Islington

Islington is a district in north London. The area usually referred to as Islington is now only a part of the London Borough of Islington to which it gave its name. Because of its proximity to the City of London, Islington developed as a fashionable area in the nineteenth century, with large well-built houses. However changes in residential patterns led to a decline in its popularity, and by the mid-twentieth century it was largely run down and a by-word for urban poverty.

Related Topics:
London - London Borough of Islington - City of London - Nineteenth century

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From about the 1980s the district was rediscovered, and experienced a rapid process of gentrification, becoming very popular among fashionable people, particularly of a younger generation. A number of the central figures in the New Labour movement lived there, including Tony Blair before his victory in the 1997 General Election, and the district has become synonymous with a new class of left-leaning fashionable professionals, dismissed by some as "trendies". Despite this, much of Islington still suffers from urban deprivation, and grim council estates sit cheek by jowl with elegant Georgian houses. It is one of the most socially divided boroughs in the UK and is in the parliamentary constituencies of Islington North and Islington South and Finsbury

Related Topics:
1980s - Gentrification - New Labour - Tony Blair - 1997 - General Election - Council estate - Georgian house - UK - Islington North - Islington South and Finsbury

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Islington features extensively in modern English literature and culture. Notably, Douglas Adams lived in Islington and used it as a setting in his novels. In Neil Gaiman's best selling novel Neverwhere Islington is an angel that lives under London. He is a being of pure light, and helps anyone who searches for him. Knife and Packer's cartoon It's grim up North London, published in Private Eye, satirises the stereotypical Islingtonian. George Orwell lived there between the wars, and based the depressing setting of 1984 on his run-down surroundings. Nick Hornby lives in Highbury and set books such as High Fidelity and About A Boy in Islington (mainly around the Holloway Road, near Highbury). Hornby moved to Highbury partially due to his intense fandom for Arsenal, who are based in the Highbury area; his first literary success, Fever Pitch, is about Islington's most famous institution. Mike Leigh's recent film Vera Drake was set and filmed there.

Related Topics:
Douglas Adams - Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere - Knife and Packer - Private Eye - George Orwell - 1984 - Nick Hornby - High Fidelity - About A Boy - Arsenal - Fever Pitch - Mike Leigh - Vera Drake

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Islington is well known for its antique shops. The area is also well-known through the British version of Monopoly which features The Angel, Islington. However, in the game the Angel is the third cheapest property on the board, and is said to have been included as the licencees considered the names of places they were to use on the board over tea in the Lyon's Corner House built on the site of the original Angel Inn.

Related Topics:
Monopoly - The Angel, Islington - Lyon's Corner House

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The street that forms the linear centre of Islington is Upper Street; estate agents like to speak of its 'elite amenities'. It contains numerous restaurants, clothes boutiques, present shops, pubs, and (naturally) estate agents.

Related Topics:
Upper Street - Restaurants

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