Pentonville Road

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Pentonville Road, west of The Angel, Islington, looking towards King's Cross Pentonville Road, N1 - geograph.org.uk - 415639.jpg
Pentonville Road, west of The Angel, Islington, looking towards King's Cross

Pentonville Road is a road in Central London that runs west to east from Kings Cross to City Road at The Angel, Islington. The road is part of the London Inner Ring Road and part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone.

Contents

The road was originally built in the mid-18th century as part of the New Road, a bypass of Central London for coach traffic. It was named Pentonville Road after the new town of Pentonville, that encouraged manufacturing to move out of the city and into suburbia. Numerous factories and commercial premises became established on the road in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly after the arrival of London railways in the 1840s.

As industrial manufacturing fell out of favour in London in the late 20th century, many properties are now residential or student accommodation. Current premises include the Crafts Council Gallery on the site of a former chapel, the Scala nightclub in a former cinema, and The Castle, a public house.

Geography

The road is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) long and runs east from King's Cross station as a continuation of Euston Road. It ends at the Angel, Islington, at a junction with Islington High Street and Goswell Road; the road ahead becoming City Road. Only eastbound traffic can travel on the full extent of the road; westbound traffic is diverted south via Swinton Street. The road is on the London Inner Ring Road (A501) and as such forms part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. [1] Since 1995, it has been a red route, prohibiting stopping of any kind, including loading and unloading. [2]

Most of the road is in the London Borough of Islington but a small part near Kings Cross is in the London Borough of Camden, including the King's Cross Thameslink railway station and the "Lighthouse" Block. [3] London Underground and National Rail stations in the vicinity include Kings Cross and Angel Underground station. [1]

There has been a bus service on Pentonville Road since 1829. [4] Regular bus routes running along the road are 30, 73 and 146. [5]

History

A westward view along Pentonville Road, drawn in 1884 by John O'Connor JOconnorpentonville.jpg
A westward view along Pentonville Road, drawn in 1884 by John O'Connor

What is now Pentonville Road was built as the final section of the New Road in 1756, connecting the City of London to the western suburbs, so that coach traffic could avoid Central London. [4] [6] At the time, the route now covered by Pentonville Road was mostly fields, with Battle Bridge occupying the space where King's Cross now is. [7] It included a tavern known as Busby's Folly, a meeting place of a drinking group known as the Society of Bull Feathers. It is marked on John Ogilby's map of London in 1675. It was moved around 1780 to Penton Street and renamed the Belvedere Tavern. The current building dates from 1876. [8]

The road was designed as part of Pentonville, a new suburb away from the city and became a local hub for manufacturing in the area. [9] There was some debate over the final route of the road; the original plan to run straight through fields owned by the Skinners Company and the New River Company was rejected in favour of the route further north via Battle Bridge. [4] As it was always intended to be a main road, a coach service began in 1798 between Paddington and Bank but was quickly withdrawn. The road was turnpiked in 1830 and renamed Pentonville Road after landowner Henry Penton in 1857. Until 1882, the upkeep of the road was paid by the local parish, paying a ground rent to Penton's estate for the disused toll house at No. 274. [4]

The street is distinguished by the "set back" housing lines originally intended to provide an atmosphere of spaciousness along the thoroughfare. [10] The original 1756 act to create the New Road prohibited the construction of any building within 50 feet (15 m) of its side. [11] Though the area had been designed to be a pleasant suburb, the arrival of railways in the 1840s turned the road into an industrial urban street, with factories and workshops aligning the road. [10] The original bylaw restricting property on the front of the road was ignored and shops were built on top of gardens. [12]

By the 21st century, most of the manufacturing base along Pentonville Road had disappeared. The original townhouses are now apartments. [13]

Properties

The Lighthouse Block, at Nos. 295-297 Pentonville Road, is named after the distinctive structure at the top of the building. The Lighthouse Block, 297 Pentonville Road - geograph.org.uk - 753793.jpg
The Lighthouse Block, at Nos. 295–297 Pentonville Road, is named after the distinctive structure at the top of the building.

Alexander Cumming, former clockmaker and organ builder to Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, built a house at No. 166 Pentonville Road. In 1807, the year after his death, the house became the London Female Penitentiary, housing "fallen women" and rehabilitating them into society. It was extended between 1811 and 1812, roughly tripling its capacity, and moved to Stoke Newington in 1884. [4]

The Thomas S. Jones organ builders were based at No. 25 Pentonville Road between 1860 and 1935. [10] The Dunn & Hewett cocoa factory was established at No. 9 Pentonville Road in 1833 by Daniel Dunn, who went into partnership with Charles Hewett in the 1850s. The business claimed to have invented soluble chocolate and cocoa, and moved to No. 136, expanding to No. 138 in the 1870s. The building was enlarged and partially rebuilt over the 1880s and 90s, and included a staff tea-room at No. 140 by 1907. The factory closed around 1930 and was subsequently sub-let to various businesses. The Ealing Radiator Company was established at Nos. 152–154 Pentonville Road in 1936, manufacturing car radiators. A first floor extension was added in 1952, while Nos. 136–150 were cleared to accommodate a low metal-framed building. [7] These premises have now been sub-let to various businesses. [14]

The Scala was previously the King's Cross Cinema, established on Pentonville Road in 1920. Scala london.JPG
The Scala was previously the King's Cross Cinema, established on Pentonville Road in 1920.

The Claremont Chapel was at No. 44a Pentonville Road. It was named after Claremont House, home of the then-recently deceased Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales. The chapel was designed by Thomas Wilson, who acquired the 2-acre site in 1818 for £700, spending an additional £6,000 on building works. It opened in October 1819, though a regular pastor was not appointed until 1822. The building was extended in 1847 to accommodate a Sunday school, while sash windows were installed in 1853. In 1860, the building was refurbished and given a Classical facade, but reducing the capacity of the inside gallery. Attendance declined and the chapel was sold to the London Congregational Union, before closing in 1899. It re-opened in 1902 as Claremont Hall, a mission institute. It was let for commercial purposes in the 1960s, and sub-let to the Crafts Council in 1991. [7] The building is now the Crafts Council Gallery, a public gallery funded by the Arts Council England. It contains a number of exhibition rooms that are available for use. [15]

The block of properties at No. 295–297 Pentonville Road, at its junction with Gray's Inn Road, is known as the "Lighthouse Block" owing to the lead clad tower at the top of the building. [16] The site avoided being compulsory purchased and demolished (in order to provide improvements to King's Cross station's eastern entrance) and is now Grade II listed. [16] [17]

The Vernon Square school opened on Pentonville Road in 1913, expanding to cover secondary school students in 1949. It was renamed the Sir Philip Magnus School in 1952 and closed in the 1970s. It became part of Kingsway College before being purchased by the School of Oriental and African Studies in 2001. [18] The SOAS has several other halls of residence along Pentonville Road, including Dinwiddy House. [19]

The Castle, a pub on Pentonville Road, achieved notoriety in 2015 when it was discovered the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary was discussed there by the perpetrators. Castle, Pentonville, N1 (3105241212).jpg
The Castle, a pub on Pentonville Road, achieved notoriety in 2015 when it was discovered the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary was discussed there by the perpetrators.

The Lexington is a music venue at Nos. 96-98. It has played host to local bands, and as a warm-up venue for more established acts. [20] The Scala at No. 275–277 Pentonville Road opened as the King's Cross Cinema in 1920 with a capacity of 1,300. Construction had begun just before World War I and was halted because of it. It was damaged by bombs during World War II, and while it remained open during wartime, it eventually had to be shut between 1949 and 1952 for renovations and repair. It closed in 1970, and re-opened as an independent cinema, [21] which showed old 16mm films including King Kong . [22] The Stooges played their only gig in London at the venue in June 1972, shortly before recording the album Raw Power with David Bowie; a shot of Iggy Pop onstage here became the album's front cover. [23] The venue closed in 1992, and is now a nightclub. [22]

The Castle is a pub at No. 54 Pentonville Road, at the junction with Baron Street. In 2015, the perpetrators of the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary met at the pub to discuss the crime shortly after it occurred, but were secretly filmed there by the Flying Squad. All were subsequently arrested and sent to prison. The current owners, Geronimo Inns, wish to distance themselves from the burglary and forbid staff to discuss it with customers. [24]

The original Angel, Islington, sits at the far east end of Pentonville Road, at its junction with Islington High Street. It was named after the Angel of the Annunciation that appeared on its sign. [6] The inn pre-dated the construction of Pentonville Road, and had become one of the largest coaching inns in the local area by the 18th century. [25] The site was cut in two by the construction of the road, with the inn remaining on the north side. A new building was constructed in 1899, later becoming a Lyons Corner House. It closed in 1959, and was threatened with demolition as a plan to improve junction improvements around Pentonville Road, but survived and is now partly occupied by a branch of The Co-operative Bank. [26]

Cultural references

The poet John Betjeman's parents ran a cabinet makers at No. 34–42 Pentonville Road. It was established since 1859 and produced the Tantalus drinks cabinet in 1881. [7]

Pentonville Road is one of the locations on the London version of the Monopoly board game. It is one of the light blue squares alongside The Angel, Islington and Euston Road, both of which it connects to. [6] The magazine Mixmag 's main offices are at Nos. 90–92 Pentonville Road. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. The borough includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Cross, London</span> Area of central London in England

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Islington Area of London

Islington is a district in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Inner Ring Road</span> Major roads that encircle the centremost part of London

The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a 12-mile (19 km) route with an average diameter of 2.75–5.5 miles (4.43–8.85 km) formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although the ring road itself is not part of the zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euston Road</span> Thoroughfare in central London, England

Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family seat of the Dukes of Grafton, who had become major property owners in the area during the mid-19th century.

City Road Street in London

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentonville</span> Human settlement in England

Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish of Clerkenwell on the New Road. It is named after Henry Penton, the developer of the area.

Farringdon Road

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The Angel, Islington Historic landmark in Islington, London,

The Angel, Islington, is a historic landmark and a series of buildings that have stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road in Islington, London, England. The land originally belonged to the Clerkenwell Priory and has had various properties built on it since the 16th century. An inn on the site was called the "Angel Inn" by 1614, and the crossing became generally known as "the Angel". The site was bisected by the New Road, which opened in 1756, and properties on the site have been rebuilt several times up to the 20th century. The corner site gave its name to Angel tube station, opened in 1901, and the surrounding Angel area of London.

The WC postcode area, also known as the London WC postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. The area covered is of high density development, and includes parts of the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington, plus a very small part of the City of London.

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 Pentonville Road/City Road and runs roughly northwards from outside the main entrance to Angel Underground station, then past the Business Design Centre, then splits at Islington Green, then past The Screen On The Green cinema, past Islington Town Hall, ending at Highbury & Islington tube station on Highbury corner, where the A1 carries on as Holloway Road.

Essex Road Street in the London Borough of Islington

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York Way

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.

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Caledonian Road, London

Caledonian Road passes for about a mile and a half north–south through the London Borough of Islington. It connects North London, from Camden Road near its junction with Holloway Road, and central London's Pentonville Road in the south. It is known colloquially as the "Cally" and forms the entirety of the A5203.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Cross (ward)</span> Electoral ward in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel, London</span> Human settlement in England

Angel is an area on the northern fringes of Central London within the London Borough of Islington. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road at a busy transport intersection. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London. It is a significant commercial and retail centre, and a business improvement district. Angel straddles the ancient boundary of the parishes of Clerkenwell and Islington that later became the metropolitan boroughs of Finsbury and Islington. It is named from the former Angel Inn which stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road. Since 1965 the whole area has formed part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London.

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 "Pentonville Road". Google Maps. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Norris, Steven. "Red Routes". Hansard. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Camden Site Allocations – Local Development Framework (Report). Camden London Borough Council. March 2012. p. 22. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Hibbert & Weinreb 2010, p. 634.
  5. ↑ "Central London Bus map" (PDF). Transport for London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Moore 2003, p. 210.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Philip Temple, ed. (2008). "Pentonville Road". Survey of London . London. pp. 339–372. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Hibbert & Weinreb 2010, p. 117.
  9. ↑ Moore 2003, p. 219.
  10. 1 2 3 Moore 2003, p. 220.
  11. ↑ Conservation Area Statement : King's Cross (Report). London Borough of Camden. June 2004. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Grosvenor, Robert (7 July 1854). "Supply : Miscellaneous Estimates". Hansard. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Moore 2003, p. 221.
  14. ↑ "130–154 Pentonville Road : Site Allocations" (PDF). London Borough of Islington. November 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "What We Do". Crafts Council Gallery. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  16. 1 2 "The 'Lighthouse' block, 295–297 (odd), Pentonville Road WC1 – Camden". Historic England. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  17. ↑ Waller, Gary (28 January 1992). "Stopping Up Roads". Hansard. Retrieved 8 July 2016. I am happy to say that amendment No. 3 is acceptable. It would disapply the powers of compulsory purchase which would otherwise apply to the properties referred to in the Select Committee proceedings as the island triangular block—the so-called lighthouse block.
  18. ↑ Brown, Ian (2016). The School of Oriental and African Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 286. ISBN   978-1-107-16442-0.
  19. ↑ "Dinwiddy House". SOAS University of London. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  20. ↑ "The gig venue guide: The Lexington, London". The Guardian. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "Scala, King's Cross". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  22. 1 2 Woolley, Stephen (5 August 2010). "Beyond B-movies: Recreating The Scala's movie mecca". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "The world was not ready for Iggy and the Stooges". The Guardian. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "The north London pub where Hatton Garden raid was planned". The Guardian. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  25. ↑ Shelley, Henry C (1909). Inns and Taverns of Old London. p. 88. ISBN   978-3-867-41508-8.
  26. ↑ Temple, Philip, ed. (2008). "The Angel and Islington High Street". Survey of London. London. 47 : Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville: 439–455. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  27. ↑ "Contact Mixmag". Mixmag. Retrieved 8 July 2016.

Sources

Coordinates: 51°31′52″N0°7′2″W / 51.53111°N 0.11722°W / 51.53111; -0.11722

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