London Borough of Islington

London Borough of Islington
—  London borough  —
Coat of arms Council logo
Islington shown within Greater London
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Status	London borough
Admin HQ	Upper Street, Islington
Incorporated	1 April 1965
Government
- Type	London borough council
- Body	Islington London Borough Council
- Leadership	Leader & Cabinet (Labour)
- Mayor	Cllr Mouna Hamitouche
- MPs	Jeremy Corbyn Emily Thornberry
- London Assembly	Jennette Arnold AM for North East
- EU Parliament	London
Area
- Total	5.7 sq mi (14.86 km2)
Area rank	324th (of 326)
Population (2008 est.)
- Total	190,900
- Rank	86th (of 326)
- Density	33,272.5/sq mi (12,846.6/km2)
- Ethnicity[1]	58.4% White British 4.5% White Irish 12.3% Other White 1.2% White & Black Caribbean 0.7% White & Black African 1.1% White & Asian 1.2% Other Mixed 2.2% Indian 0.8% Pakistani 2.3% Bangladeshi 1.0% Other Asian 4.2% Black Caribbean 5.2% Black African 1.0% Other Black 2.3% Chinese 1.7% Other
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
- Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Postcodes	{{{postcode_areas}}}
Police force	Metropolitan Police
Website	[LB Islington LB Islington]

The London Borough of Islington (pronunciation) is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury.

Etymology

Islington was originally named by the Saxons Giseldone (1005), then Gislandune (1062). The name means 'Gīsla's hill' from the Old English personal name Gīsla and dun 'hill', 'down'. The name then later mutated to Isledon, which remained in use well into the 17th century when the modern form arose.^[2] In medieval times, Islington was just one of many small manors in the area, along with Bernersbury, Neweton Berewe or Hey-bury, and Canonesbury (Barnsbury, Highbury and Canonbury - names first recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries). "Islington" came to be applied as the name for the parish covering these villages, and was the name chosen for the Metropolitan Borough of Islington, on its formation in 1899. On the merger with Finsbury, to form the modern borough this name came to be applied to the whole borough.

Districts of Islington

The borough includes the areas:

• Angel
• Archway
• Barnsbury
• Canonbury
• Clerkenwell
• Finsbury
• Finsbury Park
• Highbury
• Holloway
• Islington
• Kings Cross
• Nag's Head
• Newington Green
• Pentonville
• St Luke's
• Tufnell Park
• Old Street
• Mildmay

see also Islington parks and open spaces

Wards

• Barnsbury
• Bunhill
• Caledonian
• Canonbury
• East Canonbury
• Newington Green
• Clerkenwell
• Finsbury Park
• Highbury East
• Highbury West
• Hillrise
• Holloway
• Junction
• Mildmay
• Saint Georges
• Saint Marys
• Saint Peters
• Tollington

Transport

Islington Town Hall

Islington has a wide variety of transportation services, with direct connections to the suburbs and the City and West End. Islington also has over 8 tube stations with connections by the tube to all around London.

Buses

London Underground

There are many Underground stations in the borough:

• Angel
• Archway
• Arsenal
• Caledonian Road
• Finsbury Park
• Highbury and Islington
• Holloway Road
• Old Street
• Tufnell Park

These stations principally serve the Piccadilly, Victoria and Northern lines.

Railway stations

There are also quite a few railway stations within the borough, they are as follows:

• Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
• Highbury and Islington
• Canonbury
• Upper Holloway
• Crouch Hill
• Drayton Park
• Essex Road
• Finsbury Park

Major public and private bodies in Islington

There are two prisons in Islington, a male prison, HM Prison Pentonville and a women's prison Holloway, that held many suffragettes. Some of the Notable former inmates of Pentonville prison have been

• Hawley Harvey Crippen (Dr Crippen) was hanged in the prison in 1910 after being found guilty of murdering his wife.
• Frederick Seddon the poisoner, was hanged in the prison in 1912.
• John Christie was hanged in the prison in 1953 after having been convicted of murdering his wife.
• Charles Peace, notorious burglar and murderer.
• Timothy Evans, wrongfully accused co-tenant of John Christie.
• Neville Heath was hanged in the prison in 1946 after having been convicted of murdering two women.
• Simon Dee, a radio/television personality, served 28 days for non-payment of council tax on his former Chelsea home that he had not shared with his first wife since 1971/2
• Taki Theodoracopulos, gossip columnist for The Spectator, was imprisoned in Pentonville for three months in 1984 on a cocaine possession charge. He wrote a book about the experience titled Nothing to Declare.
• David Irving, historian.
• John Alford spent six weeks in Pentonville in 1999 after selling illegal drugs to a reporter.
• Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers served a sentence for drug possession
• Pete Doherty of The Libertines and Babyshambles spent four nights in Pentonville in February 2005 while unable to make bail on charges which were later dropped. He subsequently wrote a song about the prison, named "Pentonville", which is on the Babyshambles album Down In Albion.
• Blake Fielder-Civil, husband of Amy Winehouse, was held at Pentonville for grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice in 2008.
• Boy George, in 2009, for the assault and false imprisonment of a male escort.

Cultural attractions and institutions in Islington

The Islington N1 Centre.

• Almeida Theatre
• Pleasance Theatre Islington
• Courtyard Theatre
• Emirates Stadium (and the former Arsenal Stadium at Highbury)
• Islington N1 Centre
• The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in Canonbury Square
• Hen and Chickens Theatre
• Islington Arts Factory, in Parkhurst Road,
• London Canal Museum, located in New Wharf Road, King's Cross
• Islington Museum, located at Finsbury Library
• Islington Local History Centre, located at Finsbury Library
• The King's Head Theatre
• Sadler's Wells Theatre
• Technology Mile - wireless access throughout Upper Street and Holloway Road.^[3]
• Union Chapel
• Peter Benenson House, headquarters of Amnesty International
• Little Angel Theatre a puppet theatre and producer of the Suspense Puppetry Festival of London.
• VUE Cinema Located inside the N1 center

Farm

Holloway in Islington is home to Freightliners City Farm which is one of the many city farms throughout London. The farm, which isn't like an industrial farm, contains a wide range of animals from rabbits to cows to chickens and pigs all free for the public to view.

Demographics

In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 65,721. This rose steadily throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; exceeding 200,000 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased — reaching nearly 400,000 by the turn of the century; with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury particularly suffering deprivation, poverty and severe overcrowding. The increase in population peaked before World War I, falling slowly in the aftermath until World War II began an exodus from London towards the new towns under the Abercrombie Plan for London (1944). The decline in population reversed in the 1980s, but it remains below its 1971 level.

According to the 2001 census Islington has a population of 175,797. It is 75% White, 6% Black African, 5% Black Caribbean and 2% Bangladeshi. 32% of the borough's residents are owner–occupiers.

Education

Universities

The London Borough of Islington is home to two higher education institutions:—

• City University, London at Northampton Square, formerly the Northampton Institute, founded in 1894; and
• London Metropolitan University, North Campus on the Holloway Road, formed from the merger of the University of North London and London Guildhall University in 2002. The University of North London was founded in 1896 as the Northern Polytechnic Institute.

Colleges

The borough also currently contains two colleges of further education:—

• City and Islington College; and
• Westminster Kingsway College (while major improvement works are carried out at King's Cross).

Schools

The borough currently maintains 47 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, three special schools and five Pupil Referral Units. In 2000, Cambridge Education Associates, a private firm, took over the management of the Islington's state schools from the local education authority.^[4]

In popular culture

In Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, three of the four main characters (Arthur Dent, Trillian, and Zaphod Beeblebrox) first met at a "fancy dress party" at a flat in Islington.

• Brittany Murphy's character in Love and Other Disasters almost gets married at Islington Town Hall (she calls it off in the middle of the ceremony).

References

External links

• Islington Links
• Islington Council
• Weather forecast for Islington

London Borough of Islington Districts Angel · Archway · Barnsbury · Canonbury · Clerkenwell · Farringdon · Finsbury · Finsbury Park · Highbury · Holloway · Islington · Kings Cross · Nag's Head · Mildmay · Newington Green · Pentonville · St. Luke's · Tufnell Park · Upper Holloway Attractions Almeida Theatre · Emirates Stadium · The King's Head Theatre · Sadler's Wells Theatre · St. Luke's LSO · Union Chapel Street markets Camden Passage · Chapel Market · Exmouth Market · Nag's Head Market · Whitecross Street Market Parks and open spaces Bunhill Fields Constituencies Islington South and Finsbury · Islington North Other topics People · Public art · Schools