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Whitecross Street: from Priss and a prison to street food and street art
The Islington street with one foot in the City of London has many fascinating guises. Whitecross Street Whenever I find myself on...

London On The Ground
Oct 57 min read


Nina Bawden: writer for adults and children, inspired by her own experiences
The Islington resident once tried to recruit Margaret Thatcher to the Labour Party . The plaque outside Nina Bawden's former home An...

London On The Ground
Aug 25 min read


What the Dickens? In Islington? Not on your Nelly!
When Ellen ‘Nelly’ Ternan first met Charles Dickens, she lived in Islington. What was his interest in her? Dickens’ 13 year relationship...

London On The Ground
Jan 256 min read


A cow, an arrow and a Dame: Alice Owen’s 400 year legacy
Her legacy in Islington, the City of London and Hertfordshire has lasted more than four centuries and includes one of the country’s...

London On The Ground
Jan 126 min read


Charles Barry in Islington
The Parliament architect honed his Gothic Revival design skills on four Islington churches. Architect Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) is...

London On The Ground
Dec 14, 20246 min read


The Royal Agricultural Hall and Christmas past
Islington's Business Design Centre has a history of festive family fairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Business Design...

London On The Ground
Nov 23, 20245 min read


The Islington pub with a carved fireplace more than 400 years old
The Old Queen's Head, Victorian on the outside and Tudor inside. The popular North London watering hole on Essex Road appears to be like...

London On The Ground
Sep 23, 20244 min read


Islington Cattle Market: lost secret of Essex Road
The challenger to Smithfield closed in 1837 after less than a year. A couple of years ago, at one of the excellent exhibitions at the...

London On The Ground
Jul 21, 20246 min read


Walking in Geoffrey Fletcher's London: Islington and the City
See some of the London that the artist and writer feared was disappearing in the 1960s and 1970s. Welsh Dairy, Carter Lane by Geoffrey...

London On The Ground
Jun 3, 20244 min read


Angel Wings sculpture: not just for Christmas
Angel Wings is a year-round 'Christmas decoration' on an epic scale, a play on the Angel Islington's name and link to the Nativity story.

London On The Ground
Nov 24, 20233 min read


The Almeida, Islington's world renowned local theatre, has a colourful history
Once a Victorian self-education institute, Salvation Army barracks and a novelties store, it's now one of London's best loved theatres....

London On The Ground
Sep 1, 20234 min read


Caledonian Park Clock Tower: one of London's best viewing points
Tours of the little known Islington clock tower offer fabulous views. It may not be one of London's better known attractions, but it is...

London On The Ground
Jun 23, 20234 min read


Lonsdale Square, a Barnsbury beauty of Gothic Tudor
A one-off 19th century square in the Barnsbury area of Islington. Praised as "a unique, intense and immaculately composed piece of...

London On The Ground
Apr 28, 20233 min read


Islington's transformed transformer, based on Newgate Prison
Originally an electricity sub-station, the Islington landmark has been an antiques mall and home to several retailers. The building...

London On The Ground
Feb 17, 20233 min read


See London from the steeple of St Mary's Islington
Compare the view today with how it appeared in 1789. St Mary's Church on Upper Street in Islington is offering a rare opportunity to tour...

London On The Ground
Sep 22, 20222 min read
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