Postal code | N1 |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°32′37″N0°06′02″W / 51.543575°N 0.100492°W |
Construction | |
Construction start | 1805 |
Completion | by 1830 |
Canonbury Square is a garden square in Canonbury, North London. It is bounded by terraces of mostly Georgian houses, many of which are listed buildings. The central public gardens contain attractive flower beds and several London plane trees of great age. The Evening Standard newspaper described it in 1956 as “London’s most beautiful square”. Many significant figures from the arts and literary worlds have lived in the square, including George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh, Samuel Phelps, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell.
Henry Leroux of Stoke Newington started building the north-west range of the square in 1805, on land owned by the Marquess of Northampton. In 1812, when few properties had been built, the New North Road turnpike, now known as Canonbury Road, was constructed and bisected the square, creating east and west sides. [1] The new road interfered with the quiet of the rudimentary square, affecting the economics of the venture and subsequently the unity of design of the buildings surrounding it and the time taken to complete construction. The layout is rectangular with a large villa, Northampton Lodge, in the centre of the terraces on the north side. The earliest terrace differs from the rest, and none of the sides join with each other. [2] The east side bears a name-plaque at no. 28 which originally bore the name "Marquis Terrace", but it is now blank. [3]
Like other parts of Islington, from the 1860s the area began to decline, largely because of the exodus along the railways to newer, more rural suburbs. By the end of the Second World War parts of the square had become derelict. Nos. 37-39 in the north-east section of the square were demolished, and the space created was filled with a terrace of five new houses of complementary design. From the 1960s, the square was rediscovered by middle-class families, the houses were renovated, and it became newly fashionable.
The central garden was formed in the 1840s. The 4th Marquess of Northampton opened his private square-gardens to the public in 1884, the first land-owner to do so, and in 1888 he donated the land to the Islington Council. The original railings were removed during the Second World War and replaced by chicken-wire netting, but in the 1950s the gardens were redesigned and enclosed with new reproduction railings. [3]
Canonbury Square appears in The Flesh is Weak (1957), [16] and The Salvage Gang (Children's Film Foundation, 1958). [17]
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough which forms part of Inner London. Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, which simultaneously abolished the metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury.
Canonbury is a residential area of Islington in the London Borough of Islington, North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road.
Islington is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road, and Southgate Road to the east.
Marquess of Northampton is a title that has been created twice, firstly in the Peerage of England (1547), then secondly in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1812). The current holder of this title is Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton.
Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive terraces of Georgian houses and Victorian villas, many of which are listed buildings. 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, end.
The London Borough of Islington 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, is Highbury Fields.
Lonsdale Square is a garden square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by unusual Tudor Gothic Revival terraced houses, with picturesque gables and Elizabethan-style windows, and is probably unique among squares. All the houses are listed buildings. The central public garden contains flower beds and mature trees.
Critical Essays (1946) is a collection of wartime pieces by George Orwell. It covers a variety of topics in English literature, and also includes some pioneering studies of popular culture. It was acclaimed by critics, and Orwell himself thought it one of his most important books.
Ethel Eleanor Mary Cosh, FSA was a British freelance journalist and local historian who was known for her works on the history of Islington, London. Her book, A History of Islington (2005), was the first full-length history of the area since the mid-nineteenth century. She also wrote two historical works relating to Scotland. Cosh died in December 2019 at the age of 100.
Canonbury House is the name given to several buildings in the Canonbury area of Islington, North London which once formed the manor house of Canonbury, erected for the Canons of St Bartholomew's Priory between 1509 and 1532. The remains today consist of Canonbury Tower and several buildings from the 1790s, some of which incorporate parts of the late 16th-century manor house. Today, the Tower and the other buildings, including a 1790s building today also named "Canonbury House", are arranged around the road named Canonbury Place.
Richard Horatio Blair is a British trustee and patron who is the only (adopted) son of English author George Orwell.
John Spencer Square is a neo-Georgian residential garden square in the heart of the Canonbury conservation area in Islington, London, England.
Barnsbury Square is a garden square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by Victorian villas and Regency and Victorian terraces, several of which are listed buildings. The central public gardens contain flower beds and mature trees.
Gibson Square is a garden square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by Regency and Victorian terraced houses, most of which are listed buildings. The central public gardens contain flower beds and mature trees, and an unusual building resembling a classical temple.
Milner Square is a garden square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by early Victorian terraced houses, which are all listed buildings. Historic England describes it as "important for the radical logic of its design, of a type rarely seen outside Scotland and the North, and unlike anything in London."
Thornhill Square together with the adjacent Thornhill Crescent form a garden square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by Victorian terraced houses, all of which are listed buildings. The central public gardens contain flower beds, mature trees, and a children's play area, and the Crescent gardens surround the Victorian Church of St Andrew.
Cloudesley Square is a square in the Barnsbury district of Islington, North London. It is bounded by Georgian terraced houses, all of which are listed buildings. The central area is occupied by the Gothic Revival former Holy Trinity Church, designed by Charles Barry.
Arundel Square is a garden square in Barnsbury, North London. It is bounded on three sides by terraces of Victorian houses, and on the fourth with modern flats. The central public gardens contain mature trees, attractive flower beds and playground equipment.
Wilmington Square is a garden square in Clerkenwell, Central London. It is bounded by Regency and Victorian terraces, most of which are listed buildings. The central public gardens contain flower beds and mature trees, a pavilion or shelter, and a water fountain.