news that Hillfield Court had been sold to "unscrupulous experts at asset stripping".

[citation needed] Fighting back vigorously, the Residents Association organised speeches, television interviews and meetings with Camden Council in the hope of saving their garden.

A group of leaseholders established Hillfield Court Limited to buy the freehold, an agreement was reached, 84 residents subscribed and they became the new owners.

[citation needed] Although no blue plaque appears on the building, several famous people have resided in Hillfield Court over the years including actress Diana Wynyard, author Leonard Arthur Bethell, novelist Kay Dick and the photographer Bill Brandt.

Sophie Turner, the English actress who rose to international fame playing Sansa Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones lived in the block in the early 2010s, as did media personality and paparazzo Darryn Lyons.