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The London section of the A1 is an A road in North London. It runs from the London Wall to Bignall's Corner, where it crosses the M25 and becomes the A1(M) motorway, continuing to Edinburgh. (For the road outside London, see the main A1 road article.) The London section passes through 4 London Boroughs: the City of London, Islington, Haringey and Barnet. Whilst the route of the A1 outside London closely follows that of the historic Great North Road, the London section for the most part does not.
St John Street (historic)
St John Street was the original start of the Great North Road and initially formed part of the A1; however, it no longer forms part of the present route, which runs some way to the east. It is a well-known London street, located in Clerkenwell, Islington. It runs from Smithfield Market and Charterhouse Street in the south to the junction of City Road and Pentonville Road (near Upper Street) in the north, close to the Angel tube station. It is the first section of the original route of the Great North Road.
The Red Bull Theatre was located on the street between 1604 and 1666, when it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714–1799) lived at 13 St John Street. He held "learned suppers" at his house, with guests including James Boswell, Robert Burns and Samuel Johnson.
Nowadays there are many office buildings, restaurants and bars.
External links
- ViewLondon.co.uk information
- LondonTown.com information
- St John Bar & Restaurant Smithfield, 26 St John Street
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Aldersgate Street
The site of the now-demolished Aldersgate in the London Wall, next to the Museum of London, is the present start of the A1. Adjacent to the modern roundabout on the site of the Aldersgate is the former headquarters of the General Post Office (closed in 1910 and demolished shortly afterwards), and the adjoining Postman's Park. The southern part of the roundabout and the northern part of the Post Office site stand on the site of a collegiate church and sanctuary founded in 750 by Withu, King of Kent, hugely expanded in 1056 by Ingebrian, Earl of Essex and issued with a Royal Charter in 1068 by William the Conqueror. The site of the church was cleared in 1818 in preparation for the construction of the Post Office.
The poet Thomas Flatman was born in a house in Aldersgate Street in 1633. As with most historic buildings on this stretch of road, the building no longer stands.
134 Aldersgate Street for many years had a sign claiming "This was Shakespeare's House". Although the building was very close to the nearby Fortune Playhouse, there is no documentary evidence surviving to indicate that Shakespeare resided here; a subsidy roll from 1598 shows a "William Shakespeare" as owner of the property, but there is nothing to indicate that it is the playwright. The nearby Shakespeare Tower is named for this (tenuous) connection.
Barbican tube station was originally named "Aldersgate Street" when it opened in 1865. It was renamed "Aldersgate" in 1910, "Aldersgate and Barbican" in 1923, and "Barbican" in 1968.
Most of the buildings on Aldersgate Street were destroyed or badly damaged in World War II. The entire length of the eastern side of the street is now occupied by the huge 40-acre Barbican residential and arts complex.
John Wesley
In May 1738 clergyman John Wesley attended a meeting of the Moravians in Aldersgate Street. Whilst at the meeting, he underwent a profound religious experience, describing it in his journal thus:
- "In the evening I went unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther and preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter to nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death."
In 1739 Wesley broke with the Moravians and founded the Methodist Society of England. In the following years, the Methodist church spread rapidly, becoming one of the most influential Christian denominations in the world, particularly in the United States and the British Empire. A memorial in Aldersgate Street marks the site of the meeting, and Wesley's Chapel in nearby City Road remains a focal point of the Methodist movement.
Goswell Road
Islington High Street
Upper Street
Upper Street is the high street of the Islington district of inner north London, and is part of the A1. It runs from the junction of the A1 and Pentonville Road and City Road, and runs roughly northwards past Angel tube station, then past the Business Design Centre, then splits at Islington Green (where Essex Road branches off) past the Screen on the Green cinema, the town hall and finally at Highbury & Islington tube station on Highbury corner, where the A1 carries on as Holloway Road.
It contains many fashionable shops, pubs, restaurants and theatres, especially towards the northern half of the road including the now closed Granita restaurant where Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were said to have made their deal on leadership once the Labour Party won power. It also not short of bars and pubs with the Medicine Bar and Bierodrome being notable spots.
A famous antiques market at Camden Passage and Chapel Market near Angel which sells fruit and vegetables, clothes etc. and are worth a few hours of your weekend but be prepared to deal with some crowds.
In 2005 Islington Council launched "Technology Mile", a project to turn Upper Street in a large scale wi-fi hotspot. Using routers mounted on lampposts anyone with a wireless enabled device can connect to Council services and the internet the entire length of Upper Street, although the best signal is found in the Islington Green/St. Mary's church areas.
Notable amenities on Upper Street
- Business Design Centre
- Hope and Anchor - public house
Holloway Road
Holloway Road is a road in London. It is the name of the A1 as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington. The road starts at the Archway, near Archway tube station, then heads south-east, past Upper Holloway railway station, Whittington Park, past the North London campus of London Metropolitan University near Nag's Head, past Holloway Road tube station, and the main campus of the university, and then becomes Highbury Corner, near Highbury & Islington station.
It is one of the most important high street shopping destinations in North London, and is undergoing dramatic regeneration centred around the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club and Highbury Studios a new development of business units, cafes and leisure facilities. It is also home to the famous Crystal Restaurant, widely regarded as the best kebab shop in London.
The famous record producer Joe Meek, responsible amongst other things for Telstar by The Tornados, a massive UK and US no. 1 record in 1962, lived, worked, and committed suicide at 304 Holloway Road, where he is commemorated by a blue plaque that is actually black!
The road was originally referred to as Hollow Way because it was a route into the East of London for Cattle and hence became the Hollow Way into London because of its Hollowed out appearance.
External links
Archway Road
The Archway Road is the local name of the A1 trunk road which runs through Highgate in north London.
Sites of interest
Interesting buildings in the area include the St. Augustine church and the Archway Bridge designed by John Nash, a Grade II-listed monument popularly known, with good reason, as "suicide bridge".
Shops on Archway Road
- Amano - knitwear, clothing and accessories
- Archway Video - DVD rental library founded in 1980
- Belle de Jour - beauty parlour
- Belissimo - leather and fashion accessories
- Fahrenheit - Caribbean restaurant
- International Cafe - breakfasts, lunch and sandwiches
- Office - internet cafe
- The Light House - fish restaurant
- Pavane - home & lifestyle shop
- Pet Highgate - pet accessories and grooming
- Ripping Yarns - antiquarian & second-hand children's books
- Wine of Course - wine specialist shop
See Also
External Links
Aylmer Road
Lyttelton Road
Market Place
Falloden Way
Great North Way
Watford Way
Apex Corner
Barnet Way
Barnet Bypass
Bignell's Corner
See also
References
- "Aldersgate Street and St Martin-le-Grand". Old and New London. 2. Centre for Metropolitan History: 208–28. 1878. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Williams, Hywel (2004). "Renamed Stations". London Underground History. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "History of the Barbican Estate". Corporation of London. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "History of the Church". The Methodist Church of Great Britain. 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - http://www.thechillisource.org/html/mainmenu.php?id=9&postcode=N76JP
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