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And the Winner is…

Our year long Spot-it competition to celebrate our  amazing 250 years in business has come to an end. Throughout 2017 we challenged you to spot the local landmark and let us know where it is. You did really well most of the time: You had no trouble with this lovely lady on t ...

At Home: Cascade Avenue

 Our featured home this week is on Cascade Avenue, in the famous Rookfields Estate. It has been chosen by the manager of our Muswell Hill offices, Linda Leite, because it is so pretty and she, like so many local people, has a soft spot for the area. With an asking price of £1 ...

Spot-It! Competition: Grand Finale

It was amazing to be able to celebrate our 250th anniversary throughout 2017, including our monthly Spot-it! competition which has now come to a grand finale! Our thanks go to everyone who took part  – we hope you enjoyed the intriguing images of famous landmarks in ...

Period Features: Knock Knock Knocking

Is it just me or does the Bafta trophy remind you of a big brass door knocker? It struck me again last night, so I thought I would take a closer look at the history of door knockers. And yes, even door knockers have a history. It is believed that the first door knockers origina ...

Property Focus: Fortis Green, N2

We will be turning a spot light on property every Friday from today, featuring some of our homes for sale, interesting news and advice as to how to get the best from your property. We start with manager, Amanda Walker’s, pick of our East Finchley crop, a fine, double-fro ...

What’s the Story? Love, Saints & Amethyst

Did you receive a love letter this morning which made you go all limp and reflective, like this lovely lady, imagined by the Victorian artist John Callcott Horsley? It’s Valentine’s Day, of course, a day when we celebrate love, but there’s a bit of confusion ...

Period Features: The Appeal of Aspidistra

The Victorians adored filling their homes with greenery. Conditions were tough –  with most houses suffering from poor light, ventilation and air quality caused by tobacco and pollution from oil, coal, and later in the period, gas lamps. Room temperatures were difficult t ...

Out and About: Lumiere London

I think most of us are suffering from a lack of light at the moment. I can manage being cold, but grey skies and fewer hours of daylight are more of a problem. That’s why I am going away next week for a few days of African brightness, however, I am a little sad that I will ...

Garden Guru: White in Gardens

The most famous all white gardens is probably the one at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, created by Vita Sackville West in the 1950s. Photo credit: Newton Abbot Travel Club I used to think of these colour-themed planting schemes as pretentious nonsense but I have changed my mind ...

At Home: The Linen Press

When I was young my family had a linen press. This was an antique cupboard in a beautiful walnut wood with shelves and a couple of large drawers. I remember being fascinated by the neatly folded piles of sheets, pillow cases, tablecloths, tray cloths and other sundry linens. It ...

What’s the Story? Names & Numbers

I came across this question while researching yesterday’s post on the Penny Black -‘how would you know where to deliver a letter if there were no street names and no numbers on the door?’. Good question, and one that I admit to having never thought about befor ...

Period Features: The Penny Black

Can you imagine a world without the postal service? I am guessing if you are under thirty you probably can but for the rest of us there is a certain romance about getting a letter in the post that hits the spot. Before 1840 this romance came at a high cost, only the very rich c ...