London Borough of Islington
Encyclopedia
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...

 in Inner London
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central...

. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

 of Islington
Metropolitan Borough of Islington
The Metropolitan Borough of Islington was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury to form the London Borough of Islington.-Boundaries:...

 and Finsbury
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.- Boundaries :...

. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North
Islington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Islington North is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election...

 and Islington South & Finsbury. The local authority is Islington Council
Islington London Borough Council
Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Islington is divided into 16 wards, each electing three councillors...

.

Etymology

Islington was originally named by the Saxons Giseldone (1005), then Gislandune (1062). The name means 'Gīsla's hill' from the Old English personal name
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...

 Gīsla and dun 'hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

', 'down'. The name then later mutated to Isledon, which remained in use well into the 17th century when the modern form arose. In medieval times, Islington was just one of many small manors in the area, along with Bernersbury, Neweton Berewe or Hey-bury, and Canonesbury (Barnsbury, Highbury and Canonbury - names first recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries). "Islington" came to be applied as the name for the parish covering these villages, and was the name chosen for the Metropolitan Borough of Islington
Metropolitan Borough of Islington
The Metropolitan Borough of Islington was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury to form the London Borough of Islington.-Boundaries:...

, on its formation in 1899. On the merger with Finsbury, to form the modern borough this name came to be applied to the whole borough.

Districts of Islington

The borough includes the areas:
  • Angel
    The Angel, Islington
    Angel is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

  • Archway
  • Barnsbury
    Barnsbury
    Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, in the N1 postal districts.The name is a corruption of villa de Iseldon Berners , being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman...

  • Canonbury
    Canonbury
    Canonbury is a residential district in the London Borough of Islington in the north of London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road....

  • Clerkenwell
    Clerkenwell
    Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...

  • Farringdon
  • Finsbury
    Finsbury
    Finsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...

  • Finsbury Park
    Finsbury Park, London
    Finsbury Park is an area in north London, England which grew up around an important railway interchange at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney...

  • Highbury
    Highbury
    - Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...

  • Highgate
    Highgate
    Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....

  • Holloway
    Holloway, London
    Holloway is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Islington located north of Charing Cross and follows for the most part, the line of the Holloway Road . At the centre of Holloway is the Nag's Head area...

  • Islington
    Islington
    Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

  • Kings Cross
    Kings Cross, London
    King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...

  • Lower Holloway
    Lower Holloway
    Lower Holloway is a district in the London Borough of Islington, London. The name has fallen out of common use and the area is now generally regarded as being a part of Holloway. The area of Lower Holloway stretches from the South of Holloway Road to the Central side of Holloway, Nags Head. It is...

  • Mildmay
    Mildmay
    Mildmay may refer to:Places*Mildmay, a settlement in Islington, Greater London and Mildmay Park railway station, therein.*Mildmay, Ontario and its hockey team, the Mildmay MonarchsPeople*Sir Anthony Mildmay, d.1617*Sir Henry Mildmay MP...

  • Nag's Head
    Nag's Head, London
    Nag's Head, Holloway is a locality within the Holloway district in the London Borough of Islington. It was originally named after the Nag's Head public house on the Holloway Road . The pub was once renamed the "Mustang Diner". It changed to "O'Neills" when it was bought by a pub chain of that name...

  • Newington Green
    Newington Green
    Newington Green is an open space in north London which straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, the southern section of Stoke Newington with Green Lanes-Matthias Road...

  • Old Street
    Old Street
    Old Street is a street in east London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, to the crossroads where it intersects with Shoreditch High Street , Kingsland Road and Hackney Road in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.The nearest...

  • Pentonville
    Pentonville
    Pentonville is an area of north-central London in the London Borough of Islington, centred on the Pentonville Road. The area is named after Henry Penton, who developed a number of streets in the 1770s in what was open countryside adjacent to the New Road...

  • St Luke's
    St Luke's
    St Luke's is an area in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London near the Barbican and Shoreditch. It takes its name from the church of St Luke's, on Old Street west of the tube station. The area extends north of the church to City Road and south to Finsbury Square and...

  • Tufnell Park
    Tufnell Park
    Tufnell Park is an area of north London, England which straddles the border of the London Borough of Islington and the London Borough of Camden.-Origins:...

  • Upper Holloway
    Upper Holloway
    Upper Holloway is a district in the London Borough of Islington, London, centred around the A1 Holloway Road.-Overview:The name has fallen out of common use and the area is generally regarded as being a part of Archway or Holloway. The use of 'Upper Holloway' is most often used for Upper Holloway...


Wards

  • Barnsbury
  • Bunhill
  • Caledonian
  • Canonbury
  • East Canonbury
  • Newington Green
  • Clerkenwell
  • Finsbury Park
  • Highbury East
  • Highbury West
  • Hillrise
  • Holloway
    Holloway (ward)
    Holloway Ward is one of sixteen electoral divisions of the London Borough of Islington, is one of the eight making up the Islington South Parliamentary constituency, fifty five making up the North East London Assembly constituency, six hundred and twenty four making up the London European...

  • Junction
  • Mildmay
  • Saint Georges
  • Saint Marys
  • Saint Peters
  • Tollington
    Tollington (ward)
    Tollington Ward is one of sixteen electoral divisions of the London Borough of Islington and is one of the eight that make up the Islington North constituency....


Government and infrastructure

The Civil Aviation Authority has its head office in the CAA House in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

, London Borough of Islington.

Islington Council
Islington London Borough Council
Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Islington is divided into 16 wards, each electing three councillors...

 is the borough's local authority. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital. Islington is divided into 16 wards, each electing three councillors. Following the May 2010 election
Islington Council election, 2010
The 2010 Islington Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Islington London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party gained overall control of the council from no overall control....

, Islington Council comprises 35 Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 councillors and 13 Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 councillors. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Council and Islington Metropolitan Borough Council.

Transport

Islington has a wide variety of transportation services, with direct connections to the suburbs and the City and West End. Islington also has over 8 tube stations with connections by the tube to all around London.

London Underground

There are many Underground stations in the borough:
  • Angel
    Angel tube station
    Angel tube station is a London Underground station in The Angel, Islington. It is on the Bank branch of the Northern Line, between Old Street and King's Cross St. Pancras stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. The tube stop serves as a portal to several Off West End, or fringe theatre, venues,...

  • Archway
    Archway tube station
    Archway tube station is a London Underground station in north London, underneath the Archway Tower, at the intersection of Holloway Road, Highgate Hill and Junction Road in the area known as Archway....

  • Arsenal
    Arsenal tube station
    Arsenal tube station is a London Underground station located in Highbury, London. It is on the Piccadilly Line, in Travelcard Zone 2, between Holloway Road and Finsbury Park. Originally known as Gillespie Road, it was renamed in 1932 after Arsenal Football Club, who at the time played at the nearby...

  • Caledonian Road
    Caledonian Road tube station
    Caledonian Road is a station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground, between King's Cross St. Pancras and Holloway Road, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It was opened on 15 December 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway....

  • Finsbury Park
    Finsbury Park station
    Finsbury Park Station is a busy transport interchange in North London. The interchange consists of an interconnected National Rail station, London Underground station and two bus stations. The main entrances are by the eastern bus station on Station Place...

  • Highbury and Islington
  • Holloway Road
    Holloway Road tube station
    Holloway Road is a station on the London Underground. It is on the Piccadilly Line between Caledonian Road and Arsenal stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station opened on 15 December 1906....

  • King's Cross St. Pancras
    King's Cross St. Pancras tube station
    King's Cross St. Pancras is a tube station in the London Borough of Camden, on the London Underground network, serving both King's Cross and main line stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. It is the fourth busiest station on the system and serves more lines than any other...

  • Old Street
    Old Street station
    Old Street station is a central London National Rail and London Underground station located at the junction of Old Street and City Road just north of the City of London. It lies close to the border between the boroughs of Islington and Hackney...

  • Tufnell Park
    Tufnell Park tube station
    Tufnell Park tube station is a London Underground station in Islington close to its boundary with Camden . It is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, between Archway and Kentish Town, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It has distinctive Edwardian red tiling and has two lifts between the street...


These stations principally serve the Northern
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...

, Piccadilly
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...

 and Victoria
Victoria Line
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...

 lines. King's Cross St. Pancras station is also served by the Circle
Circle Line
The Circle line, coloured yellow on the tube map, is the eighth busiest line on the London Underground. It forms a loop line around the centre of London on the north side of the River Thames with, since 13 December 2009, an extension to Hammersmith on its north-western side.-History:The route now...

, Hammersmith & City
Hammersmith & City Line
The Hammersmith & City line is a subsurface London Underground line. It connects Hammersmith in the west with Barking in the east, running through the northern part of central London. It is coloured salmon pink on the Tube map...

 and Metropolitan
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...

 lines.

Railway stations

There are also several railway stations in the borough. They are as follows:
  • Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
    Caledonian Road & Barnsbury railway station
    Caledonian Road & Barnsbury railway station in the London Borough of Islington in North London is on the North London Line and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground. The station opened in 1870 as "Barnsbury" replacing the 1852 Caledonian...

  • Highbury and Islington
  • Canonbury
    Canonbury railway station
    Canonbury railway station serves the district of Canonbury within the London Borough of Islington in north London. It is on London Overground's North London Line and East London Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground, and the station is in Travelcard Zone 2...

  • Upper Holloway
    Upper Holloway railway station
    Upper Holloway railway station is in Holloway, North London, near Archway . It is on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, between and . It is operated by London Overground, and the service is usually one train every 20 to 30 minutes in each direction...

  • Crouch Hill
    Crouch Hill railway station
    Crouch Hill railway station is a railway station on Crouch Hill between Stroud Green and Crouch End, North London. It is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line between Upper Holloway and Harringay Green Lanes....

  • Drayton Park
    Drayton Park railway station
    Drayton Park railway station is on the Network Rail Northern City Line which carries First Capital Connect services between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City or Hertford via Finsbury Park...

  • Essex Road
  • Finsbury Park
    Finsbury Park station
    Finsbury Park Station is a busy transport interchange in North London. The interchange consists of an interconnected National Rail station, London Underground station and two bus stations. The main entrances are by the eastern bus station on Station Place...

  • Old Street
    Old Street station
    Old Street station is a central London National Rail and London Underground station located at the junction of Old Street and City Road just north of the City of London. It lies close to the border between the boroughs of Islington and Hackney...


Major public and private bodies in Islington

There are two prisons in Islington, a men's prison, HM Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...

 Pentonville
Pentonville (HM Prison)
HM Prison Pentonville is a Category B/C men's prison, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not actually within Pentonville itself, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington, in inner-North London,...

 and a women's prison HMP Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...

, which in the early 20th century was used to hold many suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...

s. Some of the notable former inmates of Pentonville prison have been as follows.
  • Hawley Harvey Crippen
    Hawley Harvey Crippen
    Hawley Harvey Crippen , usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopathic physician hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, on November 23, 1910, for the murder of his wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen...

     (Dr Crippen) was hanged
    Hanging
    Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

     in the prison in 1910 after being found guilty of murdering his wife.)
  • Frederick Seddon
    Frederick Seddon
    Frederick Henry Seddon was a British poisoner who was hanged in 1912 for murdering Eliza Mary Barrow.-Background:...

     the poison
    Poison
    In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

    er, who was hanged in the prison in 1912.
  • John Christie
    John Christie (murderer)
    John Reginald Halliday Christie , born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was a notorious English serial killer active in the 1940s and '50s. He murdered at least eight females – including his wife Ethel – by strangling them in his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London...

     who was hanged in the prison in 1953 after having been convicted of murdering his wife.
  • Charles Peace
    Charles Peace
    Charles Frederick Peace was a notorious English burglar and murderer from Sheffield, whose somewhat remarkable life later spawned dozens of romanticised novels and films...

    , notorious burglar and murderer.
  • Timothy Evans
    Timothy Evans
    Timothy John Evans was a Welshman accused of murdering his wife and daughter at their residence in Notting Hill, London in November 1949. In January 1950 Evans was tried and convicted of the murder of his daughter, and he was sentenced to death by hanging...

    , wrongfully accused co-tenant of John Christie.
  • Neville Heath
    Neville Heath
    Neville George Clevely Heath was an English killer who was responsible for the murders of at least two young women. He was executed in London in 1946.-Early career:Heath was born in Essex, England...

     who was hanged in the prison in 1946 after having been convicted of murdering two women.
  • Simon Dee
    Simon Dee
    Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd , better known by his stage name Simon Dee, was a British television interviewer and radio disc jockey who hosted a twice-weekly BBC TV chat show, Dee Time in the late 1960s...

    , a radio/television personality, who served 28 days for non-payment of council tax on his former Chelsea home that he had not shared with his first wife since 1971/2
  • Taki Theodoracopulos
    Taki Theodoracopulos
    Taki Theodoracopulos , originally named Panagiotis Theodoracopulos is a Greek/American journalist, socialite, and political commentator.Better known as Taki, diminutive for Panagiotis, he is a Greek-born journalist and writer living in New York City, London and Switzerland...

    , gossip columnist for The Spectator
    The Spectator
    The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

    , who was imprisoned in Pentonville for three months in 1984 on a cocaine possession charge. He wrote a book about the experience titled Nothing to Declare.
  • David Irving
    David Irving
    David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...

    , historian and holocaust denier.
  • John Alford
    John Alford (actor)
    John Alford is a Scottish-born English actor.-Career:Alford attend Anna Scher's stage school from age 11 in London, alongside future EastEnders stars Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer....

     who spent six weeks in Pentonville in 1999 after selling illegal drugs to a reporter.
  • Hugh Cornwell
    Hugh Cornwell
    Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...

     of The Stranglers
    The Stranglers
    The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...

     who served a sentence for drug possession
  • Pete Doherty
    Pete Doherty
    Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...

     of The Libertines
    The Libertines
    The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...

     and Babyshambles
    Babyshambles
    Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...

     who spent four nights in Pentonville in February 2005 while unable to make bail
    Bail
    Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...

     on charges which were later dropped. He subsequently wrote a song about the prison, named "Pentonville", which is on the Babyshambles
    Babyshambles
    Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...

     album Down In Albion
    Down in Albion
    Down in Albion is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band.Down in Albion was released on November 14, 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on October 19, 2005. Produced by Mick Jones, Down in Albion contains a rerecorded version of...

    .
  • Blake Fielder-Civil, husband of Amy Winehouse
    Amy Winehouse
    Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...

    , who was held at Pentonville for grievous bodily harm
    Grievous bodily harm
    Grievous bodily harm is a term of art used in English criminal law which has become synonymous with the offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861....

     and attempting to pervert the course of justice in 2008.
  • Boy George
    Boy George
    Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...

    , in 2009, for the assault and false imprisonment
    False imprisonment
    False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...

     of a male escort.

Cultural attractions and institutions in Islington

  • Almeida Theatre
    Almeida Theatre
    The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...

  • Artillery Ground
    Artillery Ground
    The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...

  • Pleasance
    Pleasance
    The Pleasance is a street in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is largely residential, although the University of Edinburgh owns property in the area.-University of Edinburgh union:...

     Theatre Islington
  • Courtyard Theatre
  • Emirates Stadium
    Emirates Stadium
    Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...

     (and the former Arsenal Stadium
    Arsenal Stadium
    Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...

     at Highbury
    Highbury
    - Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...

    )
  • Islington N1 Centre
  • The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
    Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
    The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is a museum in Canonbury Square in the district of Islington on the northern fringes of central London...

     in Canonbury Square
  • Hen and Chickens Theatre
    Hen and Chickens Theatre
    The Hen and Chickens Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy situated above a pub at Highbury in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre management was awarded to actress Felicity Wren in 1999.-External links:*...

  • Islington Arts Factory, in Parkhurst Road,
  • London Canal Museum
    London Canal Museum
    London Canal Museum in the King's Cross area of London, England, is a regional museum that displays information about the history of London's canals.- History :...

    , located in New Wharf Road, King's Cross
  • Islington Museum
    Islington Museum
    Islington Museum is a public museum dedicated to the history of the London Borough of Islington-History:Islington Museum opened in May 2008, funded by a £1million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The museum, which replaced a previous museum at Islington Town Hall, is owned and operated by...

    , located at Finsbury Library
  • Islington Local History Centre
    Islington Local History Centre
    Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington.-History:Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 2003...

    , located at Finsbury Library
  • The King's Head Theatre
    The King's Head Theatre
    The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...

  • Sadler's Wells Theatre
    Sadler's Wells Theatre
    Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...

  • Technology Mile - wireless access throughout Upper Street and Holloway Road.
  • Union Chapel
    Union Chapel, Islington
    The Union Chapel is a Grade II* listed church and music venue in Islington, North London, England, located on Compton Terrace.An example of Victorian gothic architecture, it was designed by James Cubitt, and constructed between 1874 and 1877, with further additions 1877-90, providing an ambitious...

  • Peter Benenson House, headquarters of Amnesty International
  • Little Angel Theatre
    Little Angel Theatre
    The Little Angel Theatre is a puppet theatre catering for children, families and adults, off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington.The 100 seat theatre, in a former Temperance hall, was opened on 24 November 1961, by founder John Wright...

     a puppet theatre and producer of the Suspense Puppetry Festival of London.
  • VUE Cinema  Located inside the N1 center
  • Odeon Cinema Located on Holloway Road

Farm

Holloway
Holloway, London
Holloway is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Islington located north of Charing Cross and follows for the most part, the line of the Holloway Road . At the centre of Holloway is the Nag's Head area...

 in Islington is home to Freightliners City Farm
Freightliners City Farm
Freightliners City Farm is an urban farm located in Lower Holloway in the London Borough of Islington. It is the only urban farm in the borough, and one of the few open spaces in the area....

 which is one of the many city farms throughout London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The farm, which isn't like an industrial farm, contains a wide range of animals from rabbits to cows to chickens and pigs all free for the public to view.

Demographics

In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 65,721. This rose steadily throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; exceeding 200,000 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....

 increased — reaching nearly 400,000 by the turn of the century; with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.- Boundaries :...

 particularly suffering deprivation, poverty and severe overcrowding. The increase in population peaked before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, falling slowly in the aftermath until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 began an exodus from London towards the new towns
New towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...

 under the Abercrombie Plan for London
Patrick Abercrombie
Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie ) was an English town planner. Educated at Uppingham School, Rutland; brother of Lascelles Abercrombie, poet and literary critic.-Career:...

 (1944). The decline in population reversed in the 1980s, but it remains below its 1971 level.

According to the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 Islington has a population of 175,797. It is 75% White, including 5% White Irish, 6% Black African, 5% Black Caribbean and 2% Bangladeshi. 32% of the borough's residents are owner–occupiers.

Universities

The London Borough of Islington is home to two higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 institutions:—
  • City University, London
    City University, London
    City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....

     at Northampton Square, formerly the Northampton Institute, founded in 1894; and
  • London Metropolitan University
    London Metropolitan University
    London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...

    , North Campus on the Holloway Road, formed from the merger of the University of North London
    University of North London
    The University of North London was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University. The former University of North London premises now form the new university's north campus, situated on...

     and London Guildhall University
    London Guildhall University
    London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form London Metropolitan University...

     in 2002. The University of North London was founded on this site in 1896 as the Northern Polytechnic Institute.

Colleges

The borough also currently contains two colleges of further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...

:—
  • City and Islington College
    City and Islington College
    City and Islington College also known as Candi, is a further education college located in the London Borough of Islington, England with five major sites across Islington. It is a member of the 157 Group of highly successful Further Education colleges in England, of which it's principal Frank...

    ; and
  • Westminster Kingsway College
    Westminster Kingsway College
    Westminster Kingsway College is a further education college in central London with Centres in King's Cross and Victoria . The College has about 14,000 students across all age ranges and provides further, adult and higher education programmes including full-time and part-time vocational,...

     (while major improvement works are carried out at King's Cross).

Schools

The borough currently maintains 47 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, three special schools and five Pupil Referral Units. In 2000, Cambridge Education Associates, a private firm, took over the management of the Islington's state schools from the local education authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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