Cool new homes in Kentish Town: townhouses in one of trendy but gritty area's oldest streets and warehouse flats for sale from £570k

Kentish Town has come a long way since the 1820s when Frankenstein author Mary Shelley dismissed it as an “odious swamp”.

These days the area has a definite spring in its step, with popular music venues, trendy bars and restaurants, a French lycée school, restored listed Victorian baths and swimming pool — and a growing buzz created by the new generation of arty Londoners moving in.

One of the capital’s best contemporary gallery spaces, Zabludowicz Collection, is in NW5, housed in a former Methodist chapel.

The Furlong Collection, a reference to a racetrack in the area in the early 1900s, is a gated scheme of eight houses in cobbled Little Green Street, one of the oldest Georgian terraces in London.

While the modern architecture strikes a discordant note with neighbouring heritage cottages, homes are likely to chime with buyers looking for compact, light-filled, open-plan interiors with underfloor heating and air conditioning. Prices from £1.6 million. Call Hamptons International on 020 3451 1544.

Nearby, the same agent is selling loft-style flats at The Maple Building, a former furniture factory. Prices from £570,000.