Highgate

Highgate ( /ˈhaɪɡeɪt/ or /ˈhaɪɡɨt/) is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.

Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character.

Until late Victorian times it was a distinct village outside London, sitting astride the main road to the north. The area retains many green expanses including the eastern part of Hampstead Heath, three ancient woods, Waterlow Park and the eastern-facing slopes known as Highgate bowl.

At its centre is Highgate village, a collection of largely Georgian shops, pubs, restaurants and residential streets, interspersed with diverse landmarks such as St Michael's Church and steeple, Highgate School (1565), Jacksons Lane arts centre housed in a Grade II listed former church, the Gatehouse inn dating from 1670 and Berthold Lubetkin's 1930s Highpoint buildings. Highgate is also famous for its atmospheric Victorian cemetery in which the communist philosopher Karl Marx is buried.

The village sits atop a hill which provides views across London, climbing 446 feet (136 m) above sea level at its highest point.

The area is divided between three London boroughs: Haringey in the north, Camden in the south and west, and Islington in the south and east. The postal district is N6.