Liverpool Road
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Liverpool Road is a street in
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 covers a distance of between
Islington High Street 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 High Street to Highbury Fields and Regent's Canal, ...
and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to
Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pe ...
through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive terraces of Georgian houses and Victorian villas, many 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 ...
. There are a number of pubs, small businesses and restaurants along its route, as well as some secluded garden squares. The vast majority of the street is residential, with a bustling shopping and business area at the southern,
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 ...
, end.


History

Liverpool Road was formerly named the ''Back Road'', one of a trio of roads with Upper Street and Lower Street (later renamed Essex Road) meeting at the Angel Inn. By the late 16th century the Back Road ran mostly through open country from Holloway Road at a point named Ring Cross to the High Street in Islington village. It bypassed Upper Street and connected with lanes across the western part of the parish. The Back Road was primarily a
drovers' road A drovers' road, drove road, droveway, or simply a drove, is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to marketplace, market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were anci ...
where cattle would be rested before the final leg of their journey to Smithfield Livestock Market. Pens and sheds known as layers or lairs were erected along the road to accommodate the animals. Around 1761, a turnpike tollgate was erected just beyond the Angel Inn at the entrance to Islington village at the end of White Lion Street. It was moved in about 1800 nearer to Liverpool Road, but proving a cause of accidents because of a sharp turn, in 1808 it was moved again to a final position midway between the two sites. In 1766, an Act of Parliament fixed a site for a tollgate at the northern end of Liverpool Road at the junction with Holloway Road. Suburban development began to the south of Holloway Road around the late 1760s with the construction of Paradise Row at the northern end of Liverpool Road. During the period after the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, a rapid rise in population put a premium on building land contiguous to London. Starting in the 1820s, plots in Barnsbury were sold on building leases and a flood of speculative building followed. The developments along Liverpool Road were mostly on fields belonging to different owners, leading to a remarkable number of subsidiary names, including: * Bride, Anns, Barford, Manchester, Park, Barnsbury, Barnsbury Park, King Edward, Wellington, Strahan, Cloudesley, Elizabeth, Felix, Liverpool and Paradise Terraces *Felix, Seymour, Morgans, Park, Chapel and Trinidad Places; Park Place West *Albion, Felix, Oldfield and Lowther Cottages *Barnsbury and Albion Villas *Paradise and Mount Rows * Nowells Buildings The Back Road became known as Liverpool Road in 1826, taking its name from the
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
Prime Minister
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister ...
, known for his repressive measures to maintain order after the
Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Eighteen people died and 400–700 were injured when the cavalry of the Yeomen charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who ...
of 1819. The name change was formalised in 1868 when the
Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...
decided that "the Liverpool Road be so called from the Upper Street to Holloway Road and the houses re-numbered alternately". Many of the subsidiary names continued to be used for years afterwards. The house building developments were originally planned for the "comfortably off", wanting to move from congested central London to the more rural suburb of Islington. However, from the 1850s the new railways tempted suburban dwellers to more distant and still countrified areas. Barnsbury was gradually abandoned by the prosperous, and its houses turned into tenements and flats with absentee landlords. The 1860s saw an influx of clerks, schoolmasters, printers, jewellers, milliners, dressmakers, servants and bricklayers. Censuses show house occupancy changing from single households with a servant, to multiple household occupancy, although Charles Booth's poverty map of c.1890 still shows most Liverpool Road households as "Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings". In the first half of the 20th century the street, as with much of Islington and its population, became impoverished. Liverpool Road suffered damage from high explosives 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 ...
, including: *Nos. 309/311/313 Liverpool Road took a direct hit during a bombing raid on the night of 19 October 1940 and were completely destroyed. The present Wynn Court was later built on the site. *St Mary Magdalene school and the surrounding area were destroyed by a bomb on 7/8 October 1940. *Granary Square 1940/41 *London Fever Hospital *On 6 December 1944 a
V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...
landed close to Liverpool Road at the junction of Mackenzie and Chalfont Roads, on the site of the present Paradise Park. The Prince of Wales pub was devastated, killing 68 and injuring 99 people, in the worst V-2 attack on Islington. After the Second World War much housing in Islington was chronically neglected and damaged, and was taken into local authority ownership. Many older properties were demolished and replaced with
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
, including in Liverpool Road. Starting about 1960 middle class and professional householders began returning to Islington, to houses which were once elegant but now, more often than not, were endowed with Victorian plumbing hardly suited for modern living. Journalists, architects, lawyers, accountants, teachers and designers were attracted by the style and size of the Regency and Victorian houses and squares and the opportunity to acquire large, characterful properties at prices they could afford, with easy access to the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
,
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
and the West End. Consequently, house values soon soared, a trend which has continued to the present. Liverpool Road today houses a diverse community of different ethnicities and varying levels of income, occupying a mixture of houses and flats, which are owned or rented, both privately and as
social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
.


Famous residents

No. 379 Liverpool Road was the residence of Robert Seymour, known for his
caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
and for his illustrations for ''
The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...
'' by
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
. In 1836 he had several disagreements with Dickens over the illustrations for ''Pickwick'', and may also have been depressed about his finances and career. In the early hours of 20 April, he walked out into the summer-house in the garden behind his home (then named 16 Park Place West) and wrote a farewell to his "Best and dearest of wives", blaming only his "own weakness and infirmity". He set up his fowling piece (shotgun) with a string on its trigger, and shot himself dead. A commemorative plaque at no. 60 Liverpool Road marks a top floor studio where
Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...
, English
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
,
gay rights activist A list of notable LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT org ...
and
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
lived between 1967 and 1969. It was here he worked on artwork and costumes for Sadler’s Wells Opera’s production of
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
in 1968. No. 533 Liverpool Road displays a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
unveiled by the Huguenot Society in 2017, commemorating the British artist Peter Paillou, best known for his paintings of birds. The terrace was built in 1766 as Paradise Row, and Paillou lived in the house between 1776 and 1780. Other residents have included: * Jenny Logan (1942- ), actress, most familiar as the '' Shake n' Vac'' lady, lived at no. 323 * Anton Rodgers (1933-2007), actor, lived at no. 323 * Jane Tryphoena Stephens (1812?-1896), actress, kept a tobacconist’s shop at no. 39 before taking to the stage in 1840 * Laurence Edmondson (1986-present), Formula 1 Journalist, owns a flat, which he uses when not travelling with the F1 grand prix circuit.


Places of interest


Pubs

Liverpool Road is supplied with several
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s, formerly to refresh cattle drovers and visitors to the Royal Agricultural Hall, more recently for local residents, including: * The Pied Bull (no. 1; 1797, now closed) * The Islington Town House, originally the Agricultural Hotel (no. 13; 1865) * The Angelic (named after the 1985 film '' The Angelic Conversation'' directed by
Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...
who lived opposite in the 1960s), originally the George (no. 57; 1817) * The Pig and Butcher, originally the White Horse Hotel (no. 80; 1827) * The Regent, originally the Prince Regent (no. 201; 1823) * The Foxglove, originally the Windsor Castle (nos. 209–211; 1856, rebuilt 1937) * The Rainbow (no. 200; 1833, rebuilt 1879, now closed) * King’s Arms (no. 264; 1793, now closed) * The Adelaide Arms (no. 385; 1839, now closed) * Gallagher's, originally the Albion (no. 412; 1856, now demolished) * The Duchess of Kent, originally the Fox and Fiddle (no. 441; 1843) * Adam and Eve (no. 475; 1805, now closed) * The Victoria Tavern (junction with 203 Holloway Road; 1841)


Chapel Market and Angel Central

At its southern,
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 ...
end, Liverpool Road parts from Islington High Street at the former Pied Bull pub. Moving northwards, the street passes Chapel Market, Angel Central shopping centre, and other shops and supermarkets until reaching Tolpuddle Street. From there onwards, the remaining 90% of the length of the street is primarily residential, with a few small businesses.


Royal Agricultural Hall

The Royal Agricultural Hall (originally named the Agricultural Hall) was the primary exhibition site for London until 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 ...
and the largest building of its kind, holding up to 50,000 people. It was built in 1862 by the Smithfield Club on the site of William Dixon's cattle lairs, at a cost of £32,000. The construction was inspired by
the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
, which had been designed for the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
of 1851. The original purpose of the Agricultural Hall and its location were related specifically to its proximity to Smithfield, the great livestock market, and took advantage of Liverpool Road’s function as a cattle route. The hall was 75 ft high and the arched glass roof spanned 125 ft. It was built for the first annual Smithfield Show in December 1862 but was subsequently popular for other purposes, including recitals and the
Royal Tournament The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall, before moving to Olympia London and latterly the Ea ...
. The most glamorous event to take place was the Grand Ball held for the Belgian Volunteer regiments during their visit to England in July 1867. Other events at the "Aggie" included military tournaments, walking matches, missionary exhibitions, musical recitals, dairy shows, balls, mule and donkey shows, revivalist meetings, circuses, dog shows, motorcycle and cycle shows, trade fairs, and in 1870 a bullfight. In 1884 the prefix "Royal" was added because of the number of visits by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and members of the Royal Family. In 1943, after the nearby Mount Pleasant sorting office was bombed, the building was requisitioned for use during
World War II 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 ...
and never re-opened to the public. It continued as a sorting office until 1971, then lay empty and deteriorating until eventually the main hall was redeveloped as the Business Design Centre in the 1980s.'Islington: Social and cultural activities', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 45–51
Retrieved 8 March 2007
The remainder of the building was demolished and the main entrance moved from Liverpool Road to the Upper Street side. The Royal Agricultural Hall features as the location for a Victorian walking match in
Peter Lovesey Peter Harmer Lovesey (10 September 1936 – 10 April 2025), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of Historical mystery, historical and Detective fiction, contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known ser ...
's 1970 novel '' Wobble to Death'', and its
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
's Saturday Night Theatre adaptation. Liverpool Road is unusual in being one of the few streets in London to have a "high pavement". This was constructed in the 1860s to protect pedestrians from being splashed by the large numbers of animals using the road to reach the then-new Agricultural Hall. As a consequence, the pavement is approximately above the road surface for some lengths of the street.


London Fever Hospital

Old Royal Free Place and Old Royal Free Square were originally the
London Fever Hospital The London Fever Hospital was a voluntary hospital financed from public donations in Liverpool Road in Islington, London. It was one of the first fever hospitals in the country. History Originally established with 15 beds in 1802 in Gray's Inn R ...
, and then from 1948 an annexe to the Royal Free Hospital. The London Fever Hospital moved to Kettle Field on Liverpool Road in 1848 from its earlier premises at King's Cross when the site was needed as part of the site for the Great Northern Railway terminus at King's Cross Station. Despite much local opposition, Liverpool Road was believed to be a much better position for a fever hospital because it was on the top of a gravel ridge, high and well drained, and thought likely to be free of the miasma, or bad air, held to cause disease. The architect for the new hospital was Charles Fowler, who received the commission due to the influence of the
Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...
. The circumstances caused some controversy: a competition had been held to choose a design, and one by David Mocatta had been formally decided upon by the committee, but it was set aside and Fowler was brought in to carry out the work. Fowler designed the red-brick, colonnaded façade in
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
style, with two wings. The front façade consisted of the front elevation with three blocks linked by single-storey colonnades very much as seen today. The central block and colonnades were intended to house offices, stores and the committee room. The Victorians used this design to disguise the wards of typhoid and scarlet fever patients, who were admitted from 1849. Behind were two flanking blocks which were occupied by 'superior class wards', incorporating the latest ideas of the time for healthy nursing. In 1862 Charles Dickens described the hospital as "not only the single hospital of its kind in London but probably the best hospital of its kind in Europe". The hospital suffered bomb damage during World War II, became part of the Royal Free in 1948, and eventually closed in 1975. From 1990 the surviving buildings were converted to residential use.


Holy Trinity Church

Islington is known for its large (about 30) number of
garden square A garden square is a type of communal garden in an urban area wholly or substantially surrounded by buildings; commonly, it continues to be applied to public and private parks formed after such a garden becomes accessible to the public at large. ...
s, and Liverpool Road’s route is near to several, including Cloudesley, Gibson, Milner, Lonsdale, Barnsbury, and
Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...
Squares. The squares mostly date to the early 19th century when they were included in building plans as an attractive and fashionable amenity to justify charging higher rents from wealthier occupants of the surrounding houses. Cloudesley Square is accessed between nos. 141 and 143 Liverpool Road, from where Holy Trinity Church is visible. Cloudesley Square was the earliest Barnsbury square to be built, in 1826–9. The centre is occupied by Holy Trinity Church, which was designed by the young
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 ...
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 copying King’s College Chapel,
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 ...
. A handsome painted window commemorates Richard Cloudesley who died in 1517 and bequeathed to the parish the piece of ground called the "Stony Field" (hence nearby Stonefield Street) upon which the church is built, asking that thirty requiem masses a year should be said for the repose of his soul forever. He 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, Marshalsea prisons and the mad inmates of Bedlam, gowns valued at 6s 8d each for the poor and a number of bequests. These are still administered by the Cloudesley charity. The church was declared redundant in the 1960s 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. 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.


Islington workhouse

Islington workhouse was formerly located off Liverpool Road. A
workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...
had been operating at nearby locations since 1729, until the first purpose-built building was constructed in 1777 in spacious grounds off the passage then known as "Cut Throat Lane", now the west range of Barnsbury Street, at the junction with Liverpool Road. It ceased to be a workhouse in 1872 and the buildings were demolished and a new block erected at the south-east of the site as the district relieving offices, labour bureau and smallpox vaccination centre. No. 281 Liverpool Road, the curious asymmetrical turreted building of 1872 at the corner, was used until 1969 as the Registrar’s Office for Births, Deaths and Marriages. All the surviving buildings have now been converted to residential use. The original Liverpool Road route passed along the present Lonsdale Place, off Barnsbury Street. Topographer Samuel Lewis wrote in 1842 that "the course of iverpoolroad, which once passed in a direct line from the south to the front of the workhouse, and thence turned, easterly, to the top of Barnesbury-street, was changed into its present route in 1796; and by this alteration two dangerous angles, the cause of frequent accidents, were removed".


College Cross

Between nos. 220 and 222 Liverpool Road, a short road leads into College Cross. Here the Church Missionary College stood from 1825 to 1915 on the site of the present
Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...
Dwellings. The college was built by the
Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...
on the site of a large 18th century botanic garden.


Thomas Cubitt houses

Nos. 230-254 Liverpool Road, part of the former Manchester Terrace (c.1827) and backing on to College Cross, is one of the few developments in this area known to be by
Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...
, with segmental arched windows.


Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings and Laycock Green

The Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings and adjacent Laycock Green (formerly the site of the Liverpool Buildings) are on the former Laycock Farm. "Laycock’s Farm & Cattle Lairs" started as early as 1720. Charles Laycock, Jnr. who died in 1777 was "one of the greatest goose-feeders and wholesale poulterers in the kingdom". Richard Laycock, who died in 1834 was the proprietor of one of the largest dairies in the country and one of the richest dairy-farmers of his day. Over 500 acres were farmed around Liverpool Road and Upper Street, stretching south as far as what is now Islington Park Street, formerly known as Kettle Lane. Cattle being driven to Smithfield would often feed and rest overnight in the cattle lairs which remained until the 1890s in the street named after him. His lairs were covered, and hence more profitable than many others along Liverpool Road. In 1882 the Improved Industrial Dwellings Co. Ltd. built four sets of model dwellings, Liverpool Buildings, on part of the farm site at the western end of Highbury Station Road. These had been demolished by 1990, and the land was landscaped as a public park named Laycock Green. Samuel Lewis was a wealthy
financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...
and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, who left an endowment of £670,000 for the purpose of establishing a charity to provide housing for the poor. The Samuel Lewis Trust was set up in 1901 and the Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings at Liverpool Road was the first of eight London housing projects. The estate of 323 dwellings opened on 4 April 1910 and was built by Wallis and Sons Ltd at a cost of £101,000. The buildings were designed by C S Joseph and Smithem and consist of five rows of blocks with trees between them, including notable pollarded planes, and small island gardens set in paved areas.
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
described the estate as "the best illustration in Islington of the tremendous improvement in standards of planning and humane appearance that became apparent in the best working class housing around 1900". The units each had a coal bunker, and there was a bath underneath a wooden top in the kitchens. In 2001, the Trust celebrated its centenary year and changed its name to Southern Housing Group.


St Mary Magdalene Church and Gardens

St Mary Magdalene Church is situated in gardens between Liverpool Road and Holloway Road. It was built in 1814 to a design by William Wickings as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
to the parish church of St. Mary's farther south on Upper Street. The site chosen had space for both the church and a churchyard and burial ground. However, its final cost, £32,636, was so high that a committee of investigation was appointed, which found that much of it was wasted thanks to an absence of a specific contract. Its design drew little praise. It became a parish church in its own right in 1894, and is now part of the parish of Hope Church Islington. The actress Jane Russell attended a couple of services at the church in November 1954, while she was filming '' Gentlemen Marry Brunettes''. The church gardens are the church's old burial ground. As the land approached the end of its useful life as a burial plot at the end of the 19th century, an Act of Parliament was passed to allow the transition from remembrance gardens into a public park. Many of the tombs and headstones were removed, the land enlarged and formal rose gardens added.


St Mary Magdalene Academy

A welcome benefit of the building of St Mary Magdalene Church was a new parochial school, built at the rear alongside what became Liverpool Road, opening in 1815 on half an acre of land and catering for 400 children. It ran on the Madras System (hence the nearby Madras Place), reducing costs by using the abler pupils as "helpers" to the teacher, passing on the information they had learned to other students. On 7th/8 October 1940, a bomb destroyed the school and the surrounding area. A new building was opened in 1954, as a voluntary aided Church of England primary school, junior mixed and infants. The building was rebuilt in 2007, and the school became St Mary Magdalene Academy, with a primary school and a secondary school including sixth form.


Ring Cross

Liverpool Road ends at Holloway Road, at the junction formerly known as Ring Cross. Historian John Nelson wrote in 1811: "The wide part of the highway where the Back Road terminates has been timeout of mind called RING CROSS, probably from a cross standing here antecedent to the Reformation". A
gibbet Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet () was also used as a method of public ex ...
is alleged to have been in this area where criminals were publicly exhibited in chains, and may have been executed by hanging.


Transport

Liverpool Road crosses the railway lines which form part of
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
's
Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in South London, and in the east, via the West End of London, West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run comp ...
and Great Northern's Northern City Line, as well as
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
's
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and North London lines. The bridge over the railway lines marks the change from the N1 to the N7 postcode. The first
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way in Islington was opened in 1871 by the North Metropolitan Tramways Co. from the Nag's Head, Holloway Road, to the Angel via both Upper Street and Liverpool Road, and on to
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 ...
. It was extended to Archway Tavern and
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 ...
in 1872. Liverpool Road proved to be "probably the least revenue-providing thoroughfare of any length in London through which trams operated", and the service was halted in 1913. There has been no tram or bus service along the road since. In 2003,
traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, car drivers, pedestrians and bicycle-friendly, cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers. It aims to encour ...
measures were introduced along the road to reduce the volume and speed of traffic. After changes in 2019 to the layout of Highbury Corner, there was a substantial increase in vehicles rat running along Liverpool Road and other nearby roads to avoid the disruption caused by the new layout, resulting in significantly increased noise and pollution. Residents are lobbying
Islington Council Islington London Borough Council, also known as Islington Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majo ...
for mitigation measures.


See also

* List of people from Islington *
Islington Museum Islington Museum is a public museum dedicated to the history of the London Borough of Islington. It opened in 2008 and covers various themes on local and social history. History Islington Museum opened in May 2008, funded by a £1million grant f ...
*
Islington Local History Centre Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington. History Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 200 ...
* Business Design Centre *
Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pe ...
*
Islington High Street 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 High Street to Highbury Fields and Regent's Canal, ...
* Barnsbury * Angel, London * The Angel, Islington * Holloway Road


References


Further reading

*


External links


''Charles Booth's London'' website
{{Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool 16th-century establishments in England Transport infrastructure completed in the 16th century Streets in the London Borough of Islington Islington Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool