Highbury is a district in
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
and part of the
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...
in
Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads.
The manor house was situated by what is now the east side of Hornsey Road near the junction with Seven Sisters Road. After the manor decayed, a new manor house was built in 1271 (see below) to the south-east; to differentiate it from the original manor and because it was on a hill, it was called Highbury, from which the area takes its name.
The site for Highbury Manor was possibly used by a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
garrison as a summer camp. During the construction of a new Highbury House in 1781, tiles were found that could have been Roman or
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
; however, these have been lost.
Highbury Manor
Ownership of Highbury eventually passed to Alicia de Barrow, who in 1271 gave it to the Priory of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the
Knights Hospitallers in England. The wealthy Lord Prior built Highbury manor as a substantial stone country lodging with a grange and barn.
In 1381, during the
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Blac ...
,
Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
led a mob of 20,000 rioters who "so offended by the wealth and haughtiness" of the Knights Hospitallers destroyed the manor house. The
Lord Prior at the time,
Robert Hales
Sir Robert Hales ( – 14 June 1381) was Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller of England, Lord High Treasurer, and Admiral of the West. He was killed in the Peasants' Revolt.
Career
In 1372 Robert Hales became the Lord/Grand Prior of th ...
, who had taken refuge in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
, was captured and beheaded on
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
. Jack Straw and some of his followers used the site as a temporary headquarters; consequently the derelict manor became known for the next 500 years as Jack Straw's Castle. This should not be confused with the better known Jack Straw's Castle, formerly a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
and now residential
flats at Whitestone Ponds,
Hampstead, which was named after the semi-legendary leader of the revolt.
Highbury House
![Highbury Clock-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Highbury_Clock-1.jpg)
The Manor of Highbury remained the possession of the Knights of St John until it was confiscated by
Henry VIII in 1540. The land then stayed as crown property until
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
began selling it in the 17th century.
John Dawes, a wealthy
stockbroker, acquired the site of Jack Straw's Castle together with of surrounding land. In 1781 he built Highbury House at a cost of £10,000 on the spot where Highbury Manor had stood. Over the next 30 years the house was extended by new owners, firstly
Alexander Aubert
Alexander Aubert FRS FSA, (1730–1805), was an eminent English amateur astronomer and businessman.
Life
He was born at Austin Friars, London, 11 May 1730. The appearance of the Great Comet of 1744 gave him, then a schoolboy at Geneva, a per ...
and then John Bentley, to include a large
observatory and lavish gardens.
The grounds around Highbury House started to be sold off in 1794. By 1894 Highbury House and its remaining grounds became a school. Finally in 1938 Highbury House was demolished and is now the site of Eton House flats (on Leigh Road), built by the Old Etonian Housing Association in 1939.
Highbury Barn
![Highbury Barn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Highbury_Barn.jpg)
After the Manor house had been destroyed in 1381, the grange and barn remained on the east side of the track that ran south to Hopping Lane, now St Paul's Road, roughly on the line of Highbury Park / Highbury Grove (the A1201). In 1740 a small ale and cake house was opened in the Barn, Highbury.
In 1770 William Willoughby took over Highbury Barn and greatly increased its popularity. He expanded its size and facilities, taking over land and buildings from the farm next door, reaching beyond what is now Kelvin Road and created a bowling green,
trap-ball grounds and gardens. It could cater for company dinners of 2,000 people, concerts and dancing and became one of the most popular venues in London.
In 1854 events at the annual balls in the grounds of the Barn included the
aeronaut
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifie ...
Charles Green's balloon ascent. By 1865 there was a huge dancing platform, a rebuilt theatre, high-wire acts,
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
, music hall and the original
Siamese twins. The Barn became the victim of its own success. After a riot led by students from
Bart's Hospital in 1869, locals complained about the Barn's increasingly riotous and bawdy clientele. This led to a court case and in 1871 authorities revoked the Barn's dancing licence.
Residential growth
By 1794 Highbury consisted of Highbury House and Highbury Hill House, Highbury Barn and the gated terraces of Highbury Terrace and Highbury Place, which had been built on land leased by John Dawes. Highbury may have stayed this way, as the plan was to create a park – Albert Park – between St Paul's Road/Balls Pond Road and the Seven Sisters Road. Instead a 27.5 acre (111,000 m
2) site, which is now Highbury Fields was saved in 1869 and the 115 acre (465,000 m
2) Finsbury Park were created. The rest of the area was developed.
The greater part of the development of the area occurred in two phases; until the 1870s many large Italianate
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s were built, mostly in the southern part of Highbury. After this time, development went high-density with close packed mostly
terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s being built, mainly in the north of Highbury. Available land continued to be in-filled with more housing until 1918, but little else changed until after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
A need for a place for Catholic residents of Highbury to worship in the 1920s led to the commissioning of St Joan of Arc's church, thought to be the first dedicated to the saint canonised in 1920,
on a site on Kelross Road where the church hall is now located. The church was soon expanded, but the influx of Catholic residents after the war led to a need for a new, larger church.
The new church, also dedicated to St Joan of Arc, and designed by
Stanley Kerr Bate, opened on 23 September 1962 on Highbury Park.
![St_Joan_of_Arc_Parish_Church,_Highbury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/St_Joan_of_Arc_Parish_Church%2C_Highbury.jpg)
Highbury was bombed during
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
and again by
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
s. On 27 June 1944, a V-1 destroyed Highbury Corner, killing 26 people and injuring 150. Highbury Corner had an impressive station and hotel which were damaged in this attack but its main building remained in use until demolished in the 1960s during the building of the
Victoria Line
The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underg ...
. The original westbound platform buildings remain on the opposite side of Holloway Road, as does a small part of the original entrance to the left of the present station entrance. A red
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pl ...
, mounted on a building wall overlooking the
roundabout, commemorates this event.
After the Second World War large-scale rebuilding in parts of Highbury replaced bombed buildings and provided new municipal housing. Some villas that had not been modernised were demolished to make way for yet more municipal housing; some buildings had to be listed to protect them. Following the property boom in the early 1980s, there has been some
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
in the area and the council has begun selling some of the grand villas to private developers who have the finances to restore them, e.g. in 2004 Islington council sold four buildings on Highbury New Park to developers for £1 million each.
The Highbury Community Association (HCA) was formed in 1997. Since then, the HCA has grown to represent residents and businesses in Highbury, Lower Holloway and Finsbury Park. The HCA campaigns on many different aspects of living and working in this area of North Islington in London.
Arsenal Stadium
![Arsenal Stadium interior Clock End](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Arsenal_Stadium_interior_Clock_End.jpg)
In 1913
Woolwich Arsenal F.C. moved north to Highbury, dropping
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
from its name. Their chairman Sir
Henry Norris took a 20-year lease on part of the grounds of St John's Hall for £20,000. The new
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nicknam ...
(also called Highbury) was built there. St John's Hall, originally called Highbury College (of Divinity), was built in 1825 on what is now Aubert Park and was a grand
ionic-style building, reminiscent of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. St John's Hall burnt down in 1946 and was replaced by a block of flats.
The club prospered and by 1925 had purchased the freehold. Arsenal's subsequent success made Highbury well known, albeit initially with depressing effect on nearby housing. In 2006 the club moved to
Ashburton Grove
The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...
on the west side of Drayton Park in Highbury. The old stadium was converted into a luxury housing complex known as
Highbury Square
Highbury Square is an apartment complex in Highbury, London. It is a redevelopment of the old Highbury Stadium site, the home stadium of Arsenal F.C. until 2006 when they moved to the newly built Emirates Stadium nearby.
History
The venue w ...
, with the two listed main stands being converted into apartments, ensuring their original exteriors remained almost entirely preserved. The unlisted North Bank and Clock End stands have been demolished to make way for entirely new apartment blocks. The pitch has been converted into a garden, with private gym and swimming pool located underneath it. Today, property in the area around the old Highbury stadium is highly sought after, and prices for apartments within the stadium start at £300k.
Highbury in the arts
For 40 years from 1965,
Highbury New Park was home to Wessex Studios. Created by the Beatles producer Sir
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...
(who grew up on Drayton Park in Highbury), the studios saw the recording of some of the best-known albums created by bands including Queen, Genesis, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. The building is now a block of residential apartments called "The Recording Studio" and located at 106, Highbury New Park. (Refs: George Martin speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs; The Independent, 3 November 2004; the "Queen – Days of our Lives" documentary screened by BBC4 in April 2012.)
Highbury was also home to
Highbury Studios, a film/TV/recording studio further along the same street, at 65A Highbury New Park; these studios had a training school next door in a disused
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
hall. Built initially as a music conservatoire in 1890, the site became a recording studio in 1926 for the Piccadilly label. In 1933, they became the Highbury (film) Studios and in 1945 they were acquired by the
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...
. Due to economic difficulties, Rank closed the studios down and they were demolished in 1960. Athenaeum Court, a block of flats, now occupies the site.
As of September 2019, Highbury is home to th
London Screen Academy(LSA), a state-funded sixth form college located on Highbury Grove opposite Christ Church. LSA is dedicated to training young people of all backgrounds in behind-the-camera skills. LSA's founders include Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of
Working Title Films
Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Be ...
, Lisa Bryer of Cowboy Films, David Heyman of Heyday Films, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson of
Eon Productions
Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK.
''Bond'' films
Eon was started ...
.
The following books and films feature parts of Highbury:
*The book ''A London Family 1870–1900'' by
Molly Hughes, . In particular it mentions Highbury New Park.
*The book ''The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn
''. The dramatic book finishes with scenes at Highbury Corner on 27 June 1944 after an attack by V-1 flying bomb.
*The film ''Killing Her Softly'' was partially filmed on Highbury New Park.
*The film ''
Fever Pitch
''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...
'' was filmed around the Arsenal stadium and along Highbury Hill.
*The film ''
Four Weddings and a Funeral
''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...
'' begins with Hugh Grant trying to hail a taxi at Highbury Corner and ends in front of the houses that run along the edge of
Highbury Fields.
*The film ''
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
''The Arsenal Stadium Mystery'' is a 1939 British mystery film and one of the first feature films wherein football is a central element in the plot. The film was directed by Thorold Dickinson, and shot at Denham Film Studios and on location ...
'' was filmed in and around the Arsenal stadium.
*The poem ''
Summoned by Bells
''Summoned by Bells'', the blank verse autobiography by John Betjeman, describes his life from his early memories of a middle-class home in Edwardian Hampstead, London, to his premature departure from Magdalen College, Oxford.
The book was firs ...
'' by
John Betjeman. This verse autobiography mentions Highbury several times, including St Saviours Church on Aberdeen Park, which he used to attend. St Saviours closed in 1980 and is now an art studio.
*Highbury is where the fictional comedy character
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...
lives.
*Writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
recorded a 'beat seance' in and about Highbury, titled '
The Highbury Working'.
*In the early 70s a drama was filmed by the BBC called "The House on Highbury Hill".
*Highbury is mentioned in ''
Vanity Fair'', the novel by
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
; in chapter 4, the Sedleys are said to be going "to dine with Alderman Balls, at Highbury Barn."
*The novel ''
Emma'' by
Jane Austen is set in a village called Highbury, though located in
Surrey.This information is fairly pertinent here, since Austen's fictitious Highbury village might otherwise be confused with the Islington area. This is so despite the author's placing Emma's Highbury 'sixteen miles from London' and the fact that it is regarded by perhaps most Austen scholars as imagined to be in Surrey.
*Highbury is mentioned in The Fire Sermon, part III of
T.S. Eliot's
The Waste Land
''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...
: "Highbury bore me. Richmond and Kew / Undid me."
Highbury is the setting of Andrea Levy's autobiographical novel, Every Light in the House Burnin'.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census Highbury has a population of 21,959. It is 75% White, 11% Black and 6% Asian. 40% of Highbury's residences are owner-occupied. The area is considered as multi-ethnic part-gentrified.
Geography
![Islington Met](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Islington_Met._B_Ward_Map_1916.svg)
Highbury is situated north of
Charing Cross. Its area is approximately .
Rail and tube stations
Nearest rail and tube stations:
*
Arsenal tube station
Arsenal is a London Underground station located in Highbury, London. It is on the Piccadilly line, between Holloway Road and Finsbury Park stations, in Travelcard Zone 2. Originally known as Gillespie Road, it was renamed in 1932 after Arsenal ...
*
Canonbury railway station
Canonbury railway station serves the districts of Canonbury and Highbury within the London Borough of Islington in north London. It is on London Overground's North London line and East London line. The station and all trains serving it are op ...
*
Drayton Park railway station
Drayton Park is a National Rail station in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. It is on the Northern City Line between Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park stations, down the line from ; it is in Travelcard Zone 2.
The st ...
*
Finsbury Park station
Finsbury Park is an intermodal interchange station in north London. It serves a number of National Rail, London Underground and bus services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over 33 million passengers u ...
*
Holloway Road tube station
Holloway Road is a station on the London Underground. It is on the Piccadilly line between Caledonian Road and Arsenal stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station opened on 15 December 1906.
The station was constructed by the Great North ...
*
Highbury & Islington station
Highbury & Islington is a London Underground and National Rail interchange station in the London Borough of Islington, north London. It is served by the London Underground's Victoria line and the Great Northern's Northern City Line, as well as ...
References
External links
'A History of Highbury' tribute at Arsenal-landLondon Landscape TV episode (6 mins) about Highbury and ArsenalThe Highbury Community Association represents residents and businesses in the Highbury, Lower Holloway and Finsbury Park areas of North London
{{Authority control
Districts of the London Borough of Islington
Areas of London