About Anthology

Anthology (part of Lifestory) is a property developer involved in the construction, land acquisition, design, development, contracting and marketing of its schemes. It is focused on enhancing neighbourhoods. In addition, it aims to celebrate the people, stories and culture that makes the city such an exciting place to live. Furthermore, Anthology is a HomeViews award-winner. In September 2019 The Times announced them as the highest rated developer on HomeViews.

Anthology developments

There are many Anthology developments on HomeViews. These include Deptford Foundry, Wembley Parade,  Hale Works and Hoxton Press – all of which pair stylish, modern apartments with top London locations.

HomeViews reviewers have sung the praises of the Anthology team. They regularly comment on the quality of their homes and the first-class service they receive…

I realised right away that Hoxton Press was unique and completely different to what I have seen before (I had been flat hunting for a few months before that and had seen a fair bit of what was out there). I also loved the location as it is right on the doorstep of Shoreditch park and the Regent’s canal while only being 20 mins away from the City. The sales and marketing suite people were professional and extremely helpful.” – Jenny K, verified resident at Hoxton Press

I bought off plan over 2 years ago, throughout that time Anthology have been there every step of the way with me. Everyone has been incredibly helpful, nothing is too big or too small that can’t be dealt with or answered. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, special thanks to Georgia for making everything so easy.” – Farrow, verified resident at Deptford Foundry

Anthology reviews

You can read more reviews from Anthology residents by clicking on the properties below. Similarly, do you live in an Anthology London development? Click here to share your experience with the HomeViews community.

Number of Developments

6

Ratings

4.41 Rating

Rating (based on 184 reviews)

Excellent

61.96%

Very Good

30.43%

Average

4.35%

Disappointing

2.17%

Very Poor

1.09%

Developments

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Showing all 6 developments

Anthology reviews

Reviews

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Showing 184 reviews

Anthology should be proud of what they’ve created here….

Buying in London, no matter how deep your pockets is a challenge. There is a lot of choice and many areas with new builds popping up. I’d lived in Stoke Newington for over 15 years and my wife and I wanted to buy something bigger and in an area that was up and coming (better value essentially). I didn’t know the area at all and like many here we actually put a deposit down on a Deptford Foundry apartment three years before we actually moved in.

We must have seen 10 different developments, different areas and price points. Most off-plan so you are essentially judging a new home from a show home, a model and a well trained salesperson. We knew what we were looking for and it wasn’t till we discovered Anthology that we saw something that felt right. The concept of residential, mixed with artist studios (we have a friend here already who is renting studio space with Second Floor Studios), the quality of the build and the whole approach Anthology take is really exceptional. Small things like the way they’ve’ selected furniture for the show flat was in a different league to many other big developers. You could see they cared about the quality of the build and the thought around how this old Metal works site was being reused was obvious.

Communication was flawless during the years between our initial contact, deposit and then the completion process. I must have seen or spoken to 4 or 5 members of the team and all were extremely helpful. There was a slight delay in our building being completed, but this was clearly communicated and I felt if we had any questions, the team at Anthology were quick to answer.

We completed in April 2019 and our move in was effortless. We’re so happy with our new home, the quality and finish is outstanding. Even though the site is still in a construction phase with other buildings being completed, there is already a nice vibe here. The artist studios mean its not the ghost town you get in other new builds. There are frequent private views and I love seeing the work in different studios appear in the windows on my way home. All the staff we’ve met have been great, especially the concierge at Casting House who go out of their way to help.

There is an intuitive online system for reporting any faults or issues in your home and this has proved extremely helpful with swift responses and excellent work on any snagging, which has been minimal.

We love living here already, especially our daily sunsets over the city. The trains are frequent, but the soundproofing of the windows is really good and we’re used to the flow of them already. I know this area is changing, Deptford Market Yard is a good example of that, It feels good to be a part of all that is happening in in this area and we’re looking forward to seeing how Deptford Foundry develops over the coming months and years.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

We have a Waitrose! Although its a quite a trek from the development its right on the river and with a safe place to lock a bike, its easy to get to with mostly traffic free riding along the Thames path. There are some great places to eat and drink on Deptford High Street and among the arches. Transport links area great, I can get into Shoreditch in under 25mins from here.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

There is no food waste recycling here yet, it would be good to look into sorting that.

5
Facilities
5
Design
4
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Our concierge are friendly and reliable however R&R, the site management company are very questionable.

Our concierge are friendly and reliable however R&R, the site management company are very questionable. They take several weeks to do the basic things, such as providing bins and fixing issues around the site. They are also charging us for things that shouldn’t be charged such as the water fountain that is under warranty but adding 12k to our service charge last year alone.

As for Anthology, I would never buy from Anthology again- my main issue being that the tower in the development where my flat is located has creaking walls. The creaking is loud enough to keep you awake at night even at lower wind, this is due lack of screws (a fellow resident had his wall opened and was informed that the noise was due to the lack of screws and metal on metal friction). This is ongoing for the last 8 months, I am unable to sleep and Anthology have done nothing to fix or even provide with a time line of when they will be coming to correct this issue. I have appealed to them as this is impacting my ability to work efficiently as I am a remote worker but most importantly it is impacting my mental health as the stress this issue and many other problems I have had with my flat have fallen on deaf ears (ironically). Considering I live in Cobalt Tower and winter is coming (wind is picking up) you would expect that they would try and take action in correcting this problem, but there is no care for their residents – I have even been told that if the decibels are not over a certain level they will not be looking into fixing the creaking sound.

For the communication I have had so far from Anthology it seems like they are reluctant to fix this as other residents of Cobalt Tower may also want to get the this issue looked at (so far 70% of the residents in Cobalt Tower have complained they have the same loud creaking sound)  and this will come at a cost to them. I have gone as far as speaking to the director who was incredibly rude and did not want to provide a date to when this would be fixed, he did however, tell me that if I was to go public with the issue it would impact the price of our property and it would be our loss and if I am not happy I should go to Premier Guarantee, leaving me feeling trapped and really showing that they will not be looking into fixing this.

I will be posting the creaking recordings I have made on youtube and will add the link to a Google review so that you can understand what we are dealing with!

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

The area is lovely with several places near being developed, therr is a real feel of a community to it. Great links to central London making everything very accessible

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

– Quality of the finishing are poor
– Creaking walls but they will not tell you that at viewing or are willing to provide you with a solution

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They haven’t, it has been ignored and when not ignored they made sure I felt at fault by blaming me saying I caused the damage. Please avoid Anthology, any of their sites this has been an ongoing issue for the last 8 months so just be warned that this is how Anthology operates!

3
Facilities
3
Design
5
Location
1
Value
1
Management
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Dream flat, dream developer

I’m a first time buyer, having bought a flat with the hep to buy scheme in London. As a result the house-buying process was always going to be fraught and anxiety-ridden for me!

Anthology have not only delivered an amazing building but almost more importantly have made the experience as stress-free as it could be. Unlike the many other suppliers involved in the process – brokers, solicitors – they seemed to want me to understand what was going on, and help me feel less at risk.

The staff and managers at Anthology have held my hand throughout. When i reserved my flat, i received a letter and a personal phone call from the MD, which was so encouraging. They helped me understand the financial arrangements, even though it isn’t their job to do so. Georgia has been my main point of contact and has been friendly, responsive and efficient with all the many random questions and requests i have sent her way!

They have a series of digitally-delivered services for managing everything about the flat, which is great and just what you’d expect from a modern service. These services don’t always work! But as they manage everything with real, accessible people too, this has never become much of a problem.

There were a series of issues with my heating on moving in – pretty fundamental in December! This was really disappointing, and it was fortunate I had elsewhere to stay. However – Anthology sprang into action immediately to resolve it, and Georgia communicated with me throughout. They did go the extra mile to try to sort it out, and whilst it was a bad start to the move in they did personally apologised to me. I was satisfied with how it was resolved.

The build quality of the flat was above and beyond what i’d seen in dozens of viewings across London. Fitted appliances of a very high grade. No corners have been cut, which you’d be amazed how often you see that in flats priced upward of £430k. There have been snags on moving in, but these have been quickly resolved.

PS the concierges are an absolute godsend. and they are lovely, polite, helpful people.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Deptford is great – an up and coming area, with its own little ‘scene’. its a bit on the student-y side, but that’s no bad thing. plenty of nice bars and cafes. the saturday market is outstanding. where the flat itself is located is an 8 minute walk to the nearest tube (new cross). it’s close enough to things to do, but still very quiet. can’t barely hear the nearby railway line. transport takes a bit of getting used to, as there’s no direct tube line so its overground, some limited domestic services and buses. Green spaces nearby – hope to enjoy those when the weather is finally nice!

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

This is more of a general tip about moving into an unfurnished home: I wish I knew how much furniture you have to buy to get set up! It’s really hard to feel at home when you have nothing to sit on…and sofas take literal months to arrive! There are a lot of set up costs in buying storage furniture, chairs, tables, stocking the kitchen etc.
Also I really wish that i had been able to double check all the appliances. I just didn’t have time when we did the ‘home demonstration’. As i mentioned the heating and hot water situation sucked. And it took me a while to figure out some of the appliances. But that’s a smaller thing.

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
4
Value
5
Management
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Hassle-free experience; great flat

I was apprehensive about buying off-plan, terrified of all the things that might go wrong buying somewhere that hadn’t yet been built. I’m naturally risk-averse and skeptical, so assumed things wouldn’t be quite as perfect as Anthology’s glossy sales & marketing material suggested.

The reality has completely surpassed expectations, and I’ve found the entirety of the process from contracting to buy (almost 2 years ago) through the after-sales cycle, completion and moving in nothing short of flawless from Anthology’s side. Communication and updates throughout the process were genuinely helpful (pay attention to the timelines telling you what you need to think about and when!); moving in was seamless; and, of course, the flat itself is stunning. The finish/workmanship is perfect – no weird wonky bits or cut corners to be found!

What’s been particularly exceptional for me was the level of support, help and care Anthology have provided throughout. Georgia in particular provided relevant and useful updates/timelines right up to completion and was always on hand to quickly, coherently and comprehensively answer any questions/assist with any issues or concerns. And even after moving in the team continue to be helpful – from Georgia answering whatever questions pop into mind to the welcoming and personable concierges and the cleaner who welcomed me as I moved in (even as I traipsed over his newly mopped floors!).

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Great transport links, being well served by multiple train stations. Trains from New Cross to London Bridge are frequent and not particularly busy (by London standards), even at rush hour. It takes me only 40mins door to door to get to work, which I never thought would be possible for a first time buyer in London.

The area is fine, though local amenities aren’t great (In terms of shops it’s mostly small off-licences in the immediate vicinity. There is a big Sainsbury’s at New Cross Gate, but it’s not that short a walk and closes at 10pm Mon-Sat, with short Sunday hours). Deptford High Street can also feel a bit dead at times. It’s a bit livelier between New Cross and New Cross Gate.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

– Pay attention to the timelines and considerations Anthology send out so you’ve got your ducks in a row when it comes to completion (my mortgage took way longer than I’d planned for)
– Take advantage of the site visits to start planning furniture shopping (if you don’t own anything) so you can be truly settled in your shiny new flat ASAP
– I regret having not gone to the social events Anthology organised to meet neighbours etc. prior to completion

4
Facilities
5
Design
4
Location
4
Value
5
Management
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These reviews are the subjective opinion of a HomeViews member and not of HomeViews

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