Canonbury
| Canonbury | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
| File:Canonbury Square Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 5057747.jpg Canonbury Square Gardens | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ325845 |
| Location: | 51°32’37"N, 0°5’18"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 12,072 (2011) |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | N1 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Islington |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Islington South and Finsbury |
Canonbury is an urban village of Middlesex, immediately to the east of Islington, from which parish it sprang.
In 1253 land in the area was granted to the Canons of St Bartholomew's Priory, Smithfield, and became known as Canonbury. The area continued predominantly as open land until it was developed as a suburb in the early 19th century.[1]
In common with similar urbanised Middlesex areas, it suffered decline when the construction of railways in the 1860s enabled commuting into the city from further afield. The gentrification of the area from the 1950s included new developments to replace war-damaged properties in Canonbury Park North and South as well as restoration of older buildings.
About the village
Canonbury Tower – The manor house of Canonbury was constructed by William Bolton of St Bartholomew's Priory between 1509 and 1532. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was granted to Thomas Cromwell. In the 1590s the manor house was rebuilt by Sir John Spencer, Lord Mayor of London, including the construction of its tower. The tower has been occupied by many historical figures, including the philosopher and Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon, and the Irish novelist and playwright Oliver Goldsmith. The Tower Theatre Company was based here from 1953 to 2003. It is currently used as a Masonic research centre.
Canonbury Square was developed between 1805 and 1830, it includes a variety of distinct styles. In 1812, when few properties had been built, the New North Road turnpike, now known as Canonbury Road, was constructed and bisects the square. Many significant figures from the arts and literary worlds have lived on the square, including the writers George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh, and the actor Samuel Phelps. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is on Canonbury Square.
The New River, a Jacobean aqueduct to supply fresh water to London, runs through Canonbury. There is a local walk along it, in two parts.
Literary and artistic connections
George Orwell moved to 27b Canonbury Square in the autumn of 1944 – he and his wife having been bombed out of their previous flat, in Mortimer Crescent, on 28 June 1944.[2] Evelyn Waugh lived at 17a Canonbury Square from 1928 to 1930.[3] Charles Dickens wrote a Christmas story about a lamplighter in Canonbury, which features the Tower.[4] Leslie Forbes, the travel and detective story writer lived in the area.[5] M. V. Hughes (née Thomas) lived at 1 Canonbury Park North (the house is no longer standing) as a child, and describes life there in her memoir A London Child of the 1870s.[6]
Churches
- St Paul's, at the junction of Essex Road and Balls Pond Road, was designed in 1826-28 by Charles Barry for the Church of England.[7] Its parish was merged with St Jude, Mildmay and since 1997 the building has been used as a Steiner school.[8]
- St Stephen's Church, Church of England, is on Canonbury Road and was built in 1839.[9][10]
Outside links
- The Canonbury Society
- Tower Theatre Company
- BBC WW2 People's War - Joan Windsor's WW2 experiences (including bombing raid on Essex Road)
References
- ↑ A History of the County of Middlesex - Volume 8 pp 19-20: Islington: Growth: Canonbury (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Orwell, Collected Works, I Have Tried to Tell the Truth, p.283
- ↑ Eric A Willats, Streets with a Story
- ↑ The Lamplighter Charles Dickens (Public Domain) accessed 29 September 2009
- ↑ Raymond, Francine (13 May 2018). "The Embroidered Minds Epilepsy Garden: A Chelsea show garden of the mind". https://telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelsea-flower-show/embroidered-minds-epilepsy-garden-chelsea-show-garden-mind/.
- ↑ Foxed, Slightly (2020-11-14). "Accentuating the Positive" (in en-GB). https://foxedquarterly.com/anthony-quinn-molly-hughes-literary-review/.
- ↑ "St Paul, Essex Road, Canonbury". London Churches in photographs. 15 December 2013. https://londonchurchbuildings.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/st-paul-essex-road-canonbury/.
- ↑ "St Paul Steiner school". http://www.stpaulssteinerschool.org/.
- ↑ "St Stephen, Canonbury Road, Canonbury". London Churches in photographs. 15 December 2013. https://londonchurchbuildings.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/st-stephen-canonbury-road-canonbury/.
- ↑ "St Stephen's Canonbury". http://www.ststephenscanonbury.org.uk/.