Sandwiched between picturesque Regent’s Canal and the bustling market streets of Islington and Barnsbury, this area is perfectly positioned to give residents a varied taste of what London has to offer. With busy Caledonian Road and Upper Street both passing through the neighbourhood, there is no shortage of independent shops and restaurants as well as larger supermarkets. Given its wide variety of housing, ranging from modern council blocks to Victorian town houses, and its proximity to the nearby King’s Cross transit hub, the area is home to a highly diverse population. Bus stops provide easy access to all areas of London, but with so much to offer, like the area’s many music venues, or unique canal-side cafes, there’s no need to leave the neighbourhood to experience the delights of London.

Named after the Berners, powerful medieval lords who gained a large portion of Islington following the Norman Conquest, Barnsbury and its surrounding areas were mostly rural until the nineteenth-century. Wealthy residents were eventually drawn to the area for its abundance of green spaces and proximity to the centre of the City. However, once Regent’s Canal and King’s Cross were constructed by the mid-1800s, the neighbourhood became industrialised, attracting a more diverse population to the area, as well as the houses to accommodate them. The area did manage to keep some of its agricultural roots though, with the building of the Royal Agricultural Hall in the 1860s, which hosted many animal shows and markets, and now serves as the Business Design Centre.

Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair once lived at 1 Richmond Crescent. He served as the leader of the Labour Party from 1994 until 2007, winning the 1997 election in a landslide. Despite great early popularity, his key role in the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000’s led him to develop a divisive reputation.

The Royal Agricultural Hall hosted the first ever Crufts dog show in 1891 and continued the tradition until 1948, when the event moved to its current home at London Olympia in west London. Culpeper Community Garden, a little gem tucked away on Cloudesley Road, is known by residents as “a little oasis in the city”. It’s not only a beautiful and quiet inner-city park, but it’s also a community led environmental project, where local people can come and learn about conservation.

On Sunday the 29th August 1976, The Clash played their first ever recorded show at Screen on the Green in Islington. The venue also hosted the notorious Sid Vicious’s first live show with The Sex Pistols.

The many main roads passing through the neighbourhood make the area noisy and relatively dirty, and with the growing and changing population, there’s no shortage of housing inequality. However, when speaking to a barman at The Star of Kings, he expressed his pride in the residents’ diversity, explaining that because of it, “you can always find new and interesting places to eat and enjoy yourself.” He also recommends the area for its many transit connections, and the beautiful canal-side!

With many wealthy Londoners looking beyond the Thames for water-side living, there continues to be intense interest from developers along the neighbourhood’s canal. This increase in luxury housing has led to a reduction in mooring spaces, which means that there will continue to be more congestion on the Barnsbury side of the canal. Nonetheless, the R8 King’s Cross scheme is the most significant development in this area, sitting just south of the canal along York Way. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the two new mixed use buildings will comprise 72 apartments for social rent alongside a substantial amount of office space, adding to the already significant development north of King’s Cross.