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Asmuns Place was the first of the culs-de-sac which are the special feature of Hampstead Garden Suburb and have since become taken for granted as a cliché of suburban planning. Unwin felt very strongly that each group of houses should be given its own identity, its own genius loci, and the cul-de-sac made it possible to provide peace and quiet and, in the case of Asmuns Place, a sufficiently large space at the end, enclosed by three groups of three-sided courtyards, to form a satisfactory playground for children. Unwin particularly emphasised in his book the narrowness of the road - a "carriage drive" he called it - which had wide grass verges, since cut back, protected by bollards.
The houses in Asmuns Place start surprisingly with two contrasting roughcast cottages and then continue with uniform terraces in brown stock brick, relieved by dressings in tile, particularly the tiles-on-edge round the archways leading through to the back gardens. The courtyards at the end group delightfully, although the original tree planting has been thinned out and needs replenishing. A footpath connects through to Finchley Road - Unwin was careful to provide these pedestrian connections, so that those living at the end of a cul-de-sac should not feel cut off. Two pretty 'garden houses' for the children were originally designed.
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