Georgie Wolton’s No. 34 Belsize Lane in Camden gets Grade II listing

No. 34 Belsize Lane in Camden, London, by Georgie Wolton, is recognised as a modernist gem

garden view of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton
(Image credit: Historic England)

Georgie Wolton's No. 34 Belsize Lane, a lesser known piece of modernist architecture in London, has been awarded a prestigious Grade II listing. This is the first building by the relatively little-known post-war British architect on the National Heritage List for England.

exterior of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

Georgie Wolton’s No. 34 Belsize Lane: a lesser-known modernist gem

The project was designed by Georgie Wolton (1934-2021) as her own personal home and studio and created in 1975-1976. It's a rare piece of architecture for Wolton, who played a pivotal, though short-lived role in the formation of the famous architectural practice Team 4 in the early 1960s, before going on to form her own studio and increasingly focus on landscape work within the span of her long career. 

aerial of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, says: 'In Georgie Wolton’s generation, architecture was largely a man’s world. Building her own home exactly as she wanted it, could be seen as a subversive and powerfully feminist act.' 

conservatory of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

'34 Belsize Lane is a really subtle and understated project, a very personal work which has survived remarkably intact. Behind an unassuming boundary lies a small masterpiece – a house she called the “last of the English follies”, one totally in touch with the exciting architectural zeitgeist of its day, but also unique and uncompromising.'

34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

Meanwhile, critic and author Jonathan Meades describes her as the 'outstanding woman architect of the generation before Zaha [Hadid]'.

interior of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

The project remains a private home and the current owner will be documenting their restoration journey on Instagram via @georgiewoltonhouse.

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).

Read more
imogen holst grade ii listed home
The modernist home of musician Imogen Holst gets Grade II listing
pine heath, a redesigned hampstead townhouse interior in browns and greens
A 1960s North London townhouse deftly makes the transition to the 21st Century
pan wogenscky house in france, a brutalist box with a red wall
Marta Pan and André Wogenscky's legacy is alive through their modernist home in France
House Richter, part of our tour of lesser-known modernist houses in europe
Tour 21 lesser-known modernist houses in Europe
space house facade close up of concrete elements
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapter
Ray House, Dalston, by Archmongers, a transformed east london terraced house
This revamped east London terraced house is a music lover’s dream
Latest in Architecture
the toteme store in China by herzog & de meuron
Bold, geometric minimalism rules at Toteme’s new store by Herzog & de Meuron in China
riverrock frank lloyd wright house
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay there
zaha hadid architects future projects
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizon
Severance scene
The Eagan house from 'Severance' is available to rent
frank lloyd wright walser house chicago
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildings
Costa Navarino Southward house
A Costa Navarino house peeks out from amidst olive groves to ocean views
Latest in News
A still from Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love (2000)
Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in Shanghai
Syd Mead, Future Pastime, 534 West 26th Street, New York
A new exhibition in New York presents the visionary artwork of the late Syd Mead
riverrock frank lloyd wright house
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay there
Design Space LA art fair
Basic.Space launches its first IRL shopping event – in an empty West Hollywood mall
the lavery london restaurant review
At The Lavery, Anglo-Italian cooking caters to London’s design obsessive
perfume bottle archive Cristalleries de Nancy
This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance history