Essex Road is a main road in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is part of the A104 and connects

Islington High Street Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's Islington#Islington High Street, High Street to Hig ...

with Balls Pond Road via

Essex Road railway station Essex Road is a National Rail station in Canonbury in Greater London, England, and is on the Northern City Line between and , down the line from , and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is at the junction of Essex Road, Canonbury Road and ...

Location

The road is about long. It starts as continuation of

Islington Green Islington Green is a small triangle of open land at the convergence of Upper Street and Essex Road (once called Lower Street) in the London Borough of Islington. It roughly marks the northern boundary between the modern district of Angel and Isli ...

, which is a fork from

, and runs northeastwards over New North Road towards Balls Pond Road. It is part of the A104, a main local road across northeast London.

History

The northern section of the road was once called Seveney Street, possibility indicating a Roman connection. The southern section was called Lower Street, as it was a lower ground level than

Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pentonv ...

. Many properties along the road were constructed in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of these are still standing, though the various inns alongside them have been redeveloped. Islington Market was founded in 1836 by John Perkins on a site to the east of Essex Road and north of what is now Northchurch Road. It was not successful, and the site lay derelict for some years. After the

Caledonian Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. ...

was established elsewhere in Islington, the old market area was laid out with new streets. The New River crossed Essex Road where it met Colebrooke Row in a tunnel. The river was piped in 1861.

Properties

Fisher House stood at the junction of Essex Road and Cross Street. It was constructed in the 17th century as a residential mansion. It later became an asylum before being demolished in 1845. The Old Queen's Head, a pub, contains a plaster ceiling and chimneypiece constructed in the 16th century.

The Lower Street Meeting House was founded in 1744 at what is now the junction of Essex Road and Greenman Street. It was the first

Dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

chapel to be constructed in Islington. It subsequently became The Green Man, a pub. Samuel Ridley's floorcloth factory was built in 1812 on what was open fields around the north end of Essex Road. It became Probyn's bottling factory in 1893, and was later redeveloped as council offices in the 1970s. The South Library is on the corner of Essex Road and Cross Street. It was constructed in 1916 in a Queen Anne style. The Carlton Cinema was at Nos. 161-169. It was built in 1930 in an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style by George Coles, using an Egyptian style facade. It was subsequently used as a bingo hall, and then a place of worship. The building is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Transport

is halfway along the road. It opened on 14 February 1904 as part of the

Great Northern & City Railway The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branc ...

from to . Services are operated by Great Northern.

References

Citations Sources * {{commons category, Essex Road, London Streets in the London Borough of Islington Islington