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File:Islington Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg
A map showing the Barnsbury ward of Islington Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, within the N1 and N7 postal districts.

HistoryEdit

The name is a syncopated form of Bernersbury (1274),<ref>Mills, D., Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, (2000)</ref> being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman Conquest. The area of Barnsbury was predominantly rural until the early 19th century.

By the end of the 18th century, Barnsbury, like other parts of Islington, was regarded as an attractive part-rural suburb by the comparatively wealthy people wanting to move out of the cramped City of London and industrial Clerkenwell. The area is close to the city, and had strong local trade in its position as the first staging post for travellers making the journey from London to the north, and with considerable agricultural traffic and cattle driving to the nearby Smithfield cattle market in the city.

Barnard Park, consisting of 10 acres (4 hectares) including a large area of football pitches, was created in 1967 on an area of housing that had been bombed during World War Two, and was named after former Islington Mayor Cllr George Barnard.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pentonville Prison (built 1842) is located within Barnsbury.

GovernanceEdit

Since 2006, Barnsbury electoral ward has been represented by three Labour councillors.

Notable peopleEdit

  • Gillian Anderson (born 1968), actress, activist and writer<ref>IMDb Database retrieved 2 May 2019</ref>
  • Tony and Cherie Blair, former Prime Minister and his wife, lived in Barnsbury with their family.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Nearest stationsEdit

Nearby areasEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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