Living in Islington: area guide to homes, schools and transport

As well as tidy streets of charming period houses, buzzing restaurants and great shopping, plenty of new waterside homes are springing up along the Regent's Canal in Islington.
Period property gems: Gibson Square in central Islington. Georgian and early Victorian homes feature heavily in the borough’s housing stock
Anthea Masey12 February 2016

Canonbury or Barnsbury? Which reigns supreme in the north London borough of Islington? The argument rages and no one, it seems, can agree which of these favoured neighbourhoods takes the crown.

Canonbury, roughly between Upper Street, Essex Road and Cross Street, has Islington’s only remaining Tudor building, Canonbury Tower, where Henry VIII’s Lord Privy Seal, Thomas Cromwell, lived from 1533 until his execution on trumped-up treason charges in 1540. The tower is also where Oliver Goldsmith wrote his 1766 novel The Vicar of Wakefield.

In the early Seventies a group of Canonbury residents fought the “battle of the Alwynes”, saving a whole block of early Victorian terraces and villas in Alwyne Road, Alwyne Place and Alwyne Villas from demolition. It is also where the historic New River flows, not a river at all but an early 17th-century waterway constructed to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to London.

Canonbury Place in the favoured Islington neighbourhood of Canonbury

Barnsbury, between Upper Street and Caledonian Road, has quiet, leafy streets and two of London’s finest squares — Lonsdale Square with its gothic detailing, and Thornhill Square built around a church. It is also the London neighbourhood first described as being “super-gentrified”, a process not unique to Barnsbury, whereby the children of the first generation of gentrifiers, who pioneered run-down inner-city areas, are priced out by the super-wealthy working in banking and international finance.

Gentrified or super-gentrified, the Islington of today with its tidy streets, well-kept houses and smart restaurants, shops and boutiques, is unrecognisable from the austerity years following the Second World War when whole streets were scarred by bomb damage, and most of the houses were overcrowded, occupied by several families.

What is there to buy in Islington
Islington has one of central London’s most complete supplies of Georgian and early Victorian houses. However, property for sale is often in short supply, as many families settle in the area long term.

There are new developments along Regent’s Canal and at both the City Road and Wenlock canal basins.

What is there to rent in Islington

Dan Parker, the rental manager at the local branch of Savills says that most Islington renters are young professionals or couples in their late-20s and early-30s working in the City or the media.

“We used to see people renting straight out of university but the cost of renting a decent one-bedroom flat in Islington is now around £1,700 a month and is out of the reach of young people in their first jobs. There is also demand from foreign students whose rents are paid by their parents and we have noticed a recent influx of young French couples who like to be close to the Eurostar train service from St Pancras. The new flats that have been built recently along the canal and the canal basins are particularly popular and the strongest demand is for one-bedroom flats.”

The area attracts: estate agent Paul Williams, from the local branch of Savills, says Islington is a magnet for lawyers, bankers and top media executives. The entry price of about £350,000 will get you a one-bedroom “right-to-buy” former council flat, while a one-bedroom flat in a period conversion costs about £500,000.

Travel and commuting: there are three Islington Tube stations — Angel on the City branch of the Northern line, Caledonian Road on the Piccadilly line and Highbury & Islington on the Victoria line. The Overground stations are Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, Highbury & Islington and Canonbury, all with trains to Stratford. Highbury & Islington and Canonbury are now also on the East London line with trains to Shoreditch and Canary Wharf, changing at Canada Water. There are also trains to Moorgate from Highbury & Islington and Essex Road stations. All stations are in Zone 2 apart from Angel which is in Zone 1, and an annual travel card covering Zones 1 and 2 costs £1,216.

Staying power: fine period properties, good shops, restaurants and cultural life mean families settle happily for many years.

£485,000: a one-bedroom garden flat in a period building in Thornhill Square, N1

Best roads: these include the Alwynes, Canonbury Park North and South, Duncan Terrace, Highbury Place, Richmond Crescent — once home to Tony and Cherie Blair — and Thornhill Square. The last house to sell on Alwyne Road went for £2.93 million in March 2012. The last sold on Richmond Crescent fetched £2,275,000 in October last year, and the last in Thornhill Square went for £1.75 million in May.

Postcodes: Most of Islington enjoys the distinction of falling in the favoured central N1 postcode which also includes King’s Cross and Hoxton; Highbury Fields, though, falls in the Highbury postcode N5; and the northern section of Barnsbury is in the Holloway postcode N7.

Up and coming: Paul Williams tips De Beauvoir Town between Essex Road and Queensbridge Road, where large houses with big gardens seem to have been squeezed between desirable Islington and achingly hip Dalston. New shops and cafés are opening along Southgate Road, home of the De Beauvoir Deli Co — which recently opened a sister branch off Upper Street — and Sweet Thursday wine shop and pizzeria.

Council: Islington council is Labour-controlled and current Band D council tax is £1,264.87.

Photographs: Graham Hussey

Lifestyle

Shops and restaurants
Islington has a good spread of national chains and independent shops stretching along Upper Street to Highbury & Islington station with additional shops on Chapel Street; in the little alleyways in and around Camden Passage; and along Essex Road and Cross Street.

Chapel Street has a market every day of the week except Monday with a farmers’ market every Sunday and M Manze’s is a traditional pie and mash shop.

The N1 shopping centre off Upper Street has branches of H&M, Gap, Monsoon, French Connection, Gourmet Burger and Wagamama, but it is the independent shops and restaurants that make Islington an interesting place to spend a day shopping and eating.

In Upper Street, the three Gill Wing shops are a reliable source of gifts, children’s toys and jewellery; Folklore sells interior accessories and furniture with a minimal Scandinavian slant; Twenty Twenty One, Co-Existence (in Cross Street) and Aria (in Barnsbury Street) all sell interior accessories and furniture from some of the great names of modern design; Atelier Abigail Ahern sells dramatic interior accessories against a backdrop of dark walls. Albam and Nigel Hall are menswear boutiques and womenswear boutique Diverse – this year celebrating its 25th anniversary - take their place alongside chains such as Whistles, Jigsaw and Hobbs.

Camden Passage was once famous for antique shops; today a few survive but the lanes with their small shops are now more likely to be occupied by the ultra-stylish and the quirky such as fashion boutiques Workshop and Wandering Minds and Loop, one of London’s best shops for hand-knitters.

Expect to queue for lunch at the communal table at the original Ottolenghi restaurant in Upper Street. Frederick’s in Camden Passage with its glamorous conservatory is a long-standing Islington favourite. Newer arrivals are Trullo, an Italian restaurant, and Le Coq, specialising in roast chicken, both on St Paul’s Road, the Smokehouse on Canonbury Road, serving smoked and barbequed meat, and the Almeida in Almeida Street. The top gastropubs for food and atmosphere are the Duke of Cambridge, which pioneered organic and locally-sourced food, in St Peter’s Street; the Draper’s Arms in Barnsbury Street; the Barnsbury in Liverpool Road and the Albion in Thornhill Road.

Open space: There are walks along the Regent’s Canal and the New River. The largest open green space is Highbury Fields where there are 11 tennis courts and a weekly supervised five kilometre run at nine in the morning on a Saturday. Islington’s streets are green and leafy but for such a densely populated area there is a lack of open green spaces.

Leisure and the arts
Islington has a cultural life all its own. The Almeida Theatre is among the capital’s leading venues, producing its own plays including Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood, named best play at the 2013 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

There are fringe theatres at the King’s Head and the Hope, above the Hope and Anchor pub, both in Upper Street, and the Hen and Chickens does theatre and comedy at Highbury Corner. Sadler’s Wells in Rosebery Avenue is London’s leading theatre for dance. The Little Angel Theatre in Dagmar Passage is a leading puppet theatre.

There are two cinemas in Islington. Vue is a 10-screen multiplex in the N1 shopping centre, while The Screen on the Green, a single-screen cinema, is part of the Everyman chain and shows art house as well as main release films. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, in a Grade II-listed building in Canonbury Square, has six galleries, an art library, a café and bookshop.

The nearest council-owned swimming pool is the Highbury Pool and Fitness Centre where there are two pools.

WHAT THE LOCALS SAY ON TWITTER

@Shoreditchgirl amazing gastropubs like @pigandbutcher and cocktails @69colebrookerow - quick bus into town and City. Lovely boutiques #angel. Also the New River Walk and Regents Canal.

@IslingtonBlog Barnsbury Square is a great spot just a couple of mins away from Upper Street and looks great in the summer... Aberdeen Park. beautiful conservation area in Highbury. It's like a little oasis and has Highbury Barn shops round the corner... also archway has a lot going on at the moment and a little more affordable than upper street area.

@souparchitects Really starting to see Blackstock Road area intensify and a new dynamic since Arsenal stadium move and increase in homes.

@ArlingtonEstate #Islington is one of London's most vibrant inner city boroughs, especially #Angel - located between The City & West End.

@Hamptons_PR Andrew Gillon from Hamptons in Islington recommends @DeBeauvoirDeli and its Chicken & Ham pie.

@BeccaDwyerPR The brilliant Highbury Fields! There is a great new devlp opposite too - Mulberry Mews by @TWCLProperty - Rare lux new build.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: Islington

Which famous playwright met a sticky end in Noel Road?
Joe Orton, author of such plays as What the Butler Saw and Loot, was murdered in 1967 by his lover Kenneth Halliwell at 25 Noel Road where there is a blue plaque in his memory.

Who links Islington with a school in Northampton and a Canberra suburb?
Victorian philanthropist Caroline Chisholm lived at 32 Charlton Place in Islington. She came from a wealthy Northampton family and there is a school named after her in the town. She campaigned for better conditions for migrants to Australia and she has appeared on Australian banknotes and stamps. The character of Mrs Jellyby in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House is thought to be based on her. It is a cruel portrait of a do-gooder who ignores the problems in her own family.

Why would a famous American crime writer be interested in a house in Highbury Place?
Patricia Cornwell, author of the Dr Kay Scarpetta crime novels, is convinced that Jack the Ripper was the painter Walter Sickert and that there was a high level cover-up of his crimes. Walter Sickert, whose paintings depicted the seedier side of London life, lived at 1 Highbury Place.

Schools

State primary

With two exceptions, Islington’s primary schools are all judged to be “good” by the government’s education watchdog Ofsted with Thornhill in Thornhill Road and Canonbury in Canonbury Road getting particulary good results at Key Stage 2 age 11. The following do even better and are judged to be “outstanding”: William Tyndale in Upper Street and St John Evangelist RC in Duncan Street.

State secondary

At secondary school level, the once notorious Highbury Grove (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Highbury Grove is now judged “outstanding” as is Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (girls, ages 11 to 16) in Donegal Street. St Mary Magdalene Academy (ages four to 18) is an all-through state academy and Highbury Fields (girls, ages 11 to 18) in Highbury Hill are both judged to be “good”. STEM academy Tech City on City Road is a new state sixth form college that opened in September. It specialises in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Private
Private schools are: St Paul’s Steiner (co-ed, ages two to 14); the Gower School (co-ed, ages 0 to 11) in Cynthia Street has a Montessori nursery and primary school; and Rosemary Works School (co-ed, ages three to 11) in Branch Place.
Many parents drive or bus their children to the private schools in Hampstead, Highgate and the City of London, so may be pleased to hear that North Bridge House a prep school in Camden is opening a senior school (co-ed, ages 13 to 18) in Canonbury in September 2014. 

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