The predominantly residential neighbourhood of North Holloway sits comfortably to the north of Tufnell Park and to the south of Stroud Green. The bustling Holloway Road splits the area down the middle, and provides a vibrant hub for shopping and transport, with Archway tube station to its west and Upper Holloway Overground station right in the centre. The typically suburban streets that spread from Holloway Road consist mainly of Victorian and Edwardian terraces, with more than the occasional post-war or ex-council block dotted in between. Whittington Park provides the diverse community with a large public green space that includes a football pitch, children’s play area, and a local nursery, whose grounds are often used to hold small markets. The neighbourhood is popular with a multicultural population of students and commuters because of its fantastic transport links and reasonable rents, and is becoming home to more and more families who have been priced out of nearby Highgate and Islington.

Supposedly named after the “hollow” made in the road by cattle as they made their way from the north into London, Holloway Road has long been an important thoroughfare into town. Dairy farms would have once occupied the land that makes up North Holloway, supplying the whole of London with not only milk, but also the famous Holloway cheesecake that was sought after throughout the city. Suburban development began in the 1840s, and was intensified in the 1850s when freehold land societies took control. Much of this development took place on land a way back from the noisy Holloway Road and formed the streets that many still reside in. In 1921, the UK’s first sexual health clinic for women was opened by Marie Stopes at 61 Marlborough Road and was free to all married women who wished for help regarding reproductive health. Holloway was badly damaged in the Second World War due to its proximity to King’s Cross, which led to the area’s rapid rebuilding in the form of large red brick council blocks, many of which remain today.

One of North Holloways most famous institutions is the National Youth Theatre. Founded in 1956 as the world’s first youth theatre, the charity is committed to the development of young people through the creative arts, and has a reputation for helping some of the world’s most famous actors flourish at an early age. Some of its former alumni include Idris Elba, Orlando Bloom, Kate Winslet, and Daniel Craig.

Holloway has a reputation for being rather polluted and noisy because of the busy Holloway and Hornsey roads, and this area is particularly affected due to its proximity to the congested Archway roundabout. However, once you leave the main roads, the streets are surprisingly quiet, so much so that on a match day you can even hear the Emirates Stadium in the distance.

Islington Council are currently in the process of helping with the borough’s shortage of affordable homes, and are committed to building 1,900 genuinely affordable new homes by 2023, a number of which will be in North Holloway. However, the desirability of this neighbourhood means that affordable schemes must compete with more profitable luxury developments which inflate average rents. The Chapel Row scheme on Sparsholt Road is one such example .The development comprises eight townhouses designed by Brady Mallalieu Architects with south-east facing gardens and rooftop conservatories. Prices start at over 1 million pounds per unit.