Finsbury Pavement is a short length of street in England connecting Moorgate with City Road in the London Borough of Islington. It forms a part of the London Inner Ring Road (as the A501 road), and before the introduction of the ring of steel around the City of London it formed a major through-route towards London Bridge and south London.
The name was formerly Moor Fields Pavement, being on the west side of the Moorfields, behind the Bethlem Hospital. Its current name derives from lying within the historic manor of Finsbury, the manor forming one of the prebends of St Paul's Cathedral, and becoming the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, in 1900. The area was first drained in 1527, and the existing postern made into a gate in the city wall at Moorgate. [1] In the early 19th century, the southern end of the street was renamed Moorgate, by the City of London – and the name change marked the boundary, but today, due to boundary changes, most of the street is within the City's Coleman Street ward.
By 1761, the Islington turnpike trust built City Road, to meet Finsbury Pavement from the City. The street formed an early terminus for coach traffic from the north, and in 1871, the street became the terminus for tramways running from Islington. [2] In 1891, Finsbury Pavement became the City terminus for the Great Northern & City underground railway serving Finsbury Park, via the Copenhagen Fields tunnel, under Islington. This line was taken over by London Underground in 1913, as a part of the Northern line's Highbury branch, and the terminus extended to Moorgate station. This branch was never integrated with the underground system, and is now operated as the Northern City Line, a suburban service. [3]
In 1825, George Batty and his wife founded Batty & Co, a condiments manufacturer, at Finsbury Pavement. The company later established a large manufacturing plant in Peckham, which became the United Kingdom's first manufacturing base of H. J. Heinz Company in 1905.
As well as Moorgate, the closest mainline railway station is Liverpool Street, a short distance to the east which also has an integrated London Underground station.
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough which forms part of Inner London, England. Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalgamation of the metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury.
Clerkenwell is an area of central London, England.
Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London.
The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branch of the East Coast Main Line (ECML). It is underground from Moorgate to Drayton Park in Highbury, from which point it runs in a cutting until joining the ECML south of Finsbury Park. Its stations span northern inner districts of Greater London southwards to the City of London, the UK's main financial centre. Since December 2015, its service timetable has been extended to run into the late evenings and at weekends, meeting a new franchise commitment for a minimum of six trains per hour until 23:59 on weekdays and four trains per hour at weekends.
Finsbury Park is an intermodal interchange station in North London for London Underground, National Rail and London Buses services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over 33 million passengers using the station in 2019.
City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of London's first bypass, the New Road from Paddington to Islington, which was constructed in 1756. The City Road was built in 1761 as a continuation of that route to the City of London.
Moorgate is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station on Moorgate in the City of London. Main line railway services for Hertford, Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage are operated by Great Northern, while the Underground station is served by the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Northern lines.
Old Street is an interchange station at the junction of Old Street and City Road in Central London for London Underground and National Rail services.
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.
Moorgate was one of the City of London, England's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall.
Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting as a dam, impeding the flow of the River Walbrook and its tributaries.
Drayton Park is a National Rail station in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. It is on the Northern City Line between Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park stations, 2 miles 56 chains (4.3 km) down the line from Moorgate; it is in Travelcard Zone 2.
Essex Road is a National Rail station in Canonbury in Greater London, England, and is on the Northern City Line between Old Street and Highbury & Islington, 1 mile 59 chains (2.8 km) down the line from Moorgate, and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is at the junction of Essex Road, Canonbury Road and New North Road, with the present entrance on Canonbury Road. Operated by Great Northern, it is the only deep-level underground station in London served exclusively by National Rail trains. Between 1933 and 1975 the station was operated as part of the London Underground, as a short branch of the Northern line. Between 1922 and 1948 the station name was Canonbury & Essex Road. The name reverted to the original form in 1948.
Edgware is a London Underground station in Edgware, in the London Borough of Barnet, in North London. The station is the northern terminus of the Edgware branch of the Northern line and the next station towards south is Burnt Oak. It is in Travelcard Zone 5.
Essex Road is a main road in Islington, London. It is part of the A104 and connects Islington High Street with Balls Pond Road via Essex Road railway station.
St Luke's is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Islington. It lies just north of the border with the City of London near the Barbican Estate, and the Clerkenwell and Shoreditch areas.
York Way is a major road in the London Borough of Islington, running north for one mile from the junction of Pentonville Road and Euston Road, adjacent to King's Cross railway station towards Kentish Town and Holloway. At its northern end, the road becomes Brecknock Road. For its entire length York Way forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Islington and Camden.
Coleman Street is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London, England, and lies on the City's northern boundary with the London Borough of Islington.
Old Street Roundabout is a road junction in Central London, England. Historically a square roundabout, it is now a three-way junction. It is among access points of the Inner Ring Road for the adjoining St Luke's south part of Islington and the City of London beyond, west and south, respectively. It is roughly on the western limit of Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney which straddles both sides of the Ring Road, a road which after taking up a little of the eastern part of Old Street then veers south-east, taking Great Eastern Street, at Apex Junction.
Finsbury Square is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) 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 parish of St Luke's and near Moorfields. It is sited on the east side of City Road, opposite the east side of Bunhill Fields. It is approximately 200m north of Moorgate station, 300m north-west of Liverpool Street station and 400m south of Old Street station. Nearby locations are Finsbury Circus and Finsbury Pavement. Named after it, but several miles away, are Finsbury Park and its eponymous neighbourhood. The centre of the square includes an underground NCP Car Park and two disused petrol stations, also owned by NCP for above-ground commercial parking. Finsbury Square is served by bus routes 21, 43, 141 and 214.
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