Welcome to our September newsletter of walks and events.
This September, Clerkenwell & Islington Guides will again be participating in Local London Guiding Day – a day of free walks organised by guiding organisations across London:
Details of the Clerkenwell and Islington walk are as follows:
You can just turn up on the day, and for details of times, and if you would like to book, then check the following Eventbrite link:
We look forward to seeing you on the day.
As well as Local London Guiding Day, our guides also have a comprehensive range of walks during the coming month, starting with:
Canonbury Tower Tour
Canonbury Tower was built in the late 16th century and is a rare survivor of Tudor domestic architecture in London. The Tower was added onto a manor house built in the early 1500s as the country retreat of the Canons of St Bartholomew’s Priory in Smithfield.
On this 90-minute tour you’ll see the existing Tudor interiors and hear about the many notable characters associated with the building. Over the centuries these have included Thomas Cromwell of Wolf Hall fame, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, Francis Bacon and the writers Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow) and Oliver Goldsmith (The Vicar of Wakefield). You’ll also have the chance to climb up to the rooftop which affords wonderful views over London in all directions.
Canonbury Tower is owned by the Marquess of Northampton and has been in the same family since the 16th century. All visitors are guests of the seventh Marquess, Spencer Compton.
This walk takes place on the 12th of September and also on the 24th of September. Both dates can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canonbury-tower-tour-tickets-475150296327
Unusual Islington – a walking tour
Discover the hidden gems that make this corner of London so unique
Join qualified local guide Nigel Smith for a captivating and surprising journey through the charming streets of Islington.
This two-hour walking tour is designed to unveil the area’s rich and often overlooked history, showcasing the intriguing stories and quirky details that make this corner of London so unique.
Just a stone’s throw from bustling Upper Street we’ll delve into the hidden alleyways, secret gardens and architectural oddities that even locals might miss. You’ll uncover tales of radical politicians, ghostly goings-on and the philanthropists whose generosity more than 600 years ago is still enjoyed today. Strolling through serene squares and peaceful backstreets you’ll discover that Islington is a lot more unusual than you might think…
This tour is perfect for anyone curious about London’s lesser-known stories, whether you’re a longtime resident or a first-time visitor. Prepare to be surprised, entertained, and enlightened as we uncover the unusual and captivating history of Islington.
The tour lasts approximately two hours, starts outside Angel Station and ends at Islington Town Hall on Upper Street.
This walk takes place on the 24th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unusual-islington-a-walking-tour-tickets-1307784742369?aff=oddtdtcreator
Eclectic Clerkenwell
Monks, nuns, courthouses, rookeries, radicals, distillers, pubs, crafts, trades and architecture!
“…a great tour… Immensely enjoyable and packed with fascinating details”
On this circular walk from/to Farringdon Station, now one of the best connected stations in all of London, you will:
• Learn about Clerkenwell’s Norman and medieval monastic heritage.
• Discover Clerkenwell’s tradition for radicalism, dissent and protest.
• Understand its growth from rural monastic quarter to the first area to be swallowed up by creeping urbanisation.
• Hear about Clerkenwell’s history as a centre for makers of clocks, watches, jewellery and furniture; for brewers and distillers; and for crime and vice.
• See the sites of the historic court houses of the lost county of Middlesex.
• Admire architecture from the 16th to the 21st centuries in this attractive village-like area.
• Have a rare opportunity to see the Clerk’s Well that gave the area its name.
“Thanks for a great walk.”
“a very enjoyable walk with Jonathan around Clerkenwell”
“enjoyed the informative dialogue and the hidden places visited”
The walk lasts approximately two hours. Please be prepared for all weather conditions!
Start: Farringdon Station forecourt (opposite Castle pub, Cowcross Street/Turnmill Street)
Finish: Farringdon Station
This walk takes place on the 27th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.londonontheground.com/service-page/clerkenwell-london-s-first-suburb?referral=service_list_widget
Regent’s Canal, a walking tour of its industrial past & sustainable future
On this linear walk along the Regent’s Canal from Angel Station, led by qualified Clerkenwell & Islington guide and conservation architect Minerva, you will:
• Discover how Victorian industrial wasteland became London’s most desirable waterside living – and what this transformation cost some communities
• Learn why adaptive reuse of old buildings is the ultimate climate action – and which developers are getting sustainable regeneration right
• Compare two contrasting estate regenerations: Packington’s success story vs Colville’s cautionary tale of poor workmanship and displaced tenants
• Understand how the canal that once moved coal now moves gentrification – spotting genuine community benefit vs expensive window dressing
• Explore mixed-use developments and warehouse conversions that either honor or erase the area’s working-class heritage
” This tour was an incredible experience! The walk, combined with Minerva’s explanations, helped me rediscover the canal’s rich history and evolution. The tour highlights some of the key buildings along the canal, but it’s presented in a way that’s engaging and accessible, even for those who aren’t architecture enthusiasts. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to explore and learn more about this fascinating part of the city!”
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The walk lasts approximately 2 and a half hours along canal towpaths (with a 10 minute comfort break if the group requires it). Please wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing as there is no shelter along the route. Bring a water bottle.
This walk takes place on the 27th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regents-canal-a-walking-tour-of-its-industrial-past-sustainable-future-tickets-1577725973859?aff=oddtdtcreator
Islington’s Big Screens – a cinematic walking tour
Join guide Nigel Smith for a walking tour through more than 100 years of cinema-going in Islington, taking in cinemas past and present.
A stroll through more than 100 years of Islington cinema-going; all between Angel and Essex Road stations. We’ll encounter Victorian showmen, architectural wonders and tales of bad behaviour in the stalls. Come to discover hidden gems and hear what a night ‘at the flicks’ was like decades before multiplexes.
In addition to such landmarks as the Screen on the Green, you’ll see some buildings that were once cinemas as well as a few intriguing places where all trace of their cinematic past has vanished.
The walk lasts about 2 hours, starts at Angel station and ends near Essex Road station.
This walk takes place on the 28th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/islingtons-big-screens-a-cinematic-walking-tour-tickets-399413154497?aff=oddtdtcreator
Art Deco Arsenal
Sport and transport, movies and moving.
Join Jane to admire and find out about a cross-section of 1930’s buildings, collectively known as Art Deco. See how the innovative styles of that era still endure today.
You’ll see stadium and cinema architecture whilst hearing about design, typography and geometric embellishments,. There will be a chance to experience some impressive interiors.
We’ll also look at other well-proportioned inter-war innovations in the form of residential and business properties, as well as a renovation scheme that was never completed.
The tour starts near Arsenal station and lasts just under two hours, ending a stone’s throw from Finsbury Park station.
For more info on this specific walk please use on the website link at the bottom or see janeslondonwalks on Eventbrite
This walk takes place on the 28th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1634835038609?aff=oddtdtcreator
Regent’s Canal Regenerated
Join Jen for a Sunday afternoon stroll along and around the Islington section of Regent’s Canal. Follow the history of the canal from its hey-day in the nineteenth century, through its decline in the 1960s to its subsequent re-invention as a place for people to live, work and play
This walk takes place on the 28th of September and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regents-canal-regenerated-tickets-1622404227719?aff=oddtdtcreator
Union Chapel Guided Tour
The Union Chapel has towered over Upper Street in Islington since the 1870s and today thrives as an award-winning venue, homelessness project and a working radical church.
On the tour, led by an expert Islington Guided Walks guide, you’ll see this architectural gem up close and discover the building’s fascinating history.
The Grade I listed Victorian Gothic Chapel is one of the largest Nonconformist churches in London. It houses an important Father Henry Willis organ that is one of few left in the UK with an original hydraulic blowing system, stunning stained glass windows and a distinctive octagonal interior built for acoustics and visibility.
Take a tour and learn more about Islington’s heritage, the Chapel’s triumphant survival after a wartime bomb, and the fascinating story of its near demolition in the 1980s, at a time when Victorian architecture was only just being appreciated.
This walk takes place on the 1st of October and can be booked at the following link: https://unionchapel.gigantic.com/union-chapel-guided-tour-tickets
Former Carlton Cinema, Essex Road – guided building tour
Take a rare look inside Islington’s glorious Grade II* listed 1930s Egyptian cinema.
When the Carlton Cinema on Essex Road opened in 1930 it was advertised as ‘North London’s most palatial cine-variety theatre’ with 2,500 seats and an in-house orchestra.
After the cinema closed in 1972 the building was converted into a bingo club which continued for almost 35 years until the last numbers were called in March 2007. Since 2015 it’s been home to Gracepoint church.
The unique, Egyptian-inspired building was designed by legendary cinema architect George Coles and much of the stunning original interior is still visible today.
On this special tour cinema historian Nigel Smith will take you back to the cinema’s glory days in the 1930s and 40s when going to the ‘flicks’ was a national pastime and Saturday morning clubs saw hundreds of kids flock to the pictures every weekend.
The tour will last approximately 90 minutes and you’ll see inside the auditorium, lobby and former café area. £5 from each ticket sale will go towards the building restoration fund.
This walk takes place on the 3rd of October, where there are two time slots available. Details and booking at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/former-carlton-cinema-essex-road-guided-building-tour-tickets-1377317316169
Art Deco Holloway
On this guided walk, Jane will show you some marvellous ‘statement’ architecture constructed in the interwar years during a design period that came to be identified as ‘Art Deco’.
The modernist architecture of the 1920s and 1930s with its clean geometric lines, simplicity, functionality and minimal decorative enhancement was designed to impress and inspire – a kind of “understated showing-off” pointing to a positive bright future – a complete change from the fussiness and over-embellishments of the Victorian and Edwardian eras – Holloway has some excellent and varied examples all hiding in plain view.
For more info on this specific walk please use on the website link at the bottom or see janeslondonwalks on Eventbrite
This walk takes place on the 7th of October and can be booked at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1646233090489?aff=oddtdtcreator
Our next newsletter will be on the 5th of October, and until then, we look forward to seeing you at one or more of the above events.
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