London Villages Week 1 (in the wrong sequence)

Oddly I seem to have somehow lost my post about the first week (Islington) - so here I'll try to recreate it..

it was a hot day ..

Islington Green War Memorial 

Then onto the War Memorial, the memorial was completed in 2007, the design was from the artist John Maine his idea was a  twisted stone ring, like a wreath and  was accepted by a memorial commission,

 The stone for the new memorial was sourced from Fujian province in eastern China, and the 8 tonnes (8.8 tons) ring was carved in China before being shipped to England. An inscription on a nearby slab repeats the words from the original memorial, "In Memory of the Fallen".

The Plaque until 1958

There are  slabs bear the words "Land", "Sea", "Air" and "Home". The project cost £490,000, of which the stone for the memorial, and the apron and walls, cost approximately £100,000.

The Green - it might be where people grab a sandwich now but it used to be used by animals 

At the end of the green a building now a Waterstones bookshop is marked by a blue plaque, marking as the former Collins Music Hall which was still running in 1958 with such stars as Norman Wisdom and Gracie Fields entertaining there.

Paul  Sinclair (course leader)  talks about the theatre 

As we mentioned Gracie Fields - here's where the Lancashire lass  lived in Islington.

I don't think it was Pizzas then.

A beloved entertainer who spent much time in Capri

We walked on to what had been the building for the Tram generator/depot but is now a 'Sofa Centre'.
It shows itself to be based on prison design.

Not the greatest architecture

Not everyone knows that our Foreign Secretary and man who tends to speak before thinking (the wealthy Boris Johnston) lives in Islington and here's his house - in Colebrooke Row.

Boris runs and cycles from here

Not far from the house of BoJo is the Regents Canal reminding us how bulky materials were carried into the conurbations before Rail and the internal combustion engine - it's now used for leisure and also as a way that some, less financially secure than our 'tousle haired'  former mayor can afford to live.

Regents Canal

One of my favourite  sites on the walk was this- the Spontaneous City in the Tree of Haven.

A big bird house

The sign explaining

Then we saw a school, Owens Fields  bequeathed by Alice Owen - who was inspired following an Archery incident.

and here was Edgerunner by the British-Romanian artist Paul Neagu (1938 – 2004) who was something of an inspiration for Amish Kapoor.

Edgerunner by Paul Neagu 

The importance of water was shown during our trip - The Sadlers Wells now a famous Dance theatre was once a variety theatre - the theatre was associated with water which meant people congregated there.

The theatre now

The Sadlers Wells 

Sitting in the sun at the flats 

Municipal housing designed by Berthold Lubetkin was designed and built to provide the best accommodation for working people Spa Green Estate is an example of this (now it has many private tenants) .

Spa Flats designed by Berthold Lubetkin

Then onto Myddelton Square which was home for a while (despite the inscription he died at 99) to another Socialist (and pacifist) Fenner Brockway .

He is dead though 

 St Marks Church in Myddleton Square. 

We finished up the tour with a nice anecdote about wooden cobbles - apparently Lord Sugar was involved in the sale of some of these, heavily tarred they mad great (and profitable) fire lighters.

Lord Sugar has not got his hands on these ones.

Statue at the station

And then back to Angel Tube Station and a statue 'Angel' there by Kevin Boys.