This block of streets close to the City of London is technically on the border of Islington. With Old Street tube station to the north and Moorgate train station directly south, a number of impressive buildings surround Finsbury Square. The seven-storey Bloomberg offices, south of the square, are located at Citygate House, designed in 1930 by Gould and Gilbert. To the north stands the grandiose neo-classical Alphabeta Building which was renovated in 2014 to integrate traditional corporate headquarters with collaborative office clusters for enhanced creative entrepreneurship. Meanwhile 10 Finsbury Square is a glossy set of sustainably designed offices which offset the majority of its heating energy consumption. Exemplifying a trend seen within the city, 22 – 25 Finsbury Square constitutes recently-converted office space into Montcalm Royal London House – a five-star luxury hotel featuring a spa and rooftop open-air dining. A large M&S department store a little way down Finsbury Pavement is usually packed during lunchtime thanks to its popular food hall. University of Liverpool’s London campus is located on the east side of the square. It offers postgraduate courses in fields including accounting, architecture and public health. Nearby, Lyceum preparatory, a comprehensive boys’ school is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Initially part of Finsbury Fields, the area was used for archery and the Lord Mayor’s Hunt during the mediaeval period. The Great Fire of London saw many take refuge in the fields whilst the blaze engulfed the city. During the mid-seventeen-hundreds, John Wesley, the father of Methodism, attracted huge crowds whilst preaching here. Although none of the original buildings survive – either as a result of wartime bombing or recent demolition and reconstruction – the present-day form of the area dates back to the second half of the eighteenth century, when terraced townhouses were built around the square. The aforementioned Alphabeta Building, formerly Triton Court, remains largely the same as prior to WWII, having escaped serious damage.

Thomas Southwood Smith (1788-1861), a physician and sanitary reformer, worked at his consulting room at Finsbury Square. After leaving Edinburgh University, Smith firstly made his reputation as a theologian and Unitarian, having published his lectures on Universal Restoration. From the 1820s onwards, though, Smith focused mainly on medicine and in 1824 was appointed to the London Fever Hospital. Working as a doctor here, he rapidly promptly devoted his intellectual energy to improving the conditions of health for the lower classes. Smith became a utilitarian by philosophy and hence close friend of Jeremy Bentham. He perhaps most notably went down in history for changing attitudes towards using the bodies of the dead for medical purposes. His dissection of Bentham’s dead body attracted much public criticism at the time, though it was a precursor for the 1832 Anatomy Act.

The first successful hot air balloon flight in England was completed at Finsbury Fields by Vincenzo Lunardi in 1784. The basket contained himself, together with a cat and a dog. Similarly, Studio RHE, who supervised the Alphabeta Building’s redevelopment, might also be seen as contemporary transport innovators. The building has cycle tracks which go right into the offices, such that cyclists can park almost by their work desks.

Rush hour hits hard in this postcode, with Moorgate and Liverpool Street railway stations bringing commuters into the city. Do not expect to get a seat on trains heading north and northeast during peak times.

The recent opening of the Elizabeth Line at Liverpool Street has been a boost to the area, with direct connections to Heathrow in the west as well as to new stations like Abbey Wood and Custom in the east. 50 Finsbury square is a prime example of the interest developers continue to show in this neighbourhood. Taking place behind the existing facade which was designed by Norman Foster, this redevelopment emphasises flexibility, consisting of over 115,000 square feet of office and retail space. A new car park was also recently completed in the square itself for those willing to pay the congestion charge each day to get to work.