Islington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Islington (disambiguation).
| Islington | |
  |
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference: | TQ315845 |
| Latitude: | 51.544014674648196° |
| Longitude: | -0.1027271908497831° |
| Administration | |
| London borough: | Islington |
| County level: | Greater London |
| Region: | London |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
| Historic county: | Middlesex (1889) |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
| Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
| Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | LONDON |
| Postal district: | N1 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Islington South and Finsbury, Islington North |
| London Assembly: | North East |
| European Parliament: | London |
| London | List of places in London | |
Islington is an inner-city district in north London. The area usually referred to as Islington is now part of the London Borough of Islington to which it gave its name.
The street that forms the linear centre of Islington is Upper Street, noted for the cluster of antiques shops around Camden Passage.
Contents |
[edit] History
Because of its proximity to the City of London, Islington developed as a fashionable area in the nineteenth century, with large well-built houses. However changes in residential patterns led to a decline in its popularity, and by the mid-twentieth century it was largely run down and a by-word for urban poverty.
According to the The Guardian, Islington "is widely regarded as the spiritual home of Britain's leftwing intelligentsia" [1].
[edit] Meaning of place-name
Islington is not a true '-ington' name, like Paddington. The name means 'Gīsla's hill' from the Old English personal name Gīsla and dun 'hill', 'down'. Records of the name in early sources prove this: Giseldone (1005), Gislandune (1062)
[edit] Gentrification
From the 1980s the district experienced a rapid process of gentrification. A number of the central figures in the New Labour movement lived there, including Tony Blair before his victory in the 1997 general election.
[edit] Monopoly fame
The area is also well-known due to its inclusion in the British version of Monopoly which features The Angel, Islington. However, in the game the Angel is the third cheapest property on the board. 'The Angel, Islington' was included as the licensees considered the names of places they were to use over tea in the Lyon's Corner House, built on the site of the original Angel Inn.
[edit] In literature
Islington features extensively in modern English literature and culture:
- Douglas Adams lived in Islington and used it as a setting in his novels.
- In Neil Gaiman's best selling novel Neverwhere Islington is an angel that lives under London, named after the Angel tube station.
- Holloway Road was the home to the fictional Charles Pooter in the classic 19th Century Novel Diary of a Nobody.
- Martha Grimes' fictional detective, Richard Jury, lives in a flat in Islington.
- Simon Gray's play Otherwise Engaged is set in Islington. It was written in the 1970s.
- Nick Hornby's novels About a Boy, Fever Pitch and A Long Way Down are all largely set in different parts of Islington.
[edit] Notable residents, past and present
- Douglas Adams, writer lived here later renting his house to comedian Angus Deayton.
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, actor was born here.
- Lily Allen, singer and daughter of actor Keith Allen.
- Sir Francis Bacon, philosopher, essayist and King James I's Lord Chancellor lived in Canonbury Tower between 1616 and his death in 1626.
- Tony Blair, together with his wife Cherie Blair, lived in Islington before he became Prime Minister.
- Neve Campbell, actress.
- Dido, singer, was born in Islington and owns a property there.
- Kate Greenaway, children's writer and book illustrator, lived on Upper Street for 20 years before moving to Holloway.
- Edmund Halley, Astronomer Royal and discoverer of Halley's Comet lived in Islington (exact location unknown) from 1665.
- Charlie G. Hawkins, actor of Darren Miller in EastEnders.
- William Hogarth, artist, was born in Bartholomew Close in 1697 and spent his early years in Islington.
- Nick Hornby lives in Highbury and set books such as High Fidelity and About a Boy in Islington. Hornby moved to Highbury partially due to his intense fandom for Arsenal; his first literary success, Fever Pitch, is about Islington's most famous institution.
- Charles Lamb, writer, lived in Chapel Street from 1796 and later in Colebrook Row.
- V.I. Lenin lived at 30 Holford Square from 1902 and later at 16, Percy Circus.
- Sheree Murphy, actress was born here.
- George Orwell lived in Canonbury Square between the wars, and based the depressing setting of 1984 on his run-down surroundings.
- Sir Walter Raleigh, writer, poet, courtier and explorer lived in Upper Street between 1575 and 1581.
- Simon Rattle, conductor, has a residence in Lonsdale Square.
- Charlie Watts, drummer of The Rolling Stones, was born and raised in Islington.
- Evelyn Waugh, writer, also lived in Canonbury Square from 1928.
- Samuel West, actor.
- Matthew Marland, conservative MP for the constituency of Islington, Earl of Suffolk
[edit] Education
[edit] Universities
Islington is home to two universities;
- City University at Northampton Square, formerly the Northampton Institute, founded in 1894.
- London Metropolitan University on Holloway Road, formerly the University of North London and founded in 1896 as the Northern Polytechnic Institute.
[edit] Secondary Schools
Central Foundation Boys School
Highbury Grove School
Highbury Fields School
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Girls School
Mount Carmel RC Technology College for Girls
[edit] See also
- Almeida Theatre
- Arsenal Football club
- Business Design Centre
- Crafts Council
- Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
- Sadler's Wells Theatre
