New Southgate station opened in 1850 as Colney Hatch and Southgate, and the asylum that made the name known across London opened up the road a year later. London Carpet Cleaning works the whole of Colney Hatch, N10 and N11, along the Lane from the Edwardian terraces of Muswell Hill to the North Circular and beyond. It is fixed-price work from £36 a room, dry within 6 to 7 hours.
A lane with a district attached
Colney Hatch Lane, the B550, climbs out of Muswell Hill Broadway, crosses the North Circular and finishes at the Friern Barnet Road junction. The neighbourhood spreads out from it across two postcodes and two boroughs: the Haringey side in N10, the Barnet side in N11. The name is older than the suburbs. Colney Hatch was a hamlet, and in July 1851 Prince Albert opened the Second Middlesex County Asylum beside it, known for generations simply as Colney Hatch. It later became Friern Hospital, closed in 1993, and was converted into the Princess Park Manor apartments after 1995, with the houses of Friern Village built across its old grounds. Its corridor was said to be the longest in Britain.
The housing layers by date as you travel the Lane. On the Muswell Hill slope there are Edwardian terraces and semis from the building boom either side of 1900, many still with wool carpet on the original stairs. Nearer the A406 the stock turns to inter-war semis with drives and bay fronts, then post-war infill, flats above the parades and the newer roads around the old hospital site. The station kept changing its name, through Southgate and Colney Hatch and New Southgate and Friern Barnet, before settling on New Southgate in 1971; it runs Great Northern trains into Moorgate. The 43 and 134 buses work the Lane itself, and Coppetts Wood, an oak and hornbeam nature reserve, has entrances off it.
The census picture at the Muswell Hill end
| Homes | Share |
|---|---|
| Flats in converted houses | 32.4% |
| Terraced houses | 22.2% |
| Owner-occupied | 57.3% |
| Rented privately | 35.1% |
| Four or more bedrooms | 32.2% |
| Built before 1900 | 15.8% |
| Built before 1919 | 68.0% |
The census places this page in Muswell Hill North, the Haringey area at the bottom of the Lane; the old asylum and Friern Village fall in Barnet’s census areas further up. Down here the Edwardian boom dominates. More than two-thirds of homes (68.0%) were built before 1919, mostly in the twenty years after 1896, since only 15.8% are older than 1900.
What stands out is how many of those big houses have been divided. Almost a third of homes (32.4%) are flats in converted houses, more than the 22.2% that are terraced houses still used whole, and 35.1% of households rent privately. A converted flat usually means a shared hall and stair carpet, a bay-fronted living room and a bedroom or two. Two bedrooms and the living room in one of those conversions add up to £115. The houses that stayed whole are large, too: 32.2% of homes have four or more bedrooms, which means two flights and a long top landing.
Figures: ONS Census 2021 (Haringey 014) and VOA council tax stock, March 2024.
Two boroughs, two parking regimes
Parking changes along the Lane. Side turnings off the northern stretch are mostly unrestricted, and the inter-war semis have drives. Towards Muswell Hill Broadway you reach Haringey’s controlled zones, but they bite for only two hours: the Fortis Green zone from 11am to 1pm on weekdays, and the Muswell Hill zone from 11am to 1pm every day of the week. We time arrival around those windows or pay for the bay. In the gated blocks at Princess Park Manor and Friern Village, a visitor space or a quick word with the concierge before we arrive saves everyone time.
The North Circular is the thing to plan for. The Lane crosses it at a busy junction, and the traffic backs up at rush hour, so we give you an arrival window and ring when we are close. In the Edwardian houses, we start at the top and work down the stairs; clear the landings and the hall before we arrive.
Whole flats, lounges and that North Circular dust
Most of our work here arrives in familiar shapes. Whole-flat freshen-ups off the Lane, usually two bedrooms and a lounge in one visit. A lounge and a flight of stairs cleaned together before family come to stay. Settee and armchair pairs on the Friern Barnet side, where we shift the heavy pieces ourselves and put them back on protective pads. We clean rugs in the home too, and we clean lined curtains where they hang, which avoids shrinkage and ladder work. The rental turnover around Princess Park Manor and Friern Village brings steady end-of-tenancy jobs, mostly pale synthetic carpets that respond quickly.
We are plain about filtration soiling. Homes close to the North Circular pull fine sooty air through the gaps under skirting boards and closed doors, and it leaves grey-black lines bonded into the carpet edge. A deep clean fades those lines, often a great deal, but where they have years in them they rarely vanish completely, and we tell you that before we start.
How much does carpet cleaning cost in Colney Hatch?
Every price is fixed, and coming out costs you nothing. They are the same across Haringey and every London borough, so the Barnet side of the Lane pays exactly what the Haringey side does.
- Carpet cleaning, per bedroom: from £36
- Living room carpet: from £43
- Through-lounge: from £61
- Stairs, one flight: from £41
- Two-seater sofa: from £57
- Rug up to 3m²: from £35
You can get a free quote online or call 020 8077 8090.
How we clean carpets, upholstery and rugs off the Lane
Most carpet work here is hot-water extraction, explained on our steam carpet cleaning page: agitate, extract at pressure, then dry with airflow. Our upholstery cleaning covers settees and armchairs, mattresses and curtains cleaned in place, and our rug cleaning service is done in your home, useful when a wool rug needs more than a surface clean. The same team covers Friern Barnet and New Southgate next door, and the rest of Haringey beyond the hill.
Before you book in Colney Hatch
Do you cover both sides of the North Circular?
Yes. Colney Hatch splits across the A406 and we clean on both sides: the N10 streets running up towards Muswell Hill and the N11 side towards Friern Barnet Road, including Friern Village and Princess Park Manor. Same prices and the same team, whichever borough collects your council tax.
Where does the van park?
Side turnings off the northern stretch are mostly unrestricted, and the inter-war semis have drives. Near the Broadway the Fortis Green and Muswell Hill zones run only from 11am to 1pm, so we plan arrival around them. In gated blocks, a visitor space or a word with the concierge before we come saves time.
Can you clean the wool carpets in the Edwardian houses?
Yes, and we treat them differently. The Edwardian homes on the N10 slope often have wool twist or wool-mix carpet, and wool wants a neutral pH, less water and controlled heat. We test the fibre first, rinse cooler and groom the pile so it dries evenly and the colours stay put.
How long before we can walk on the carpets in a Colney Hatch house?
Carpets take up to 6 to 7 hours to dry, because we extract most of the moisture as we clean and can leave airflow dryers running. Dense wool and cold days sit at the top of that range. A cleaned mattress is slower, at about 24 hours, so do not sleep on it that night, and expect to keep the rest of the carpet clear of heavy traffic until it has dried.
Can you clean a flat in Princess Park Manor or Friern Village?
Yes, both are regular addresses for us. Princess Park Manor is a big converted building, so tell us your block, floor and entrance when you book, and we bring enough hose for a long run from the van. For a Friern Village house, tell us where visitors park and we pull up there.
Why are there grey lines along the edges of my carpet?
That is filtration soiling. Near a road as busy as the North Circular, air carrying fine soot is pulled under doors and skirting boards, and the carpet edge acts as a filter. We treat those lines with a pre-spray and agitation before the main clean. Fresh lines lift well; old ones fade a lot without always disappearing.
Every clean carries our re-clean guarantee: if any area does not look right once it has dried, we come back and clean it again free of charge. Our technicians are DBS-checked and fully insured, and we have been cleaning across north London since 2009.
