Editing Islington (section)

==History==
[[File:Islington Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|The Metropolitan Borough of Islington in 1916. The borough inherited the much older boundaries of the ancient parish of Islington.]]

===Etymology===
The manor of Islington was named by the [[Saxons]] ''Giseldone'' (1005), then ''Gislandune'' (1062). The name means "Gīsla's hill" from the Old English [[personal name]] ''Gīsla'' and ''[[dun (fortification)|dun]]'' ("hill", "[[Downland|down]]"). The name later mutated to ''Isledon'', which remained in use well into the 17th century when the modern form arose.<ref name=Growth>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=6734 "Islington: Growth", A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 9–19]. Retrieved 13 March 2007</ref><ref>Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives;http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no541a/aCP40no541afronts/IMG_0036.htm; entry number 6; the place where the second defendant lived: Iseldon; Year: 1396</ref> The manor, which was served by the ancient parish of Islington, later sub-divided, with new estates such as ''Neweton Berewe'', [[Barnsbury| ''Bernersbury'']], [[Highbury| ''Hey-bury'']] and [[Canonbury| ''Canonesbury'']] – names first recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries) co-existing with the rump of the manor of Islington. The ancient parish of Islington continued to serve the rump manor of Islington and also the various manors that had broken away from it.

===Origins===
[[File:Agricultural Hall Islington ILN 1861.jpg|thumb|left|1861 Royal Agricultural Hall, view from Liverpool Road. Now the rear entrance to the [[Business Design Centre]]]]
[[File:Agricultural Hall Cattle Show ILN 1861.jpg|thumb|left|1861 Cattle show at the Royal Agricultural Hall]]
Some roads on the edge of the area, including [[Essex Road]], were known as ''streets'' by the medieval period, possibly indicating a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] origin, but little physical evidence remains. What is known is that the [[Great North Road (United Kingdom)|Great North Road]] from [[Aldersgate]] came into use in the 14th century, connecting with a new turnpike (toll road) up [[Highgate|Highgate Hill]]. This was along the line of modern Upper Street, with a toll gate at [[The Angel, Islington|The Angel]] defining the extent of the village. The ''Back Road'', the modern [[Liverpool Road]], was primarily a [[drovers' road]] where cattle would be rested before the final leg of their journey to [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]]. Pens and sheds were erected along this road to accommodate the animals.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=7111 'Islington: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 3–8]. Retrieved 9 March 2007</ref>

The first recorded church, [[St Mary's Church, Islington|St Mary's]], was erected in the twelfth century and was replaced in the fifteenth century.<ref name="Richardson">John Richardson, ''Islington Past'', Revised Edition, Historical Publications Limited, 2000;pp 59–60.</ref> Islington lay on the estates of the [[Bishop of London]] and the Dean and Chapter of [[St Paul's Cathedral|St Pauls]]. There were substantial medieval moated [[manor house]]s in the area, principally at Canonbury and Highbury. In 1548, there were 440 communicants listed and the rural atmosphere, with access to the City and Westminster, made it a popular residence for the rich and eminent.<ref name=Growth/> The local inns harboured many fugitives and sheltered recusants.

===Water sources===
[[File:Hugh myddleton islington green 1.jpg|thumb|upright|A statue of [[Hugh Myddelton]], creator of the [[New River (London)|New River]], surmounts a drinking fountain at [[Islington Green]]. (November 2005)]]
The hill on which Islington stands has long supplied the [[City of London]] with water, the first projects drawing water through wooden pipes from the many springs that lay at its foot, in [[Finsbury]]. These included [[Sadler's Wells]], London Spa and [[Clerkenwell]].

By the 17th century these traditional sources were inadequate to supply the growing population and plans were laid to construct a waterway, the [[New River (London)|New River]], to bring fresh water from the source of the [[River Lea]], in [[Hertfordshire]] to [[New River Head]], below Islington in [[Finsbury]]. The river was opened on 29 September 1613 by Sir [[Hugh Myddelton]], the constructor of the project. His statue still stands where Upper Street meets Essex Road. The course of the river ran to the east of Upper Street, and much of its course is now covered and forms a ''linear park'' through the area.<ref>[http://www.thameswater.co.uk/waterinschools/newriver/story.html ''The Story of the New River'' (Thames Water)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211190732/http://www.thameswater.co.uk/waterinschools/newriver/story.html |date=11 February 2008 }}. Retrieved 12 December 2007</ref>

The [[Regent's Canal]] passes through Islington, for much of which in an {{convert|886|m|ft|0|adj=on}} tunnel that runs from Colebrook Row east of the Angel, to emerge at Muriel Street near Caledonian Road. The stretch is marked above with a series of pavement plaques so walkers may find their way from one entrance to the other. The area of the canal east of the tunnel and north of the City Road was once dominated by much warehousing and industry surrounding the large City Road Basin and Wenlock Basin. Those old buildings that survive here are now largely residential or small creative work units. This stretch has an old double-fronted pub ''The Narrowboat'', one side accessed from the towpath.

The canal was constructed in 1820 to carry cargo from [[Limehouse]] into the canal system. There is no tow-path in the tunnel so bargees had to ''walk'' their barges through, braced against the roof.<ref>Alan Faulkner "The Regent's Canal: London's Hidden Waterway" (2005) {{ISBN|1-870002-59-8}}</ref> Commercial use of the canal has declined since the 1960s.

===Market gardens and entertainments===
In the 17th and 18th centuries the availability of water made Islington a good place for growing vegetables to feed London. The manor became a popular excursion destination for Londoners, attracted to the area by its rural feel. Many [[public houses]] were therefore built to serve the needs of both the excursionists and travellers on the turnpike. By 1716, there were 56 ale-house keepers in Upper Street, also offering pleasure and tea gardens, and activities such as archery, [[Skittles (sport)|skittle]] alleys and bowling. By the 18th century, music and dancing were offered, together with billiards, firework displays and balloon ascents. The ''[[The King's Head Theatre|King's Head Tavern]]'', now a [[Victorian era|Victorian]] building with a theatre, has remained on the same site, opposite the parish church, since 1543.<ref name=social/> The founder of the theatre, Dan Crawford, who died in 2005, disagreed with the introduction of decimal coinage. For twenty-plus years after decimalisation (on 15 February 1971), the bar continued to show prices and charge for drinks in pre-decimalisation currency.

By the 19th century many [[music halls]] and theatres were established around [[Islington Green]]. One such was [[Collins's Music Hall]], the remains of which are now partly incorporated into a bookshop. The remainder of the Hall has been redeveloped into a new theatre, with its entrance at the bottom of [[Essex Road]]. It stood on the site of the Landsdowne Tavern, where the landlord had built an entertainment room for customers who wanted to sing (and later for professional entertainers). It was founded in 1862 by Samuel Thomas Collins Vagg and by 1897 had become a 1,800-seat theatre with 10 bars. The theatre suffered damage in a fire in 1958 and has not reopened.<ref name=social/> Between 92 and 162 acts were put on each evening and performers who started there included [[Marie Lloyd]], [[George Robey]], [[Harry Lauder]], [[Harry Tate]], [[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]], [[Vesta Tilley]], [[Tommy Trinder]], [[Gracie Fields]], [[Tommy Handley]] and [[Norman Wisdom]].
[[File:Islington E Baker 1805.jpg|thumb|250px|An 1805 map of Islington]]

The Islington Literary and Scientific Society was established in 1833 and first met in Mr. Edgeworth's Academy on Upper Street. Its goal was to spread knowledge through lectures, discussions, and experiments, politics and theology being forbidden. A building, the Literary and Scientific Institution, was erected in 1837 in Wellington (later Almeida) Street, designed by Roumieu and Gough in a stuccoed Grecian style. It included a library (containing 3,300 volumes in 1839), reading room, museum, laboratory, and lecture theatre seating 500. The subscription was two guineas a year. After the library was sold off in 1872, the building was sold or leased in 1874 to the ''Wellington Club'', which occupied it until 1886. In 1885 the hall was used for concerts, balls, and public meetings. The [[Salvation Army]] bought the building in 1890, renamed it the Wellington Castle barracks, and remained there until 1955. The building became a factory and showroom for Beck's British Carnival Novelties for a few years from 1956, after which it stood empty. In 1978 a campaign began with the goal to redevelop the building as a theatre. A public appeal was launched in 1981, and a festival of avant-garde theatre and music was held there and at other Islington venues in 1982. What has become the successful [[Almeida Theatre]] was founded.<ref name=social/>

===Royal Agricultural Hall===
The [[Royal Agricultural Hall]] was built in 1862 on the [[Liverpool Road]] site of William Dixon's Cattle Layers. The hall was 75&nbsp;ft high and the arched glass roof spanned 125&nbsp;ft. It was built for the annual [[Smithfield Show]] in December of that year but was popular for other purposes, including recitals and the [[Royal Tournament]]. It was the primary exhibition site for London until the 20th century and the largest building of its kind, holding up to 50,000 people.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=168&st=Islington A Vision of Britain – Islington]. Retrieved 26 April 2007</ref> It was requisitioned for use by the [[Mount Pleasant sorting office]] during World War II and never re-opened. The main hall has now been incorporated into the Business Design Centre.<ref name=social>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=471 'Islington: Social and cultural activities', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 45–51]. Retrieved 8 March 2007</ref>

===Islington Pals===
At the beginning of [[World War I]] the enthusiastic response to [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]]'s call to arms, 'Your King and Country Need You', overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb the volunteers. Soon local committees were recruiting complete units, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as '[[Pals battalions]]'. In February 1915 Kitchener approached the 28 [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|Metropolitan Borough Councils]] in the [[County of London]], and the 'Great Metropolitan Recruiting Campaign' went ahead in April, with each mayor asked to raise a unit of local men.<ref>Paul McCue, ''Wandsworth and Battersea Battalions in the Great War, 1915–1918'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884194-9, pp. 10–1.</ref> The [[Metropolitan Borough of Islington|Mayor and Borough of Islington]] agreed and on 18 May they were authorised to raise the [[21st (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Islington)]]. The 'Islington Pals' served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] from 1916 to 1918 as part of [[40th Division (United Kingdom)|40th Division]], seeing action against the [[Hindenburg Line]] and at [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Bourlon Wood]]. After the huge casualties it suffered during the [[German spring offensive]] of March–April 1918, the battalion went back to England to be reconstituted from men of lower medical category, and never returned to the Western Front. It was disbanded soon after the [[Armistice with Germany]].<ref> Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9, p. 94.</ref><ref>[http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/the-duke-of-cambridges-own-middlesex-regiment/ Middlesex Regiment at the Long, Long Trail.]</ref>

===Housing===
Some early development took place to accommodate the popularity of the nearby Sadler's Wells, which became a resort in the 16th century, but the 19th century saw the greatest expansion in housing, soon to cover the whole parish. In 1801, the population was 10,212, but by 1891 this had increased to 319,143. This rapid expansion was partly due to the introduction of horse-drawn omnibuses in 1830. Large well-built houses and fashionable squares drew clerks, artisans and professionals to the district. However, from the middle of the 19th century the poor were being displaced by clearances in inner London to build the new railway stations and goods yards. Many of the displaced settled in Islington, with the houses becoming occupied by many families. This, combined with the railways pushing into outer Middlesex, reduced Islington's attraction for the "better off" as it became "unfashionable".<ref name="world and its people">{{cite book
  |last = Dunton
  |first = Larkin
  |title = The World and Its People
  |url = https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog
  |publisher = Silver, Burdett
  |year = 1896
  |page = [https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog/page/n37 29]}}</ref> The area fell into a long decline; and by the mid-20th century, it was largely run-down and a byword for urban poverty.<ref name=Growth/>

[[The Blitz|The aerial bombing of World War II]] caused much damage to Islington's housing stock, with 3,200 dwellings destroyed. Before the war, a number of 1930s [[Public housing in the United Kingdom|council housing]] blocks had been added to the stock. After the war, partly as a result of bomb site redevelopment, the council housing boom got into its stride, reaching its peak in the 1960s: several extensive estates were constructed, by both the [[Metropolitan Borough of Islington]] and the [[London County Council]]. Clearance of the worst [[terraced housing]] was undertaken, but Islington continued to be very densely populated, with a high level of overcrowding. The district has many council blocks, and the local authority has begun to replace some of them.

From the 1960s, the remaining [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] terraces were rediscovered by middle-class families. Many of the houses were rehabilitated, and the area became newly fashionable. This displacement of the poor by the aspirational has become known as [[gentrification]]. Among the new residents were a number of figures who became central in the [[New Labour]] movement, including [[Tony Blair]] before his victory in the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]]. According to ''[[The Guardian]] in 2006,'' "Islington is widely regarded as the spiritual home of Britain's left-wing intelligentsia."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,1724459,00.html David Clark, "Accusations of anti-Semitic chic are poisonous intellectual thuggery"]; ''The Guardian'', 6 March 2006, Retrieved 9 March 2007</ref> The ''[[Blair-Brown deal|Granita Pact]]'' between [[Gordon Brown]] and Tony Blair is said to have been made at a now defunct restaurant on Upper Street.<ref>Happold, Tom and Maguire, Kevin. [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,971669,00.html "Revealed: Brown and Blair's pact"], ''The Guardian,'' 6 June 2003. Retrieved 25 December 2005.</ref>

The [[African National Congress]]'s headquarters in exile was based on Penton Street. It was the target of a [[1982 bombing of the African National Congress headquarters in London|bomb attack in 1982]].

The completion of the [[Victoria line]] and redevelopment of [[Angel tube station]] created the conditions for developers to renovate many of the early Victorian and Georgian townhouses. They also built new developments.  Islington remains a district with diverse inhabitants, with its private houses and apartments not far from social housing in immediately neighbouring wards such as Finsbury and Clerkenwell to the south, Bloomsbury and King's Cross to the west, and Highbury to the north west, and also the Hackney districts of De Beauvoir and Old Street to the north east.

Islington is the most densely populated borough in the UK according to the 2011 census, with a population density of 138.7 people per hectare, compared to an average of 52.0 for London.