Mortimer Terrace Nature Reserve is a small yet beautiful reserve tucked away between busy Gordon House Road and the Overground railway line between Gospel Oak station and Upper Holloway.
Its origins date back to 1897, when the railway line was built and a covenant was drawn up between Midland Railway and the Parish of St Pancras: the trees on this land must never be felled, and it must remain undeveloped in perpetuity, as a buffer protecting residents from the railway’s pollution.
In the 1980s, developer Mark Fitzpatrick bought the site as part of a larger parcel of land he intended to build on. Camden Council granted planning permission on part of that land — but upheld the 1897 covenant, keeping this parcel protected.
In 1987, a nature reserve was born. The London Wildlife Trust took on a ten-year lease, and members of the local community — including resident Jeanne Pendrill — helped create Mortimer Terrace Nature Reserve. When the Trust’s lease ended in 1997, the community continued managing the site with their ongoing support.
In 2016, Mortimer Terrace Nature Reserve formalised as a charity with its own board of trustees, and was registered as one of the first Assets of Community Value in Camden. Around the same time, with Mark Fitzpatrick’s health declining, a Tenancy at Will was signed by Trustee Jeanne Pendrill and Mr Fitzpatrick’s widow. In 2017, we celebrated 30 years of nature conservation at the first Parliament Hill Street Party.
Defending the site, twice
In 2019, the Tenancy at Will was terminated. The community was evicted from the site, and the land was put up for sale. It was pulled from auction when the owners failed to follow the correct procedure required by the site’s Asset of Community Value status. Camden Community Makers, the local community land trust, stepped in to head up a campaign to save Mortimer Terrace Nature Reserve.
In 2021, despite the ACV protection, the Fitzpatrick family sold the site to Mark Hamburger, who put it straight back up for auction. Thanks to sustained local campaigning, the lot failed to attract a single bid and the site went unsold. Camden Community Makers continued to coordinate the campaign and lobby the council to protect the reserve, and Camden Council and Councillor Anna Wright began exploring how to fund a purchase. Hamburger then leased the land to a private forest school and put the site up for auction a second time.
In 2022, the site was pulled from auction at the eleventh hour: Camden Council reached an agreement with Hamburger and purchased the site outright.
It then took a further four years of legal process before that commitment could be fully realised. On 15 July 2026, Camden Council and Camden Community Makers Community Land Trust completed and signed the land transfer documents. Mortimer Terrace Nature Reserve is now officially community owned, and community run — protected in perpetuity, just as the 1897 covenant intended.
The site continues to be cared for by its board of trustees, maintaining nearly 40 years of continuous community management.