Welcome to the newsletter of Clerkenwell & Islington Guides, walks and events for April, and to start, some information about some free walks that are taking place this coming Wednesday, the 5th of April: The following walks take place during April, with some running into May: Burnings, Butchery & Black Death: London’s Bloody Past Travel … Read More
. One of the great things about walking around in Islington is the opportunity to come across unexpected hidden streets and some interesting architectureSuch is the case with Compton Terrace. Nestling alongside busy Upper Street (A1) is an interesting street featuring the splendid Union Chapel, Georgian-era terraced houses and some delightful community gardens. To get … Read More
The New River, as any Islington guide will tell you, is neither new, nor a river. The man-made waterway was dug in the early 17th century to bring fresh water from rural Hertfordshire into London. It has inspired many over centuries including, in 2015, John Bourdeaux who founded a brewery on its banks. Having enjoyed … Read More
The Peabody Trust bought the site of former Holloway Prison from the Ministry of Justice in March 2019 and are committed to delivering 985 new homes, including 60% affordable housing. Their aim is to create a place that the whole community is proud of with new homes, community facilities, open space, and a Women’s Building. … Read More
Welcome to the March edition of the Clerkenwell & Islington Guides newsletter. As hopefully the weather starts to improve and the days become longer, there are plenty of walks available to explore Clerkenwell and Islington, and this months edition brings a range of guided walks throughout March and April, starting with a tour of St. … Read More
Lieutenant-Commander Roy S. Kerridge: A British ‘Death or Glory Boy’? Or member of the ‘suicide squad’? Both terms were commonly ascribed to the Bomb Disposal Officers who regularly ran headlong into mortal danger in their attempts to defuse the many types of German bombs raining down over London during what became known as the Blitz. … Read More
Sally Stevens drops in on some of the hostelries that remind us of the presence of Clerkenwell’s hidden river. The Fleet River, the largest of London’s hidden rivers, may have disappeared underground but at street level there is evidence of its earlier use as a clean water source for brewing and gin making at the … Read More
It is unknown whether William Shakespeare ever passed through Holloway in his lifetime, but his literary presence was felt strongly in the area in 1976, when the St. George’s Theatre was opened at the junction of Tufnell Park Road and Carleton Road. The theatre was housed in the former St. George’s Church, designed by George … Read More
Welcome to the February 2023 issue of the Clerkenwell and Islington Guides newsletter of walks and events for the coming months. There are a bumper number of walks this month, so hopefully there are some that will be of interest as the days slowly get longer. Islington Health and History Walks Islington Guided Walks and … Read More
It’s February now and all Londoners know what that means, the circus is coming to town. Perhaps that concept has been lost in the last hundred years but it was often the case that February was the month in which the circuses started to perform in the Capital. In this blog post we remember a … Read More