The Bishops Avenue
The Bishops Avenue, London N2, connects the north side of Hampstead Heath at Kenwood (Hampstead Lane), Hampstead to East Finchley and is on the boundary of the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey. It is considered to be one of the wealthiest streets in the world, comparable to a select few ultra-exclusive roads in such other affluent places around the world as Beverly Hills, Monaco and Hong Kong. The road is a favourite with the international 'über-rich' and is often referred to by its nickname of "Billionaires' Row". The 66-house street and the parallel Winnington Road display a variety of architectural styles. Many of the houses, including the Toprak Mansion, are influenced by designs of Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, as well as traditional English country houses. Average property prices on the avenue surpassed £1 million in the late 1980s and each property occupies a 2-3 acre plot. In 2006, the smallest houses in the street were selling for £5 million while a larger house, Turkish tycoon Halis Toprak's 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) Toprak Mansion, sold amidst great secrecy to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, for £50 million in January 2008, making it one of the most expensive houses in the world, as listed by Forbes magazine. Homes on the street are on the market for up to £65 million.
Together with Winnington Road and Ingram Avenue, it is named after Arthur Winnington-Ingram, who as Bishop of London owned much of the surrounding area following a land grant in 704. Most of the land was sold privately in the early 20th century, and today only one house on the road is owned by the Church (46, The Bishops Avenue) and a nearby residential home.
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