An Urban wander from Dalston in East London to Barnsbury North London

 On the same day as I undertook my short urban wander from Greenwich to New Cross, via a couple of record shops, I then headed over the river to Dalston, where I started the next part of my drift. I'd been curious about the Dalston Eastern Curve garden for a while so headed for this as my first port of call. It's one acre of green space built on a former railway track, to be precise the line which once connected Dalston Junction station with the old North London Railway. No remains of the railway in sight, but an interesting open space with a café too. I'm not sure my pictures quite do it justice, and although open all year I imagine it would look even better later in the year.

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, Dalston, East London

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, Dalston, East London

Leaving the gardens behind, I headed west along Balls Pond Road and came across a former pub, The Anchor, which seems to have closed as a pub many years ago, and is now (possibly) a wine bar. Fortunately the old pub signage can still be seen on the gable, otherwise I would have missed it completely.

Former pub, The Anchor, Balls Pond Road, Islington, North London

Next up we have a very feint ghostsign on King Henry's Walk. I can't find any information about this one, and frustratingly I can only make out the words TURNING OF on the bottom line

Ghostsign on King Henry's Walk, Islington, London N1

Continuing my trek through Islington I came across the former premises of PLAYBOARD PUPPETS on Ockendon Road, a puppet company created by Ian Allen and John Thirtle in 1971, famous for the Button Moon stage and TV show. The signage is still clearly legible above the threshold.

Ghostsign on the former premises of Playboard Puppets, Ockendon Road, Islington, London N1 

Further along the Essex Road is the former premises of JAY, which was a silversmith, goldsmith and watch maker. Pretty much all that's left as a clue to the origin of this building is the lettering in one of the shop doorways.  

Doorway to the former JAY watch maker's, Essex Road, Islington, London N1

After a quick stop for a further vinyl fix  at Flashback Records in Islington, I continued on my meander. Not much further along the Essex Road is the wonderful art deco style Gracepoint building, formerly the Carlton Cinema, designed by architect George Coles.

Gracepoint building, Essex Road, Islington, North London N1

Essex Road really does seem to be the road that keeps on giving, and not far from the previous find, we have the former premises of R.Gunner, a small chain of provisions merchants, whose initials can be seen both in the doorway mosaic and the tiled wall.

Doorway mosaic and tiling for R.Gunner, Essex Road, Islington, London N1

Moving along Essex Road a bit further we come across a rather wonderful old sign on the corner of Popham Street for 

X-ZALIA

NIGHT CURE FOR

CATARRH

COLDS IN THE HEAD

INFANTS INFLUENZA

SIMPLE & INEXPENSIVE

Old sign for X-Zalia catarrh treatment, Essex Road, Islington, North London, N1

Moving away from Essex Road now, I ventured westwards and came across this former pub, the Old Parr's Head, on the corner of Cross Street and Upper Street. The building still has much of its old pub tiling, including some wonderful signs (see below) but is now a branch of Monsoon, so I imagine they will no longer be serving LUNCHEONS DAILY as the sign suggests.

Tiling on the Old Parr's Head pub, Islington, North London, N1

Tiling on the Old Parr's Head pub, Islington, North London, N1

Yet another former pub as I made my way to Barnsbury. This is the Rainbow, on the corner of Liverpool Road and Barnsbury Street, built in 1879 but not serving pints for quite a while now I imagine.

Former pub, The Rainbow, Barnsbury, North London, N1

And so on to what is now one of my favourite parts of London, full of history and interesting architecture. Having spent many an hour wandering around the various inner and outer suburbs and districts of London I'm not sure how I would have missed Barnsbury before. One possible reason is that it does not have any record shops as far as I can see, which is usually my main reason for exploring, but there's so much to see here, it's going to deserve another visit, or two.

First up we have another former pub, this time it's the former Whitbread pub, The Prince of Wales, at 71 Barnsbury Street. I've included a few pictures of this one as I was quite taken by it's appearance and wonderful green tiling, along with the Whitbread tankard sign.

Former pub, The Prince of Wales, 71 Barnsbury Street, North London, N1

Former pub, The Prince of Wales, 71 Barnsbury Street, North London, N1

Former pub, The Prince of Wales, 71 Barnsbury Street, North London, N1

My poor old legs were getting tired now but I'm glad I kept going on my wander and found another ghostsign, and what a beauty it is. This is on the corner of Cloudesley Road and Richmond Avenue.

WOOTON'S CASH CHEMIST

DISPENSING

CHEMIST

HOURS OF BUSINESS

9AM TO 6-30PM

THURSDAY TO 1 PM

TOILET &

NURSERY

REQUISITES

PHOTOGRAPHIC

MATERIALS

Ghostsign for Wotton's Cash Chemist, Cloudesley Road, London N1

This next couple of pictures are of the front of the former chemist, on Richmond Avenue. The building on the left would have been the actual chemist, whereas the one on the left is some sort of former off-licence, possibly called The Cork & Bottle, although I cannot make that out from the sign above the threshold,

Former shops, Richmond Avenue, London N1

A close up of the shop window showing presumably some of what they would have sold, Fizz, and the opening hours.

Former shop window, Richmond Avenue, London N1

Just around the corner from Richmond Avenue is the former premises of HENRY LICHT. Unfortunately I was unable to find any further information on this building.

Former premises of Henry Licht, Barnsbury Street, London N1

A slightly zoomed out picture showing even more former shops and studios in Barnsbury Street.

Former shops and studios in Barnsbury Street, North London, N1

I originally thought this next building, on Agar Grove, was a former pub but I can't find any information about it on the Closed Pubs site, so I'm assuming that instead it was most likely a shop in its previous life. I suspect the brick wall above the windows would have held some sort of signage. I zoomed in close on my PC and think I can make out the odd letter but may be imagining it.

Former shop (?), Agar Grove, London N1

This turned out to be quite an epic walk, and as mentioned Barnsbury is definitely and area I'll be returning to as it feels like there's plenty more to see. As usual many thanks for reading and stay tuned for more posts.

Psychogeography inspired urban wandering around London, various doorway mosaics and ghost signs

Work has been far too busy over the past few weeks, so this is my first post for a while. I thought today I would share some pictures of doorway mosaics and ghost signs taken from a few psychogeography inspired urban wanders around London.

This first doorway mosaic is one I have run past many times as I take an early morning run along to Hyde Park, but I'm usually far too focused on the run, or more likely out of breath to stop and take a photo. The building which this mosaic sits outside of has 3 inset windows or doorways, and each one has the same mosaic

CANDY

Doorway mosaic, Notting Hill Gate, London

This next picture is not a mosaic by any stretch of the imagination, but it does adorn a doorway, and I wonder if maybe there was a mosaic in the lower, inset part at one stage.

JAY

Doorway, Islington, London

No doubt about this one being a mosaic. Not sure what RG stood for though.

RG

Doorway mosaic, Islington, London

I'm sure at one time this would have been a magnificent ghost sign, but I'm struggling to make out any of the words on this one.

Ghost sign, Islington, London

    

An Urban Wander around Islington, London N1 (part 3)

So finally, here's the third and final installment of my recent urban wander around Islington, London N1. Follow the links to read part one or part two if you missed them. Before I start, and before someone points it out and embarrasses me, the pictures towards the end of this final post are not technically in Islington and you'll see a bit of Finsbury and Clerkenwell appearing, but I decided against changing the post title as it would have become a bit of a mouthful. Also it's a bit longer than the previous two installments, but I was determined not to stretch the wander to a fourth.

Narrow passageway, Islington, London N1

Beyond the main street that runs through Islington, it really does have a bit of everything. I was particularly impressed by this work of urban topiary on Cross Street. 

Urban Topiary, Islington, London N1

Narrow passageway, Islington, London N1

I'm always a sucker for an old car, and Citroens in particular. I am however not any sort of car officiando, so apart from telling you it's an old Citroen I can offer no further information.

Old Citroen, Islington, London N1

There is so much street art in London, and a lot of it not photo worthy, but I did like this one. A Warhol-esque which I assume is Madonna, but I could easily be wrong, complete with its own, overlaid installation of what looks to be some sort of fencing.

Street Art, Islington, London N1

I had to stand in the middle of the road to get this picture, but I think it was worth it. Fortunately most of the ghost sign is legible, but alas the left hand side has disappeared completely.

??? ZALIA

??? NIGHT CURE FOR

CATARRH

COLDS IN THE HEAD

??? INFLUENZA

???

Ghost sign, Islington, London N1

This is quite possibly my favourite ghost sign, spotted on a café in Islington.

Old sign, Islington, London N1

I'm not sure if these are actually bird boxes, and if they are whether they are functional or simply artistic. Either way they caught my eye and I like them.

Bird boxes, Islington, London N1

I had no idea what LATE BLAND was, but a bit of internet research suggests that this was previously a butcher's shop, owned by John Bland.

Old sign, Islington, London N1

This next selection of pictures are all from the same building, Lloyd's Diary on the corner of River Street and Amwell Street. Not only is there some fantastic signage above the windows and doorway, but there was also a doorway mosaic.

DAIRY FARMERS

Ghost sign, Islington, London N1

LLOYD & SON

Ghost sign, Islington, London N1

HIGH CLASS DAIRY PRODUCE

Ghost sign, Islington, London N1

LLOYD'S

DAIRY

Doorway mosaic, Islington, London N1

My wander had by now definitely drifted into Finsbury, as can be seen by the Sign above this café in Pine Street.

Café Postou, Finsbury, London EC1

These next three old signs in Clerkenwell Close are interesting. They are on the former, central storehouse of the Works Department of the London School Board.

STATIONERY DEPT

Ghost sign, Clerkenwell, London

NEEDLEWORK DEPT

Ghost sign, Clerkenwell, London

FURNITURE DEPT

Ghost sign, Clerkenwell, London

And finally for this wander, is an old sign for the

YANNEDIS & CO

BRASS

FOUNDRY

LOCKS

but I struggled to find any information about this ... and it's lunchtime.

Ghost sign, Clerkenwell, London

    

An Urban Wander around Islington, London N1 (part 2)

Hot(ish) on the heels of my Psychogeography inspired first installment of an Urban Wander around Islington, is part two. First up, we have a couple of pictures of the former entrance and exit to Highbury Station. The station itself is still used, but this entrance is no longer in use itself, although has been refurbished over the past few years from the crumbling mess it once was. Also, as I was posting this, I noticed the interesting looking dome to the left-hand side of the station. Not sure what that is though.

Disused entrance to Highbury Station

Disused entrance to and exit from Highbury Station

I assume at one time these houses towards the end of Calabria Road were all shops of some.

Calabria Road, Islington, London N1

Calabria Road, Islington, London N1

I suspect this coffee shop is a real little gem, but alas we did not have time to sample its wares. Maybe another time perhaps.

Little Gem Coffee Shop, Corsica Street, Islington, London N1

An unusual ghost sign, displaying nothing more than the street name and number.

55 CORSICA ST. 55

Ghost sign, Corsica Street, Islington, London N1

Ghost sign, Corsica Street, Islington, London N1

Not as ornate as many utility buildings I've come across, but there is still something about this electricity substation that appeals to me.

Islington Electricity Department building, Islington, London N1

A former pub, the Old Parr's Head, now home to various clothes shops, which I suspect do not offer luncheons daily.

Ghost sign for former pub, Islington, London N1

Curiously the same building also has the signage

BARCLAY PERKINS & CO LTD

Ghost sign for former pub, Islington, London N1

Ghost sign for former pub, Islington, London N1

And finally on this installment we have a most impressive old sign 

ESTABLISHED 1850

P.B.SPOONER & G.A.BUSHMAN.

M.R.C.V.S.

VETERINARY SURGEONS

AND AT 18, HOLLOWAY ROAD.

Ghost sign for Veterinary Surgeons, Islington, London N1

Part three to follow soon ... hopefully.