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Highbury
 

Highbury is a place in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury has the post code N5. The population of Highbury is 21,959 (2001 census). The Arsenal Stadium, home of Arsenal football club, is located in Highbury, and is often referred to by that name. After the 2005-2006 season, Arsenal F.C. will move to a new stadium at nearby Ashburton Grove. The old Highbury Stadium will be converted to residential buildings.

Highbury lies between the following places:

Other nearest places:

History

Early Highbury

The area now known as Highbury was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all Islington, the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. 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 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; unfortunately 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 Lord Prior, who was wealthy, built Highbury manor as a substantial stone built country lodging together with a grange and barn.

In 1381, during the Peasants' Revolt, Jack Straw 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, who had taken refuge in the Tower of London, was captured and beheaded on Tower Hill. 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 and now residential flats — at Whitestone Ponds, Hampstead, which was named after the semi-legendary leader of the revolt.

Highbury House

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 began selling it in the 17th century.

John Dawes, a wealthy stockbroker, acquired the site of Jack Straw’s Castle together with 247 acres (1 km²) 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 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

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 Charles Green's balloon ascent. By 1865 there was a huge dancing platform, a rebuilt theatre, high-wire acts, pantomime, 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 250 acre (1 km²) park – Albert Park – between St Paul's Road / Balls Pond Road and the Seven Sisters Road. Instead a 27.5 acre (111,000 m²) site, which is now Highbury Fields was saved in 1869 and the 115 acre (465,000 m²) Finsbury Park were created. The rest of the area was developed.

The majority of the development of the area occurred in two phases; until the 1870’s many large Italianate villas were built, mostly in the southern part of Highbury. After this time, development went down market with close packed mostly terraced houses 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 WWII.

Highbury was bombed during the Blitz and again by V-1 flying bombs. For example, on June 17 1944, a V-1 destroyed Highbury Corner, killing 26 people and injuring 150. Highbury Corner had an impressive station and hotel; it was never rebuilt and was planted with trees and grass and is now the centre of a traffic roundabout.

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 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.

Arsenal's move to Highbury

In 1913 Woolwich Arsenal Football Club moved north to Highbury, dropping Woolwich from its name. Their chairman Henry Norris took a 20 year lease on part of the grounds of St John’s Hall for £20,000. The new Arsenal Stadium (also called Highbury Stadium) 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 stye building, reminiscent of the British Museum. 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, although this had a depressing effect on nearby housing. In 2006 the club will move to a new stadium on the west side of Drayton Park in Holloway and the old ground and some of its stands will be converted to residential dwellings.

Highbury in the arts

Highbury was home to a movie/TV/recording studio, which was established at 65A Highbury New Park with a related training school next door in a disused church hall. The studios were built in 1890, originally as a music conservatoire, then 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. 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.

The following books and films feature parts of Highbury:

  • The book A London Family 1870-1900 by Molly Hughes, ISBN 0-19-282896-7. In particular it mentions Highbury New Park.
  • The film Killing Her Softly was partially filmed on Highbury New Park.
  • The film Fever Pitch was filmed around the Arsenal stadium and along Highbury Hill.
  • The film Four Weddings and a Funeral 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 was filmed in and around the Arsenal stadium.
  • The poem Summoned by Bells 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 lives.

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

Highbury is situated 4.4 km north of London (Charing Cross). Its area is approximately 500 acres (2 km²).

Rail and tube stations

Nearest rail and tube stations:

Famous residents

References

  • 2001 census for London Borough of Islington
  • Mary COSH (1993), The Squares of Islington, Part II, p97-116, ISBN 0950753262
  • Tanis HINCHCLIFFE (1981), Highbury New Park: A Nineteenth-Century Middle-Class Suburb, in: The London Journal Vol 7, p29-44.
  • John NELSON (1811), The History of Islington, p123-216, reprinted 1980, ISBN 0856671045
  • John RICHARDSON (1988), Islington Past, p49-52, ISBN 094866701X

Districts of London | Islington

Highbury | Highbury

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Highbury".

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