Archway

Post to the north Archway


This posting is only the north west corner of a larger square. The other three sections are:
Upper Holloway to the north east
Upper Holloway to the south east
Tufnel Park to the south west


Archway Close
This is the old line of the A1 going up Highgate Hill as Archway Road – but it has now been marooned as the central part of the block which the traffic goes round in a sort of roundabout  created in 1967
2 Archway Tavern.  The address was originally 2 Highgate Hill. It was first built in 1813and rebuilt in 1886 by Watney’s architect J. G. Ensor at the tramway terminus. Large, stucco-trimmed pub with French mansard and a clock.  It has more recently been known as Dusk 'til Dawn and since 2014, the Intrepid Fox. At the back is a separate section used as a club.
Archway Central Hall. Built in 1934 6. This was the last Central Methodist Church Hall to be built in London and it has a huge cinema style auditorium.   There are halls, offices and class-rooms on three floors. It replaced the Archway Road Wesleyan Chapel of 1864.

Archway Road
Archway Park. This is a small sloping park with a multi-use game area plus a woodland area, laid hedgerow, herbaceous planting, grass meadow, play ground equipment and a ball court.

Bickerton Road
25-27 St,Pelagia’s home for Destitute Girls. This was founded in 1889 by the Roman Catholic order of the Sisters Servants of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It provided accommodation for unmarried mothers and their first-born babies, who could enter the Home when the child was a fortnight old. They were admitted free of charge on condition that they worked in the laundry. In 1934 it moved to Highgate West Hill. The original Home, built in 1889 is now Bickerton House with studio space and offices. This includes some charities involved in health and child care.

Bredgar Road
This was once called Langdon Road before 1937
Hargrave Park Primary School. This is an old board school dating from 1878. It became a primary school in 1947 and had a special unit for children with hearing difficulties from 1977.

Girdlestone Walk
This was to be part of a joint scheme with Camden but the relationship broke down and Islington want ahead here independently in 1975. It is in brown brick with low-rise, high-density, outside space and terraces around a green space.

Hargrave Park
Named for a family who leased the land here from the Sons of the Clergy, Charity.
42-45 Lorimer & Co. This works opened in 1878 when John Lorimer’s partnership with a Mr. Fletcher broke down.  He built up a large works here in a building said to have been erected for use as a public house. They specialised in cordials and syrups – Lorimar’s Syrup Hydrophosp – some of which were medicinal and with a quinine element.  They sold these internationally.

Hargrave Road
Hargrave Hall. This dates from the 1900s was called the Assembly Hall from 1910 and used by the Plymouth Brethren. From 1943, it was renamed Hargrave Hall and later used by a religious publishing house. Since 1978 Hargrave Hall has been in use as a community centre plus, currently a Montessori School.

Highgate Hill
Whittington Stone.  Highgate Hill is the traditional spot where Dick heard the City bells inviting him to: 'Turn again, 'Whittington; thrice Lord Mayor of London.’  The stone faces the road and carved on it and on a brass plate is: “Whittington Stone. Richard Whittington. Thrice Lord Mayor of London. 1397 - Richard II .1406 - Henry IV .1420 - Henry V Sheriff - in 1393. This stone was restored by W. Hillier 1935”. On a brass plate it says “1964 Whittington's Cat presented by Mr  & Mrs Paul Crosfield, Donald Bisset and Friends”. The stone was first installed in 1821 and may have been on the site of a medieval cross itself a road side mark stone. The cat, added in 1964, was sculpted by Jonathan Kenworthy.  In Irish limestone and its head turns to London listening to the bells. Whittingon’s success has been attributed to his car
Whittington Stone pub. This is a rebuilt of a pub originating in the early 1860s. Claims to be a sports pub,
17 The Electric Theatre opened in 1909 with seating on one floor. At the front was a large arch with a half domed entrance. It was taken over by Union Cinemas in 1935 and then by Associated British Cinemas in 1937. It was -named the Palace Cinema from 1954 and closed in 1958. It was later demolished.
Hill House. This is a 1960s office block originally Blue Star House. In the 1870s it was the Victoria Nursery owned by Benjamin Williams with  glasshouses for his orchids. By 1917 a motor works had replaced it. This was probably the Daimler works, a specialist repair depot opened in 1908. In the 1950s it was Chivers jam distribution depot.
Hamlyn House library first building with strip lighting
Whittington Hospital. The Holborn Union Infirmary opened here in 1879. In 1921 it was renamed the Holborn and Finsbury Hospital. In 1930, following the abolition of the Boards of Guardians, the Hospital came under the administrative control of the London County Council, who renamed it the Archway Hospital. By 1948 under the NHS, it merged with St Mary's Hospital, and the Highgate Hospital as the Whittington Hospital. Of which this was the Archway Wing. In the 1970s the Furnival Building was added to the site, in the 1980s, the Ely Building. In 1998 the Archway Wing of the Whittington Hospital it was sold to University College London and Middlesex University to become their Archway Campus, for health-related professionals, opening in 1999, This closed in 2013 and the site was been sold to Peabody for redevelopment. The Archway Wing is in yellow brick with a central tower and spire designed by Henry Saxon Snell & Sons. It was one of the most striking workhouse infirmaries and a landmark.  It is on a narrow site, hence the towering brick wings with tall water towers and high dormers.
St Mary's Hospital. In 1848 the Metropolitan Asylums Board opened the Highgate Smallpox and Vaccination Hospital. Intended for paying patients, it was supported by voluntary contributions, but admitted paupers if beds were available.  In 1896 it was replaced by Clare Hall Hospital at South Mimms and was sold to Islington Guardians for a workhouse infirmary which they built next to the old hospital and opened in 1900 by the Duke of York. In 1914 it was renamed Islington Infirmary and by 1920 five more blocks had been added as well as various facilities buildings. In 1930 it was taken over by the London County Council and became St Mary's Hospital and the most modern in the Archway Group. In 1948 under the National Health Service it was part of Whittington Hospital and more new blocks were added in 1977 and 1980. In 1992 the Great Northern building opened with lecture rooms and facilities. It is now the Whittington Hospital with a new main entrance in Magdala Avenue opened recently.

Junction Road
Constructed in 1813 as a feeder road to Archway. Developed with cheap housing and is very down market.
1 The Lion. Also known as Sweeneys, OMara's, and the Red Lion. Dates from the 1860s. Now a gastro pub
2 Vantage Point – ex- Archway tower. 17 story tower block 1963.  It was originally a government building but sold, and rented back and used by Social Security. It was then empty but in 2001 was used by the Public Guardianship Office – later the Court of Protection and the Office of the Public Guardian. It was sold in 2007 and the Court left in 2011. It was then bought by Essential Living purchased Archway Tower in 2013 for conversion to flats completed in 2016.
Archway Station. Opened in 1907 this station lies between Highgate and Tufnel Park on the Northern Line.  When this was first built the name ‘Archway’ was not used and the station was called Highgate and was the terminus of one of the northern terminals of the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway. They had planned a line to Hampstead before they were taken over by Yerkes in 1900 and so the line terminated at Archway Tavern. The station was designed by Leslie Green in his standard ox-blood glazed brick and with a dark brown distinguishing colour.  . In 1930 it got escalators and one entrance was replaced with one by Charles Holden which was replaced in the 1970s. Holden also used cream tiles for platform walls with the station name band formed of letter shaped tiles but replaced later. In 1939 as part of the New Works programme the line here was extended to the Great Northern Railway station at Highgate and to East Finchley. It was then renamed Highgate (Archway) and later then Archway (Highgate), and then Archway. The ticket hall was rebuilt again completely in 1975 and is now at the bottom of Vantage Point/Archway
30 Church of Pentecost, This is what was/is the Salvation Army Citadel which now seems to be a modernish building over Poundworld – previously Nat West Bank
32 Coffee Republic in the Royal London Friendly Society building of 1903. By Holman & Goodham, with a asymmetrical Baroque front.
91St Johns Tavern. Large pub dating to the 1860s.  Is now a very arty gastro pub with restored heritage featured and a studio commissioned interior.

Macdonald Road
This was previously Brunswick Road until 1938.
Leisure Centre. Islington facility run by Greenwich Leisure Ltd. and recently refurbished.
Bus Station
44-46 Brunswick Pub. This dates from the 1860s. Closed and demolished.

Magdala Avenue
Whittington Health Centre. Medical services have been delivered on the Whittington site since 1473, when a leper hospital was founded. In the 19th a trio of hospitals were opened here on the Highgate site in 1866; the Archway site in 1877 and in 1900 the Highgate Hill Infirmary. With the coming of the National Health Service in 1948, they jointly became The Whittington Hospital and began to modernise. The hospital is now on the central St Mary's site. They provide hospital and community care services to 500,000 people living in Islington and Haringey and other areas, services include accident and emergency maternity, diagnostic, therapy and elderly care. They have 30 community locations and teach undergraduate medical students as part of UCL Medical School and nurses and therapists

Salisbury Walk
Girdlestone Estate Community Centre

Sandridge Street
Part of a new configuration of what was the Archway Gyratory System. It includes a triangle of green space and trees.

Vorley Road
Archway Childress Centre
Archway Community Care Centre
Girdlestone Park. This is a green space with a modern children’s playground, tarmac ball court and a community food growing project

Windermere Road
Woodstock Joinery

Sources
Byway 7
Cinema Treasures. Web site
Clunn. Face of London
Day. London Underground
Dodds. London Then
Hargrave Hall. Web site
Highgate walks
Leboff. The Underground Stations of Leslie Green
London Borough of Islington. Web site
London Gardens on Line. Web site
London Encyclopaedia
London Remembers. Web site
Lost Hospitals of London. Web site
Municipal Dreams. Web site
Nairn. Modern Buildings,
Pevsner and Cherry.  London North
Pub History. Web site
Summerson. Georgian London
Whittington Health Centre. Web site
Whittington Stone Pub. Web site
Willats. Streets of Islington