Right on the border of Camden and Islington, this almost entirely residential neighbourhood is anything but sleepy. The area incorporates Camden Road to the south east, Holloway Road to the east, and Tufnell Park Road to the north, therefore possessing some of the most vibrant and well-connected streets in North London, all the while retaining its quiet neighbourhood feel towards the centre. Boasting primary and senior schools, and a college, this small area is home to an array of young and old from across the globe. It even has one of the few entirely French speaking schools to cater for part of its incredibly multicultural population. With relatively affordable rental properties ranging from Victorian town houses to council estates, the area is also popular with students, who, alongside the creative locals, have helped make this part of London one of the most varied and interesting places in the city.

With much of the area falling within Tufnell Park, it is likely that the land was used as dairy farms, offering the whole of London a steady supply of milk. It was deliberately kept rural so that it could support the huge amount of cattle needed to keep London’s milk-drinkers happy up until the mid-nineteenth-century, when serious residential building work began to house the population that came to the city on the new railways. Unlike nearby Camden and Kentish Town, though, the neighbourhood was relatively untouched by the railways themselves, with much of the line travelling through an underground tunnel. During the early twentieth-century Tufnell Park developed a reputation as shabby but genteel, with many retired artists and music hall performers setting up home here. To an extent, the area retains this quaint, attractive character today.

True crime fans will be interested to know that Dr Crippen, the notorious American homeopath who murdered his wife in 1910, lived and committed the crime at 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where he also kept the body. He was caught after fleeing to Canada with his mistress, unaware that the crime had become a sensation in the British press, and was the first person to ever be tried by wireless telegraphy. He was imprisoned and later hanged down the road at Pentonville Prison.

Built in 1852, the HM Prison Holloway was the largest women’s prison in Western Europe until it closed in 2016. It was home to many of the suffragettes, such as Emily Davidson (who was famously killed at the Epsom Derby after running in front of the King’s horse), and Charlotte Despard (after whom an Archway pub is named), amongst many others who fought for women’s right to vote. It also housed Oscar Wilde and Oswald Mosely for short periods of time.

One of the area’s best kept secrets is the beautiful Rock Tower at 49 Tufnell Park Road, a huge circular church building that was once home to a grand Shakespearian theatre. It remains a practising Nigerian church and events venue, and was where Jeremy Corbyn held his final rally before he was elected Labour leader in September 2015.

This part of town hardly has the sheen of the higher value areas of London, and given the population consists of a high proportion of young professionals and students, the residents tend to move away quite quickly. However, this process has kept rent reasonably cheap and attracts a creative, community-minded population to the well-connected area.

As far as changes to the neighbourhood go, Peabody Developers have recently acquired the site of the former HM Prison Holloway as it stands on 10 acres of land prime for regeneration. In 2019 it was agreed that 985 new homes will be built on the site as well as a 1.4 acre public park, retail space, and a Women’s Centre. These added facilities, as well as a provision stipulating that over 50% of housing should be affordable, were secured by Islington Council. On a slightly smaller scale the North Seven project is currently being built between 65-69 Parkhurst Road. The residential scheme comprises three separate buildings, one of which will contain affordable housing, while the other two boast more luxurious properties looking over a communal garden.