56a, Highbury Grove

56A Highbury Grove is a former balloon-making workshop, now used as a garage, built around 1900 for the Spencer brothers. The building is constructed of brick in English bond and has a roof made of corrugated steel. It is a single-storey structure with an open plan layout. The east and west ends are gabled, while the south side features six windows (two of which are blocked) and two doors (both also blocked), all with replacement lintels. The east end has a central flat-arched entrance with a gauged brick head, flanked by two flat-arched windows with gauged brick heads. The north side has six windows, three with cambered-arched heads and three with replacement lintels, as well as two entrances that are now blocked. The west end is partly rendered and has several new openings, including a large works entry added in the late 20th century. The roof is semi-circular, supported by eight iron sickle-girders, with a glazed lantern running most of the length of the building.

Inside, the walls are finished with glazed white and brown brick to the dado, and there are partitions at the west end. The Spencer brothers were notable aeronauts in the late 19th century, recognized for their advancements in parachute and balloon design. In 1900, Stanley Spencer created one of the first hydrogen-filled balloons, or airships, establishing himself as a pioneer alongside figures like Count Von Zeppelin and Santos-Dumont.