Cloudesley Square is a

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

in the

Barnsbury Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, within the N1 and N7 postal districts. History The name is a syncopated form of ''Bernersbury'' (1274), being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval ...

district of

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. It is bounded by Georgian

terraced houses A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

, all of which are

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. The central area is occupied by the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

former Holy Trinity Church, designed by

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...

History

Celestial Church of Christ - photo taken from west side of Church with rainbow in 2013

Richard Cloudesley, the owner of the Cloudesley estate in Barnsbury from the early 16th century, died in 1517. He seems to have feared posthumous difficulties, as contemporary sources at the time of his death describe him as being in a distressed state of mind, his body "restless, on the score of some sinne by him peradventure committed". A "wondrous commotion" and "tremblements ''de terre''" in the earth near his burial place at

St Mary's Church, Islington The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the historic parish church of Islington, in the Church of England Diocese of London. The present parish is a compact area centered on Upper Street between Angel and Highbury Corner, bounded to the west by Live ...

were ended only after an exorcism "at dede of night, nothing lothe, using divers divine exercises at torche light, set at rest the unrulie spirit of the sayde Cloudesley, and the earthe did returne aneare to its pristine shape". This was later related in an anonymous penny pamphlet of 1842 entitled ''The Islington Ghost!''. Cloudesley bequeathed of land called the “Stony Fields” to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of St Mary's, asking that yearly forever a solemn

obit An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

(a mass for the dead) should be said for the repose of his soul. He also bequeathed in his will an allowance of straw for the prisoners of

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in t ...

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

prisons and the mad inmates of Bedlam, grants valued at 6s 8d each year for the poor, gowns for the poor, road repairs, and a number of other bequests. These are still administered by the Cloudesley Charity. The land survived the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

unconfiscated, and was used as meadow or pasture for the next three centuries, often for overnight grazing for cattle being herded to

Smithfield Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly Wards of the City of London, ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City in ...

. In 1809 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 ...

considered it as an alternative site for Smithfield, and the estate was valued then at nearly £23,000. The proposal did not proceed, and the market eventually removed to Copenhagen Fields in 1855. By 1811, the land had become more valuable as a site for housing during the building boom which was starting in Islington, and a

private Act Proposed Bill (proposed law), bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. A private bill is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...

of that year enabled the trustees to grant 99-year building leases. Topographer Samuel Lewis wrote in 1842 that “the greatest spur to building in the neighbourhood asgiven by the letting of the Stonefield estate on building leases in the year 1824” (although building actually started with Cloudesley Terrace on

Liverpool Road Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive Terraced ho ...

in 1818). Subsequent construction on the long, narrow Stony Field site (also known as the Stonefield Estate or Cloudesley Estate) created Cloudesley Square, Cloudesley Road, Cloudesley Street, and Stonefield Street, with a mixture of

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

and

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

houses intended for single family occupation by middle class and professional residents, and tradesmen and skilled craftsmen. Cloudesley Square was the earliest Barnsbury square to be built, in 1826–29, on a building lease taken by Pentonville carpenter John Emmett, father of architect John Thomas Emmett. Charles Booth’s

poverty map A poverty map is a map which provides a detailed description of the spatial distribution of poverty and inequality within a country. It combines individual and household (micro) survey data and population (macro) census data with the objective o ...

of c.1890 shows Cloudesley Square households as "Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings". By 1895 the Cloudesley Charity's income from the estate consisted of ground rents from around 240 houses on leases which would fall in between 1899 and 1916. As with much of Islington at this time, houses built for single families became multi-occupation, with rooms rented cheaply. Barnsbury had become a crowded working-class neighbourhood. "The estate" it was said in 1937, "must now be considered as one which comprises tenement houses". Most of the estate consisting the ground rents of 71 houses and 2 shops was auctioned in 1937. Maintenance costs still exceeded rents, and in the 1970s the trustees sold off several long leaseholds, although by 1980 the Charity still owned property in Cloudesley Square, Cloudesley Road, and Cloudesley Street, including two blocks of mansion flats. With the return of middle class and professional residents from the 1960s, many of the houses are now owner-occupied and house values have soared. The Cloudesley Charity still owns around 100 property units on the estate.

Description

The square forms an irregular hexagon, combining terraces with canted corners, and free-standing villas on the east side. Stables were planned for the villas on their north and south sides, but not built. The terraced houses have three floors and basements and balconies. It is not clear if the original ground plan included a church in the square, but the central space is rather small and the original intention may have been to leave it as a private garden for residents. South of the square on Cloudesley Street is a

former parish infant school, completed in 1830.

Church of Holy Trinity

The centre of the square is occupied by Holy Trinity Church, which was designed by the young

, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

(also known as the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

). The church is one of three in Islington designed by Barry, commissioned by the Church Building Commissioners, the others being St John's, Holloway, and St Paul's, Ball's Pond Road. It was designed in the newly fashionable

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

style and recognisably copies

King’s College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was buil ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in brick. The building cost £11,535, seated 2,000, and was consecrated in March 1829 by the Bishop of London. The church was thoroughly repaired inside and out in 1867, and restored in 1902. It had two assistant curates in 1859, three in 1896, and none in 1926. Attendances were recorded as 1851: 1,830 a.m.; 951 evg.; 1903: 360 a.m.; 476 p.m. It was declared redundant in 1978 and remained empty until 1980 when it was leased by a Nigerian

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

community, the

Celestial Church of Christ The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a Pentecostal church in the Aladura movement, which was founded by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It has spread from West Africa to countries in Europe, such as Belgium, Franc ...

. Possession was returned to the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

in 2018, for restoration and re-opening as a community resource to be known as the Cloudesley Centre. The tower-less Holy Trinity's most distinctive feature is the large West window, balanced by two octagonal towerlets. The stained glass East window of 1828 by

Thomas Willement Thomas Willement (18 July 1786 – 10 March 1871) was an English stained glass artist and writer, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865. Life Willement was born at St Marylebone, London, the son of Thomas Wi ...

depicts Richard Cloudesley, with his portrait, kneeling, in the centre, below a canopy, with a long description of his donation. The church is surrounded by a strip of garden, largely grass, a few notable trees, a path around the church, and a few shrubs by the door to the west side. The railings, which had been removed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, were restored in 1980. A

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

surmounted by a

Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

, located in nearby Thornhill Road Gardens, is dedicated to those from Holy Trinity Church who lost their lives during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the "Lads of Barnsbury".

Notable residents

* John Thomas Emmett (1823-1898), architect, lived at no. 1 in the 1850s * Thomas Edwards (1779-1858), compiler of the English-Welsh dictionary in 1850, died at no. 10 in 1858 * George Linnaeus Banks (1821-1881), writer and social reformer, and his wife

Isabella Banks Isabella Banks (; 25 March 1821 – 4 May 1897), also known as Mrs G. Linnaeus Banks, was an English novelist and poet. Born in Manchester, England, Banks is most widely remembered today for her book '' The Manchester Man'', published in 18 ...

(1821-1897), novelist and poet, lived at no. 33 in 1864

In literature

The children's book
The Cats of Cloudesley Square
' (2017) by Tony and David Burke involves a group of cats who challenge a property developer to save the church they live in.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Charles Booth's London'' website

The Cloudesley Association

The Cloudesley Centre (Holy Trinity Church, Cloudesley Square)

Cloudesley Charity

''The Cats of Cloudesley Square''

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

listed building entries:
1 Cloudesley Square

2-6 Cloudesley Square

7-17 Cloudesley Square

18-28 Cloudesley Square

29-33 Cloudesley Square

34 Cloudesley Square

Former Church of Holy Trinity
Squares in the London Borough of Islington Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Islington