Welcome to the first newsletter from Clerkenwell & Islington Guides for 2024. Walks planned by our guides for the coming weeks include:
EVOLVING ISLINGTON
Discover how Islington developed from a rural settlement and centre for dairy farming into the diverse, bustling area it is today.
In 1086 the Domesday Book reported that Islington contained just 27 households. Today its quarter-of-a-million residents live in an area that boasts world-class cultural venues but also less green space than any other London borough.
The story of how Islington developed over the centuries provides many tales of social, cultural and political history. The walk takes in many of central Islington’s most fascinating sites – some well-known and others even locals may not be familiar with.
You’ll see a Tudor house that’s been in the same family since the 16th century, the first church bombed in World War II and some of the pioneering homes built in the early 20th century as Islington’s population boomed. You’ll also find out how the world-famous Union Chapel got its name and why you should never graffiti in a library book…
The tour lasts about 2 hours. It starts at Highbury & Islington station (we’ll meet at the round benches near the station) and ends in Islington Square off Upper Street, a 10-minute walk from the Angel.
The walk takes place on Friday January the 12th and can be booked here.
GHOSTSIGNS OF ISLINGTON: BYGONE BRANDS AND BUSINESSES
Remnants of bygone advertising, for bygone brands and businesses, are still visible today, clinging to the walls above our busy streets. These old signs are now commonly referred to as ‘ghostsigns’ and most of the ones we’ll look at on this walk will be the hand-painted variety, as per the example I’ve created for this header image which is an adaptation of one of the signs you’ll see on the tour.
This hand-crafted and labour-intensive form of advertising might seem strange to us today, with our large-format printing, lightboxes and interactive screens, but 100 years ago hand-painted signs like this were commonplace; the buildings that bore them barely visible beneath a patchwork of signage for branded products, well-known shops and local tradesmen.
On this walking tour you will see many surviving signs and at each stop you’ll hear fascinating and intriguing stories about the businesses, people or products behind the ads; from vets to vegans, rubber to metal and cars to chemists. I will also point out other types of non-painted ‘ghostsigns’ along the way.
This walk takes places on Sunday the 28th of January and can be booked here.
‘BEATING THE BOUNDS’ OF ISLINGTON FROM THE REGENT’S CANAL TO OLD ST
This boundary walk between Islington and Hackney boroughs weaves around the areas either side of the Regent’s Canal, City Rd Basin and City Rd. There’s a wealth of interest in the old boroughs of Finsbury and Shoreditch, and the edge of the City in Moorfields. A varied mix of City Livery Company history, ironworks, canal basins, WWII devastation, the lost hospitals quarter, a natural swimming pool and a mediaeval well.
This is one of a series of walks exploring the borders of today’s Islington Borough (with Hackney and Camden), looking at how this has evolved over the centuries due to a mix of changing land ownership, parish church catchments, significance of early settlements and roads, and natural features such as springs and ponds.
This walk takes place on the 3rd of February and can be booked here.
‘BEATING THE BOUNDS’ FROM KING’S CROSS TO FARRINGDON
This walk traces today’s border between Islington and Camden winding either side of the now buried River Fleet. Along the way, we’ll see varied architecture from pretty Georgian and Victorian terraces to old burial grounds, narrow passages that were once slums and restored industrial buildings; see if we can spot historic boundary markers; meet mediaeval monks, Tudor and Victorian philanthropists, a dynasty of 19C architects and builders; and hear of lost wells and pleasure gardens.
This is one of a series of walks exploring the borders of today’s Islington Borough (with Hackney and Camden), looking at how this has evolved over the centuries due to a mix of changing land ownership, parish church catchments, significance of early settlements and roads, and natural features such as springs and ponds.
This walk takes place on the 10th of February and can be booked here.
‘BEATING THE BOUNDS’ AROUND MILDMAY, CANONBURY, DALSTON AND DE BEAUVOIR
This walk between Islington and Hackney boroughs follows the lines of Balls Pond Road and Southgate Road, including a stroll through pretty De Beauvoir Town. There’s a wealth of interest on either side of the border, including a leper hospital, almshouses, inns of pleasure and ill repute, 19C residential roads, market gardens, a livestock market, vanished churches, factories and a manor house.
This is one of a series of walks exploring the borders of today’s Islington Borough (with Hackney and Camden), looking at how this has evolved over the centuries due to a mix of changing land ownership, parish church catchments, significance of early settlements and roads, and natural features such as springs and ponds.
This walk takes place on the 11th of February and can be booked here.
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