The

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

is short of large parks and open spaces, given its status in recent decades as a desirable place of residence. In fact, Islington has the lowest ratio of open space to built-up areas of any London borough. The largest continuous open space in the borough, at 11.75 hectares (29 acres), is Highbury Fields. Islington has access to large open spaces in neighbouring

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

s. The Islington district of

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

is next to the southern end of

, in

Haringey The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay) is a London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three forme ...

. The "Green Route" of the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

tow path provides access to

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

to the west – in Camden; and Victoria Park to the east – in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

. Many other open spaces such as Clissold Park in Hackney are situated on the borders of the borough. Islington also contains many well-kept public squares and greens, such as Canonbury Square and Thornhill Square. Because of the perceived open space deficit, many small

community garden A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plot ...

s grew up in Islington from the 1970s on. Created and maintained by local residents on sites made derelict by

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

and redevelopment, not all have survived, but one notable remaining example, open to the public, is Culpeper Community Garden, near the

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

List of open spaces

* The

Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is an open space originally set aside for archery and later known also as a cricket venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Comp ...

is an open space on the edge of the city. It has belonged to the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

since 1638. While it is not normally open to the public, the ground contains many sports facilities that are used by local schools * Barnard Park, *

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

is a burial ground, adjacent to the Artillery Ground. It contains many dissenter burials, including

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

. It is administered by the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...

. Part contains historic graves; but part is laid to a pleasant and quiet park. * Caledonian Park, - on the site of the former

Caledonian Cattle Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road, London, Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June ...

once the biggest cattle market in North London *

Charterhouse Square Charterhouse Square is a garden square, a pentagonal space, in Farringdon, in the London Borough of Islington, and close to the former Smithfield Meat Market. The square is the largest courtyard or yard associated with the London Charterhouse ...

, , former burial ground converted into a garden square * Claremont Square is a former reservoir that is closed to the public * Compton Terrace Garden, * Crouch Hill Park is located about halfway along the Parkland Walk * Duncan Terrace Gardens & Colebrook Row Gardens, * Elthorne Park, *

Finsbury Square Finsbury Square is a square in Finsbury in central London which includes a six-rink grass bowling green. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the north of the City of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the p ...

, * Fortune Street Park, * Freightliners City Farm is in Lower Holloway. This small urban farm contains a wide range of animals from rabbits to cows to chickens and pigs * Highbury Fields, * Islington Green, * Jewish Burial Ground, *

Joseph Grimaldi Joseph Grimaldi (18 December 1778 – 31 May 1837)Moody, Jane"Grimaldi, Joseph" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 13 February 2012 was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most ...

Park, * King Square Gardens, , is a park in the St Luke's area * Laycock Street Open Space, * Market Road Gardens, . The Copenhagen Tunnel lies directly underneath. * New River Walk including Astey's Row Rock Gardens/Astey's Row Playground, is a linear walk that connects the

and

Canonbury Canonbury is an area in London, forming part of the London Borough of Islington. It is located within the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road in North London. In 1253 land in the area was g ...

along the banks of the New River *

Newington Green Newington Green is an open space in North London 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, Green Lanes and Matthias Road to the north, ...

* Paradise Park, * The Parkland Walk is a linear park along the route of a disused railway line from Finsbury Park to Highgate Woods, a small part of which is in Islington with the rest being in Haringey * Petherton Green is a linear walk along the route of the New River, which was culverted and covered in 1868–70, and an avenue of trees and grass planted down the middle * The

enters the Islington Tunnel, near City Road Lock. A linear walk is marked through the streets and parks above the tunnel * Rosemary Gardens, * Spa Fields, * St Mary's Church Gardens (also known as Islington Parish Church), * St Mary Magdalene Gardens * Thornhill Gardens (also known as Thornhill Road Gardens), * Tufnell Park Playing Fields, * Whittington Park, * Wray Crescent,

Garden squares

* Alwyne Square * Andersons Square * Arlington Square * Arundel Square * Barnsbury Square * Bartholomew Square * Canonbury Square *

* Claremont Square * Cloudesley Square * Edward Square *

* Gibson Square *

Granville Square Granville Square is a prominent tower located at 200 Granville Street in the Financial District of the downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1973, the building stands at 138.4 metres (454 feet) tall. The building and i ...

* King Square * Lloyd Square * Lonsdale Square * Milner Square * Myddelton Square *

Northampton Square Northampton Square, a green town square, is in a corner of Clerkenwell projecting into Finsbury, in Central London. It is between Goswell Road and St John Street (and Spencer and Percival Streets), has a very broad pedestrian walkway on the no ...

* Percy Square * Thornhill Square * Tibberton Square * Union Square, Islington * Vernon Square * Wilmington Square * Wilton Square

Local Nature Reserves

There are three Local Nature Reserves in Islington, Gillespie Park (), Barnsbury Wood (), and the part of the Parkland Walk which is in the borough.

References

External links

Islington Council list

Parks and Gardens list

Culpeper Community Garden

Caledonian Park

Freightliners farm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islington Parks And Open Spaces Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Islington Squares in the London Borough of Islington

List of open spaces

Garden squares

Local Nature Reserves

See also

References

External links