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Islington

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{{otheruses}} {{infobox London place| |Place= Islington |Borough= London Borough of Islington Islington |Traditional= Middlesex |Constituency= |PostTown= LONDON |PostCode= London N1 N1 |DiallingCode= 020 |GridReference= TQ315845 |GLA= North East London }}'''Islington''' is an inner-city district in north London. The area usually referred to as Islington is now part of the London Borough of Islington to which it gave its name. The street that forms the linear centre of Islington is Upper Street and contains numerous restaurants, clothes boutiques, present shops and pubs. It is also home to Arsenal F.C., who are situated in Highbury.

History
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.

Gentrification
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 "The Guardian Guardian readers" and/or "champagne socialists". Despite this, parts of Islington still suffer from urban deprivation, and grim council estates sit cheek by jowl with elegant Georgian architecture Georgian houses. It is one of the most socially diverse boroughs in the United Kingdom UK and contains the parliamentary constituencies of Islington North (UK Parliamentary constituency) Islington North and Islington South and Finsbury

In literature
Image:Islington E Baker 1805.jpg thumb|250px|An 1805 map of Islington. 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. Holloway Road was the home to the fictional Charles Pooter in the classic 19th Century Novel Diary of a Nobody.

Residents
*Sir Francis Bacon, philosopher, essayist and King James I's Lord Chancellor lived in Canonbury Tower between 1616 and his death ten years later. *Kate Greenaway, children's writer and book illustrator, lived in Upper Street for 20 years before moving to Holloway. *Edmund Halley, Astronomer Royal and discoverer of Halley's Comet lived in Islington (exact location unknown) from 1665. *William Hogarth, artist, was born in Bartholomew Close in 1697 and spent his early years in Islington. *Nick Hornby lives in Highbury and set books such as ''High Fidelity'' and ''About a Boy'' in Islington. Hornby moved to Highbury partially due to his intense fandom for Arsenal F.C. Arsenal; his first literary success, ''Fever Pitch'', is about Islington's most famous institution. *Charles Lamb, writer, lived in Chapel Street from 1796 and later in Colebrook Row. *Vladimir Ulyanov Lenin lived at 30 Holford Square from 1902 and later at 16, Percy Circus. *George Orwell lived in Canonbury Square between the wars, and based the depressing setting of ''Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984'' on his run-down surroundings. *Sir Walter Raleigh, writer, poet, courtier and explorer lived in Upper Street between 1575 and 1581. *Evelyn Waugh, writer, also lived in Canonbury Square from 1828.

Fame
Image:IslingtonTownHall.jpg thumb|250px|Islington Town Hall. Islington is well known for its antique shops. The area is also well-known through the British version of Monopoly (game) 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 licensees 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.

Universities
Islington is home to two universities; *City University, London City University in Northampton Square, formerly the Northampton Institute, founded in 1894. *London Metropolitan University in Holloway Road, formerly the University of North London and founded in 1896 as the Northern Polytechnic Institute.

See also
*Almeida Theatre *Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art *Business Design Centre

External links

- Islington Primary Care Trust
- Islington Council
- Weather forecast for Islington
- Islington Labour Party
- Islington Liberal Democrats
- St Mary Magdalene's Church, Holloway Road
- St Mary's Church, Upper Street {{London Districts}} Category:Islington Category:Districts of London no:Islington simple:Islington Image:LondonIslington.png 200px|Islington Category:Districts of London

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