Upper Street
Encyclopedia
Upper Street is the main shopping street of the Islington
district of inner north London
, and carries the A1 road. It runs from the junction of the A1 and Pentonville Road and City Road, and runs roughly northwards past Angel tube station
, then past the Business Design Centre, then splits at Islington Green (where Essex Road branches off) past the Screen on the Green cinema, the town hall and finally at Highbury & Islington tube station on Highbury corner, where the A1 carries on as Holloway Road
.
It contains many fashionable shops, pubs, restaurants and theatres, especially towards the northern half of the road including the now closed Granita restaurant where Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown
were said to have made their deal on leadership once the Labour Party
won power. A famous antiques market at Camden Passage and Chapel Market near Angel which sells fruit and vegetables, clothes etc. and are worth a few hours of your weekend but be prepared to deal with some crowds.
The hilltop village of Islington originally consisted of two streets in addition to the High Street: Upper Street and Lower Street, which diverged from the High Street at Islington Green
and both date back to at least the 12th century. Henry VIII
hunted duck
in the ponds off Upper Street, while Walter Raleigh lived in Upper Street and owned a pub in Lower Street. Lower Street has since been renamed Essex Road.
St. Mary's Church, Islington
was built in 1754 and dominates the Islington skyline. It is still in use today, and is a major venue for performances of traditional religious music
. The Little Angel Theatre
is a children's puppet theatre in a former Temperance
hall, behind the church. Directly opposite St. Mary's Church is The King's Head Theatre
, founded in 1970 by the late Dan Crawford. It was the first pub theatre in the UK, located in the back room behind the bar at the King's Head pub on Upper Street.
The fields around Upper Street, with their close proximity to the growing city of London, were a major farming area. Islington was the home of the Royal Agricultural Hall, and a number of pubs and shops existed along the street to serve farmers and visitors to the hall.
In the 18th century Upper Street began to be redeveloped from an agricultural to a residential area. Ten houses were built in 1768 (later named Hornsey Row), and a further group built immediately south of Hornsey Row in 1792. William Roxby Beverley, the first mathematician to solve the problem of a "magic knight's tour" (a variant on the knight's tour
in which the numbered steps form a magic square
) resided in these buildings, now replaced by Islington Town Hall.
In recent years it has become extremely fashionable, and contains numerous pubs and restaurant
s, including the now closed Granita
where Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown
were said to have made their deal on leadership once the Labour Party
won power. The southern end of Upper Street is a former tram shed which closed in 1979 and is currently a Jack Willis shop. The building was formally The Mall Antiques Arcade. Its closure reflects the reduction in the number of antique traders in the nearby Camden Passage
. A weekend antiques market is still held there.
Upper Street was one of the settings for local resident Douglas Adams
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
series. The London-based sections of the later books are set in and around Upper Street, the home address of "Fenchurch". In addition, the character of Hotblack Desiato is named after a local estate agent
.
In 2005 Islington Council
launched "Technology Mile", a project to turn Upper Street in a large scale wi-fi hotspot
. Using routers mounted on lampposts anyone with a wireless enabled device can connect to Council services and the internet the entire length of Upper Street, although the best signal is found in the Islington Green
/St. Mary's church areas.
Upper Street houses Islington Town Hall, and the adjacent Islington Museum
. It also contains the Hope and Anchor
, formerly one of the most important venues
of the 1970s and 80s punk
and new wave
scenes, hosting performances by Madness
, U2
and Spandau Ballet
, among others (and Shakin' Stevens
). The Stranglers
album Live at the Hope and Anchor
was recorded here. The building is still in use as a music venue today.
Upper Street is unusual in being one of the few streets in London (along with adjoining Liverpool Road
) to have a "high pavement". This was constructed to protect pedestrians from being splashed by the large numbers of animals using the road to reach the Royal Agricultural Hall; as a consequence, the pavement
of the street is approximately 1 m above the road surface for some of the length of the street.
. It was home to Sisterwrite, Britain's first feminist bookshop, as well as the Trotskyist Pioneer Books, the anarchist Rising Free shop (famous for stealing stock from other shops to sell in theirs) and the socialist Red Books. In the 1980s, Upper Street was home to the Islington Action Group for the Unwaged, a major far left
campaigning and activist group, and to the squatter-run Molly's Cafe, a focal point for the anarchist and squatting
movement. Upper Street made headlines on 23 July 1995, when the Reclaim the Streets
movement took over the street, barricaded it to traffic and held a long party in the street.
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
district of inner north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and carries the A1 road. It runs from the junction of the A1 and Pentonville Road and City Road, and runs roughly northwards past Angel tube station
Angel tube station
Angel tube station is a London Underground station in The Angel, Islington. It is on the Bank branch of the Northern Line, between Old Street and King's Cross St. Pancras stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. The tube stop serves as a portal to several Off West End, or fringe theatre, venues,...
, then past the Business Design Centre, then splits at Islington Green (where Essex Road branches off) past the Screen on the Green cinema, the town hall and finally at Highbury & Islington tube station on Highbury corner, where the A1 carries on as Holloway Road
Holloway Road
Holloway Road is a road in London. It is one of the main shopping streets in North London, and carries the A1 road as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington...
.
It contains many fashionable shops, pubs, restaurants and theatres, especially towards the northern half of the road including the now closed Granita restaurant where Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
were said to have made their deal on leadership once the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
won power. A famous antiques market at Camden Passage and Chapel Market near Angel which sells fruit and vegetables, clothes etc. and are worth a few hours of your weekend but be prepared to deal with some crowds.
History
Islington Green
Islington Green is a small triangle of open land at the convergence of Upper Street and Essex Road in the London Borough of Islington...
and both date back to at least the 12th century. Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
hunted duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
in the ponds off Upper Street, while Walter Raleigh lived in Upper Street and owned a pub in Lower Street. Lower Street has since been renamed Essex Road.
St. Mary's Church, Islington
St Mary's Church, Islington
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the historic parish church of Islington, in the Church of England Diocese of London. The present parish is a compact area centered on Upper Street between Angel and Highbury Corner, bounded to the west by Liverpool Road, and to the east by Essex Road/Canonbury...
was built in 1754 and dominates the Islington skyline. It is still in use today, and is a major venue for performances of traditional religious music
Religious music
Religious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
. The Little Angel Theatre
Little Angel Theatre
The Little Angel Theatre is a puppet theatre catering for children, families and adults, off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington.The 100 seat theatre, in a former Temperance hall, was opened on 24 November 1961, by founder John Wright...
is a children's puppet theatre in a former Temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
hall, behind the church. Directly opposite St. Mary's Church is The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...
, founded in 1970 by the late Dan Crawford. It was the first pub theatre in the UK, located in the back room behind the bar at the King's Head pub on Upper Street.
The fields around Upper Street, with their close proximity to the growing city of London, were a major farming area. Islington was the home of the Royal Agricultural Hall, and a number of pubs and shops existed along the street to serve farmers and visitors to the hall.
In the 18th century Upper Street began to be redeveloped from an agricultural to a residential area. Ten houses were built in 1768 (later named Hornsey Row), and a further group built immediately south of Hornsey Row in 1792. William Roxby Beverley, the first mathematician to solve the problem of a "magic knight's tour" (a variant on the knight's tour
Knight's tour
The knight's tour is a mathematical problem involving a knight on a chessboard. The knight is placed on the empty board and, moving according to the rules of chess, must visit each square exactly once. A knight's tour is called a closed tour if the knight ends on a square attacking the square from...
in which the numbered steps form a magic square
Magic square
In recreational mathematics, a magic square of order n is an arrangement of n2 numbers, usually distinct integers, in a square, such that the n numbers in all rows, all columns, and both diagonals sum to the same constant. A normal magic square contains the integers from 1 to n2...
) resided in these buildings, now replaced by Islington Town Hall.
In recent years it has become extremely fashionable, and contains numerous pubs and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, including the now closed Granita
Granita (restaurant)
Granita was a restaurant in Islington, London, England. In late May 1994 it was the alleged setting for the "Blair-Brown deal" between the then shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair and the then shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown....
where Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
were said to have made their deal on leadership once the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
won power. The southern end of Upper Street is a former tram shed which closed in 1979 and is currently a Jack Willis shop. The building was formally The Mall Antiques Arcade. Its closure reflects the reduction in the number of antique traders in the nearby Camden Passage
Camden Passage
Camden Passage is a pedestrian passage off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The passage is known for its many antiques shops, and hosts an antique market on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings...
. A weekend antiques market is still held there.
Upper Street was one of the settings for local resident Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
series. The London-based sections of the later books are set in and around Upper Street, the home address of "Fenchurch". In addition, the character of Hotblack Desiato is named after a local estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
.
In 2005 Islington Council
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington 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...
launched "Technology Mile", a project to turn Upper Street in a large scale wi-fi hotspot
Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
. Using routers mounted on lampposts anyone with a wireless enabled device can connect to Council services and the internet the entire length of Upper Street, although the best signal is found in the Islington Green
Islington Green
Islington Green is a small triangle of open land at the convergence of Upper Street and Essex Road in the London Borough of Islington...
/St. Mary's church areas.
Places of interest
Islington Museum
Islington Museum is a public museum dedicated to the history of the London Borough of Islington-History:Islington Museum opened in May 2008, funded by a £1million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The museum, which replaced a previous museum at Islington Town Hall, is owned and operated by...
. It also contains the Hope and Anchor
Hope and Anchor, Islington
The Hope and Anchor is a public house on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock...
, formerly one of the most important venues
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
of the 1970s and 80s punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scenes, hosting performances by Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
, among others (and Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
). The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
album Live at the Hope and Anchor
Live at the Hope and Anchor
Live at the Hope and Anchor is a live album by The Stranglers. It consists of an entire set from a concert at the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington, North London, recorded on 22 November, 1977. This particular concert took place on the opening night of the "Front Row Festival", a series of shows by...
was recorded here. The building is still in use as a music venue today.
Upper Street is unusual in being one of the few streets in London (along with adjoining Liverpool Road
Liverpool Road
Liverpool Road is located in the London Borough of Islington of inner north London. Liverpool Road runs parallel to Upper Street and is largely made up of Georgian architecture. It starts at Upper Street and joins Holloway Road....
) to have a "high pavement". This was constructed to protect pedestrians from being splashed by the large numbers of animals using the road to reach the Royal Agricultural Hall; as a consequence, the pavement
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
of the street is approximately 1 m above the road surface for some of the length of the street.
The radical left
In the 1970s and 80s Upper Street was a focal point of the radical leftFar left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
. It was home to Sisterwrite, Britain's first feminist bookshop, as well as the Trotskyist Pioneer Books, the anarchist Rising Free shop (famous for stealing stock from other shops to sell in theirs) and the socialist Red Books. In the 1980s, Upper Street was home to the Islington Action Group for the Unwaged, a major far left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
campaigning and activist group, and to the squatter-run Molly's Cafe, a focal point for the anarchist and squatting
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
movement. Upper Street made headlines on 23 July 1995, when the Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim The Streets is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterize the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalization, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.-Protests:Reclaim The...
movement took over the street, barricaded it to traffic and held a long party in the street.