Cholmeley Lodge is an elegant block of 54 flats built in 1934 to a design by Guy Morgan. The development is made up of three curved crescents, giving a scalloped outline, with staircase towers and lifts at the rear. The curve is emphasised by boldly projecting balconies on each floor. Each of the four doorways is set behind fluted surrounds under a curved canopy, with glazed double doors complete with long handles.

Morgan’s design was originally intended for the seafront at Bournemouth. However, the planners objected to its modernity, wanting Tudor timberwork to soften the aesthetic. As a result, the architect withdrew his plans and recycled them in the more progressive environment of Highgate.

It is interesting to compare Cholmeley Lodge with Berthold Lubetkin’s Highpoint I, which is situated nearby on North Hill and was built at a similar time. Whereas Lubetkin’s building bears the hallmarks of the International Style imported from eastern Europe, with its white-painted render, ribbon glazing and flat planes, Morgan’s design is Art Deco in style, using yellow brick and cast stone. That said, Morgan did install a decidedly Modernist sun deck on top of Cholmeley Lodge, with banks of small individual stores to serve as windbreaks.

Cholmeley Lodge has similarities with Guy Morgan’s other well-known London landmark, Florin Court in Charterhouse Square. With its wonderfully sinuous front elevation, Florin Court was used as the fictional residence of Agatha Christie’s character Hercule Poirot.