![Pentonville Road, N1 - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Pentonville_Road%2C_N1_-_geograph.org.uk_-_415639.jpg)
Pentonville Road is a road in
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
that runs west to east from
Kings Cross to
City Road
City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lo ...
at
The Angel, Islington
The Angel, Islington, is a historic landmark and a series of buildings that have stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road in Islington, London, England. The land originally belonged to the Clerkenwell Priory and has had ...
. The road is part of the
London Inner Ring Road
The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although t ...
and part of the boundary of the
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...
zone.
The road was originally built in the mid-18th century as part of the
New Road, a bypass of Central London for coach traffic. It was named Pentonville Road after the
new town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
of
Pentonville
Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish o ...
, that encouraged manufacturing to move out of the city and into suburbia. Numerous factories and commercial premises became established on the road in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly after the arrival of London railways in the 1840s.
As industrial manufacturing fell out of favour in London in the late 20th century, many properties are now residential or student accommodation. Current premises include the Crafts Council Gallery on the site of a former chapel, the
Scala nightclub in a former cinema, and The Castle, a public house.
Geography
The road is long and runs east from
King's Cross station as a continuation of
Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...
. It ends at the
Angel, Islington, at a junction with
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 ...
and Goswell Road; the road ahead becoming
City Road
City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lo ...
. Only eastbound traffic can travel on the full extent of the road; westbound traffic is diverted south via Swinton Street. The road is on the
London Inner Ring Road
The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although t ...
(A501) and as such forms part of the boundary of the
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...
zone.
Since 1995, it has been a
red route
On United Kingdom roads, the term red route may refer to a stretch of road with painted red lines signifying that vehicles cannot stop there, or to a road which has historically high accident rates.
Painted lines
Red routes are major roads wit ...
, prohibiting stopping of any kind, including loading and unloading.
Most of the road is in 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 ...
but a small part near Kings Cross is in the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...
, including the
King's Cross Thameslink railway station
King's Cross Thameslink station is a closed railway station in central London, England. It is located on Pentonville Road, around east of King's Cross mainline station. At the time of closure, in 2007, it was served by Thameslink trains and ...
and the "Lighthouse" Block.
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
and
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...
stations in the vicinity include Kings Cross and
Angel Underground station.
[
There has been a bus service on Pentonville Road since 1829. Regular bus routes running along the road are 30, 73 and 146.
]
History
What is now Pentonville Road was built as the final section of the New Road in 1756, connecting the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
to the western suburbs, so that coach traffic could avoid Central London. At the time, the route now covered by Pentonville Road was mostly fields, with Battle Bridge
Kings Cross is a district on either side of Euston Road, in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Barnsbury to the north, Clerkenwell and Islington to the east, Holborn to the south and Euston to the west. It is ...
occupying the space where King's Cross now is. It included a tavern known as Busby's Folly, a meeting place of a drinking group known as the Society of Bull Feathers. It is marked on John Ogilby's map of London in 1675. It was moved around 1780 to Penton Street and renamed the Belvedere Tavern. The current building dates from 1876.
The road was designed as part of Pentonville
Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish o ...
, a new suburb away from the city and became a local hub for manufacturing in the area. There was some debate over the final route of the road; the original plan to run straight through fields owned by the Skinners Company
The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 1327 ...
and the New River Company
The New River Company, formally The Governor and Company of the New River brought from Chadwell and Amwell to London, was a privately-owned water supply company in London, England, originally formed around 1609 and incorporated in 1619 by roy ...
was rejected in favour of the route further north via Battle Bridge. As it was always intended to be a main road, a coach service began in 1798 between Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
and Bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
but was quickly withdrawn. The road was turnpiked in 1830 and renamed Pentonville Road after landowner Henry Penton in 1857. Until 1882, the upkeep of the road was paid by the local parish, paying a ground rent to Penton's estate for the disused toll house at No. 274.
The street is distinguished by the "set back" housing lines originally intended to provide an atmosphere of spaciousness along the thoroughfare. The original 1756 act to create the New Road prohibited the construction of any building within of its side. Though the area had been designed to be a pleasant suburb, the arrival of railways in the 1840s turned the road into an industrial urban street, with factories and workshops aligning the road. The original bylaw restricting property on the front of the road was ignored and shops were built on top of gardens.
By the 21st century, most of the manufacturing base along Pentonville Road had disappeared. The original townhouses are now apartments.
Properties
Alexander Cumming, former clockmaker and organ builder to Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold".
Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon .
Erkanbald, bishop o ...
, built a house at No. 166 Pentonville Road. In 1807, the year after his death, the house became the London Female Penitentiary, housing "fallen women
"Fallen woman" is an archaic term which was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. In 19th-century Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the loss or surrender of a w ...
" and rehabilitating them into society. It was extended between 1811 and 1812, roughly tripling its capacity, and moved to Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish.
The ...
in 1884.
The Thomas S. Jones organ builders were based at No. 25 Pentonville Road between 1860 and 1935. The Dunn & Hewett cocoa factory was established at No. 9 Pentonville Road in 1833 by Daniel Dunn, who went into partnership with Charles Hewett in the 1850s. The business claimed to have invented soluble chocolate and cocoa, and moved to No. 136, expanding to No. 138 in the 1870s. The building was enlarged and partially rebuilt over the 1880s and 90s, and included a staff tea-room at No. 140 by 1907. The factory closed around 1930 and was subsequently sub-let to various businesses. The Ealing Radiator Company was established at Nos. 152–154 Pentonville Road in 1936, manufacturing car radiators. A first floor extension was added in 1952, while Nos. 136–150 were cleared to accommodate a low metal-framed building.[ These premises have now been sub-let to various businesses.
]
The Claremont Chapel was at No. 44a Pentonville Road. It was named after Claremont House
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion less than a mile south of the centre of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens a ...
, home of the then-recently deceased Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
. The chapel was designed by Thomas Wilson, who acquired the 2-acre site in 1818 for £700, spending an additional £6,000 on building works. It opened in October 1819, though a regular pastor was not appointed until 1822. The building was extended in 1847 to accommodate a Sunday school, while sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
s were installed in 1853. In 1860, the building was refurbished and given a Classical facade, but reducing the capacity of the inside gallery. Attendance declined and the chapel was sold to the London Congregational Union, before closing in 1899. It re-opened in 1902 as Claremont Hall, a mission institute. It was let for commercial purposes in the 1960s, and sub-let to the Crafts Council in 1991.[ The building is now the Crafts Council Gallery, a public gallery funded by the ]Arts Council England
Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...
. It contains a number of exhibition rooms that are available for use.
The block of properties at No. 295–297 Pentonville Road, at its junction with Gray's Inn Road, is known as the "Lighthouse Block" owing to the lead clad tower at the top of the building. The site avoided being compulsory purchase
Compulsion may refer to:
* Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so.
* Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...
d and demolished (in order to provide improvements to King's Cross station's eastern entrance) and is now Grade II listed.[
The Vernon Square school opened on Pentonville Road in 1913, expanding to cover secondary school students in 1949. It was renamed the Sir Philip Magnus School in 1952 and closed in the 1970s. It became part of Kingsway College before being purchased by the ]School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
in 2001. The SOAS has several other halls of residence along Pentonville Road, including Dinwiddy House.
The Lexington
The Lexington, also known as Lexington Apartments, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The five-story brick structure on a raised basement was completed in 1908 as the city's first high-rise apartment building. with ...
is a music venue at Nos. 96-98. It has played host to local bands, and as a warm-up venue for more established acts. The Scala at No. 275–277 Pentonville Road opened as the King's Cross Cinema in 1920 with a capacity of 1,300. Construction had begun just before World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was halted because of it. It was damaged by bombs during 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 opposin ...
, and while it remained open during wartime, it eventually had to be shut between 1949 and 1952 for renovations and repair. It closed in 1970, and re-opened as an independent cinema, which showed old 16mm film
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
s including ''King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
''.[ ]The Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
played their only gig in London at the venue in June 1972, shortly before recording the album ''Raw Power
''Raw Power'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on February 7, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two ...
'' with David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
; a shot of Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
onstage here became the album's front cover. The venue closed in 1992, and is now a nightclub.
The Castle is a pub at No. 54 Pentonville Road, at the junction with Baron Street. In 2015, the perpetrators of the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary
The Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary occurred in April 2015, when an underground safe deposit facility in Hatton Garden, London, owned by Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd., was burgled. According to official sources, the total stolen had an esti ...
met at the pub to discuss the crime shortly after it occurred, but were secretly filmed there by the Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbrevia ...
. All were subsequently arrested and sent to prison. The current owners, Geronimo Inns, wish to distance themselves from the burglary and forbid staff to discuss it with customers.
The original Angel, Islington, sits at the far east end of Pentonville Road, at its junction with Islington High Street. It was named after the Angel of the Annunciation that appeared on its sign. The inn pre-dated the construction of Pentonville Road, and had become one of the largest coaching inns in the local area by the 18th century. The site was cut in two by the construction of the road, with the inn remaining on the north side. A new building was constructed in 1899, later becoming a Lyons Corner House. It closed in 1959, and was threatened with demolition as a plan to improve junction improvements around Pentonville Road, but survived and is now partly occupied by a branch of The Co-operative Bank
The Co-operative Bank plc is a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in Balloon Street, Manchester.
The Co-operative Bank is the only UK high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy which is incorporat ...
.
Cultural references
The poet John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
's parents ran a cabinet makers at No. 34–42 Pentonville Road. It was established since 1859 and produced the Tantalus
Tantalus ( grc, Τάνταλος ) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the wate ...
drinks cabinet in 1881.[
Pentonville Road is one of the locations on the London version of the Monopoly board game. It is one of the light blue squares alongside The Angel, Islington and ]Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...
, both of which it connects to. The magazine ''Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
''s main offices are at Nos. 90–92 Pentonville Road.
See also
* Joseph Grimaldi Park
Joseph Grimaldi Park is a public garden located off Pentonville Road in Islington, north London. The former burial grounds for St James's Anglican Chapel (formerly known as the Burial Ground of St James's) are located within the park, which is n ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
{{Good article
Streets in the London Borough of Islington