Friends of Islington Museum

Category: Blog Post

  • Banners for Islington!

    The Hammersmith Banners currently on display in the museum reflect Britain’s response to the Spanish Civil War and the campaigns held here to recruit new members of the International Brigade, collect food, money and arms for Spain, and remember those who had died. For our exhibition, our volunteer Susan, did…

  • Stephanie Blog 2

    One of my first tasks in Islington Museum was digitising some of the objects that belonged to an Odeon cinema in Islington that was built a long time ago and now has been demolished. We took photos of 5 different objects. The first three objects were banners that appeared below the…

  • Stephanie Blog 1

    Introducing Stephanie! My name is Stephanie and I am studying Digital Humanities at University College London (UCL). I am half Peruvian and half Italian with dual nationality, but have lived in Peru my entire life. Three years ago I moved to London to study Digital Marketing at King’s College and…

  • Sifting the Paperwork

    Islington Museum’s paperwork is crucial in helping us understand what our objects are, where they are from and why they are interesting. An old brick is just a brick…until you have a piece of paper that shows it is an original  tile from Sadlers Wells ‘Musick House’ in the 1680’s where people would come…

  • Firefighters in War

    Today we were lucky to see some pictures of a children’s Christmas party at Clerkenwell Fire Station in December 1940. They were brought in by Jean Chapman, daughter of William Chapman, who served at Clerkenwell Fire Station during World War II. William Chapman was part of the Auxiliary Fire Service…

  • Exploring 53 Cross Street

    By Martin King, Islington Museum Volunteer I lived in 53 Cross Street from 1989 to 2003 as a member of Black Sheep Housing Cooperative. The house was built in 1785 and there was evidence of subsequent occupation ranging from the remains of a brass engraver’s studio in the backyard to…

  • A Sense of Place: tactile book

    A Sense of Place: tactile book

    In 2015/16 Islington Museum partnered with Morelands Children’s Centre on ‘A Sense of Place’, kindly funded by Islington Giving Supporting Families Programme and the Bunhill Councillors. Over 5 day long workshops we worked with local families from the King’s Square Estate. Working with artist Sarah Pimenta, families drew and then screen printed…

  • The History of Martin Luther King Playground

    By Jordan James In 1968 an Adventure Playground opened for a summer play scheme on some derelict land. It was a 10 acre site surrounded by a high corrugated iron fence, completely empty and unused and there was at the time nowhere for the children to play. The Greater London…

  • Inspired by Peter Yates: St John Highbury Vale and Gillespie

    Inspired by Peter Yates: St John Highbury Vale and Gillespie

    Day and Night Winged Bulls: an exploration of community by pupils from St John Highbury Vale Church of England Primary School and Gillespie Primary School  In spring 2016 artist Ella Medley-Whitfield and Islington Museum worked with pupils from year 4 at St John Highbury Vale Church of England Primary School and…

  • Inspired by UV light therapy goggles: Ella Phillips and Robert Blair Primary School

    Inspired by UV light therapy goggles: Ella Phillips and Robert Blair Primary School

    In 2016 artist Ella Phillips worked with teacher Emily Evans and Year 1 at Robert Blair Primary School on the exhibition Imagine Islington. Ella supported Emily to design and deliver a 5 workshop programme for the classroom, inspired by Islington Musuem’s UV light therapy googles. Ella also worked alongside the pupils in their classroom to create her own…