Tag: Blog Post
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Hollywood by the Canal: A brief history of Islington and Gainsborough Studios
One hundred years ago, in November 1920, Islington film studios trade-screened its first movie, The Great Day. While the film was not a critical success, it marked the beginning of a distinguished 30-year production run. For those three decades Islington Studios, and then as Gainsborough Studios, produced some of Britain’s…
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The Icy Past of Regent’s Canal
Prior to refrigeration, ice from the Regent’s Canal was integral to Islington’s businesses for food preservation, particularly to meat, fish and dairy merchants. Ice also played and important role in hospitals where it was in use to relieve inflammation. It was a difficult product to gather and store in the…
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London’s Hidden Waterway: Regent’s Canal
Once described as ‘London’s Hidden Waterway’, 2020 celebrates the bicentenary of the Regent’s Canal’s full opening on 1 August 1820. The canal played an integral role in Islington, and north London, serving the local industries and businesses for nearly 150 years. Although passing through a well-populated area, much of the…
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More Changes Over Time: Regent’s Canal
Much of the Regent’s Canal has changed over 200 years. The following images compare scenes from around the canal at different points in history. Wenlock Basin was at the cutting edge of telecommunications in 1846, when the Gutta Percha (a tree gum like rubber) Company made thetwenty nine miles of…
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Carlo Gatti’s Ice Well Plaque
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 3 Significance: Location of Swiss-Italian entrepreneur Gatti’s ice well Italians have been settling in London for centuries, with a great many settling in Islington. Carlo Gatti left his Swiss-Italian home town in 1847 to go on to become a successful entrepreneur…
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Paradise Park Children’s Centre
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 5 Significance: Location of Britain’s first female Somali Mayor’s Councillor Surgery Paradise Park Children’s Centre is an important stop in Islington’s refugee and migrant history for its links with a key member of Islington’s Somali Community, Councillor Rakhia Ismail. Since 2014,…
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Caledonian Park
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 1 Significance: Location of rally for Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth By 1848, a storm of discontent swept through European states, culminating in a series of republican revolts against monarchies. Beginning in Sicily, most of Europe tried, and failed, to implement a…
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The Keskidee Centre
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 2 Significance: first dedicated arts centre in Britain for the Afro-Carribean community The Keskidee Centre was envisioned by Oscar Abrams, a Guyanese architect and cultural activist, in the 1970’s. A centre providing educational, social and cultural activities for a disadvantaged and primarily West…
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The Victoria
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 6 Significance: Pub hosting Irish music performances Over the past three centuries Islington became a new home for thousands of Irish economic migrants, who brought with them many cultural traditions and the melodic sounds of Irish music. In the 20th Century,…
Friends of Islington Museum 