Angel to Great Percy Street

Another sunny day, albeit a chilly one as we have hit a cold patch, so I decided to do a longish walk through Islington, in part through areas I had walked through previously in a more haphazard way or with others. This time I was concentrating!

So, stated at Angel, so obligatory photo of the Angel. The area actually derives its name from the Angel pub - although not this one but a predecessor. It used to be a coaching inn on the way into London.

This is the famous Sadler's Wells theatre. The actual well, discovered by a bloke called Sadler (having been covered over during the dissolution of the monasteries), can apparently be seen inside the theatre. It was exploited as a spring with healing powers (as all springs seem to have been in the 17th century. Well if your choice of healing method is drink spring water or be covered in leeches its a bit of a no brainer.). And because it was a fashionable spring Sadler wanted to increase the attraction so he built a theatre. And the rest, as they say, is history. Apparently this is the 6th incarnation of the theatre, dating back to 1998. Not exactly venerable by London theatre standards.

 

A little older is the Spa Green Estate, a listed building. Designed by Berthold Lubetkin before the War in Modernist style. Trouble is, when you ignore the big name architect and its historical importance as an early Modernist work in London, you are just left with the realisation that almost any estate built now would be less ugly than this one. Albeit some Sixties and Seventies designed ones are even worse.

This space below is where the New River used to come out into a reservoir to serve London. Beyond, and photos below, are of the former HQ of the Metropolitan Water Board, unsurprisingly sited at the New River Head.

In contrast to the Soviet style of the Lubetkin housing, nearby is the pretty little Wilmington Square. Very much a feature of Islington as an area, beautiful and extremely expensive squares cheek by jowl with modern council estates.

And from the Square you can see the next housing estate, but a slightly older and more appealing one, the brick built Charles Rowan House. Dating from the 1930s and originally intended as housing for married policemen.

It feels a bit fortress like but there is a more welcoming little courtyard inside.

Not the place you might expect to find figs, but here are three very aged fig trees now intertwined and propped.

This is St Mark's Church in the middle of another attractive square, Myddleton Square.

Fortunately the decision was taken to rebuild the destruction here rather than stick in a new build.

The church was designed by William Mylne.

All the streets and squares here are beautiful, culminating in Lloyd Square and Great Percy Street and Circus, named after Robert Percy Smith, former director of the New River Company. (Bringing fresh water to London was a big deal!)