North west Bishop's Avenue What is it about The Bishop's Avenue that has über-wealthy buyers clambering to own a piece of it? It's even the address of choice for the 4th richest person in the world. Lakshmi Mittal, the oil tycoon, who boasts this distinguished ranking on Forbes Rich List (March, 2008), may have recently chosen to sell his stately pile, Summer Palace, but there are plenty more itching to spend part of their large fortune on this tree-lined kilometre of North London. Since being built in 1896 it's always attracted the very prosperous but not particularly aristocratic - they're happier to lap up the social cachet of Belgravia or Kensington rather than straddle the border between the desirable Hampstead and the less desirable-but-quite-nice East Finchley. The first of these tycoons to settle in the 1890s included George Sainsbury and William Lyle of Tate & Lyle. And in recent times international buyers looking for a home in the UK have fallen for its suburban charm including, no less, the Sultan of Brunei and the Saudi royal family. The road hit headlines in January when Kazakh billionairess Horelma Peramam defied the present credit crunch by snapping up her new abode for the whopping sum of £50 million, breaking records for being the most expensive new-build in Britain. Plans afoot include a £30 million makeover that will include a beauty salon, spa, 35-seater cinema and the obligatory helipad. With all these fortunes contained in one road it's not surprising that when taking a stroll down the avenue you are confronted with a barrage of 8ft fences. I am even accosted by a policeman who interrupts my journalistic reconnaissance to ask if I have "permission by the residents to take detailed notes and measurements of their property". He looks rather perplexed when I reply that I am in fact appreciating the road's architecture (rather than plotting a heist). His attitude belies a truism as the 'Chavenue' (as the Daily Mail has imaginatively renamed it) is indeed not valued for its architectural merit and has become a byword for questionable taste. Nevertheless there are some architectural gems to be found, especially near its intersection with the dismal Great North Road. Here lies the finest work of the esteemed architect Philip Hepworth. His impressive Gable Lodge was built in 1928 and is in the Cape Dutch style, with big-stepped gables and a distinctive roof with glazed green pantiles. Incidentally this is where the TV's 'The Apprentice', was filmed - a programme that celebrates the kind of plutocracy that The Bishop's Avenue prides itself on. The imposing Grade II listed Eliot House is another Hepworth, built a few years earlier, with its whitewashed brick, swept roofs and sea-green Swedish pantiles. These mansions are a little architecturally flashy and were obviously influenced by the homes of Hollywood stars. Setting the road's lavish tone they were the kind of houses that characterised the Avenue's heyday in the 1930s when its nickname 'Millionaires' Row' was coined - inhabitants such as Gracie Fields gave it the reputation for a rather starry glamour. (Fields, who had lived at 53, had not much cared for her exclusive address and donated her house the Tower to a maternity hospital after her marriage broke down). The road's emulation of Hollywood glitz is convincing enough to still pique the interest of A-listers. A few years ago Tom Cruise reportedly looked into renting what is now Ms Peramam's new home. A walk down the road will reveal the numerous planning notices pinned to every lamppost. Often, if approved, the resulting super-mansions are architecturally incongruous created in a hotchpotch style where pseudo-Classical features meet Post-Modern. It has become something of a North London pastime for folk to drive by and mock these architectural monstrosities. But in doing so they have missed the fact that this quest for opulence is in keeping with the road's architectural history. The original Edwardian houses at the Kenwood end of the road, including Leo Baeck House and East Weald, also catered for the 'nouveau riche' owners desire to display their wealth, applying 'classical' details to the Arts and Craft nature of the buildings. The Grade II listed East Weald, built for William Lyle of Tate & Lyle in 1910, is typical of this applied grandeur with its ornate arched entrance added onto a traditional Arts and Craft look. Then there is Kenstead Hall, opposite, that was built in 1936 and looks like a Hollywood version of a Tudor House. This is an example of the road's love affair with building grandiose designs in the pastiche style. The Avenue has little time for modesty. So though the street does not possess the esprit de corps of say Hampstead Garden Suburb round the corner- residents are far too busy sharing time between their piles across the globe to be neighbourly - there is still something very special about this unapologetically wealthy enclave. It's hard not to admire the pluck of these residents who defy the taste-setters and create their own version of an ideal home.