Pentonville | >Re-PHOTO

Battlebridge, Canalside and Barnsbury – 1990

Battlebridge, Canalside and Barnsbury continues my walk which began at Kings Cross on Sunday February 11th 1990 with the post Kings Cross and Pentonville 1990.

*Battlebridge Basin, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-11*

Battlebridge Basin on the Regent’s Canal was opened at the same time as the Camden Town to Limehouse stretch of the canal in 1820, though the buildings around it took a couple of years longer to complete. In 1815 the landowner William Horsefall contracted with the canal company to allow them to dump the soil extracted from the Islington Tunnel a short distance away on his land, and he used this to form the basin.

It seems odd that you should need earth to form a basin, but it was needed to raise the ground level around it as part of the 480ft by 155ft basin is above the level of the streets around. Horsefall got an Act of Parliament to fill the basin with water from the canal and by 1822 it was surrounded by industrial premises, including timber yards. Among later occupants were W J Plaistowe & Co, jam, marmalade and preserve makers, here until 1926, and at Albert Wharf on the northeast corner were Cooper & Sewell (c1847-1880) and J Mowlem & Co (c1880-1922).

The best-known building on the basin was the warehouse built around 1860 by ice-cream maker Carlo Gatti to store ice brought from Norway, which since 1992 houses the London Canal Museum. In a Key Stage 2 teaching resource on their site is an excellent plan showing the uses of the different areas around the basin in the late 19th century.

Unlike other canal basins in London this was privately owned, known first of all as Horsefall Basin, then Maiden Lane Basin before taking its current name – the old name for the Kings Cross area, which had a bridge over the River Fleet. There seems to be no agreement as to which battle this was named after but few beleive the popular legend it was fought by Boudicea. In 1978 a group of boat owners came together so set up moorings here which over the years since have developed into a substantial marina.

*Mercantile House, All Saints St, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-14*

My previous post on this walk showed an overall picture of Mercantile House and gave a little of its history. In 1990 the whole site was undergoing redevelopment as you can see in pictures below. Mercantile House was retained.

*All Saints St, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-13*

I photographed Bartlett Ltd, Export Packers in 1979 from the canal towpath and wrote a little about Battlebridge Basin and Bartlett’s works then and wrote:

Although many of the canal-side buildings in the area have been replaced, a warehouse on the basin of Bartlett Export Packers survives in greatly altered form as Albert Dock. The works buildings in this picture, at the end of New Wharf Road, have been replaced by those of Ice Wharf, three blocks with 94 apartments in a highly regulated private development with 24 hour concierge service and a private, gated underground parking space where a 2 bed flat overlooking the canal could be yours for only £1,195,000.

Demolition of the buildings on All Saints Street whichg meets New Wharf Road at its west end provided me this view of part of Bartletts from here.

Regent's Canal, View West, from, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 90-2c-64 — *Regent’s Canal, View West, from, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 90-2c-64*

From Thornhill Bridge on the Caledonian Road over the canal I could see the cleared development site and, in the distance St Pancras Hotel, the Post Office Tower and other buildings. At the left are the back of buildings on Caledonian Rd.

Regent's Canal, View West, from, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2c-65 — *Regent’s Canal, View West, from, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2c-65*

A second view west from Thornhill Bridge includes Bartlett’s water tank and canalside buildings.

*Thornhill Crescent, Barnsbury, Islington, 1990, 90-2c-52*

I walked on north up Caledonian Road to Thornhill Crescent at the northern end of Thornhill Square, once of the well-known Barnsbury Squares, though it certainly is not square – together they are more of an oval, narrowing towards the southern end. Wikipedia calls it “an unusual large ovoid ellipse“.

Much of the land around here was owned by the Thornhill family who had come from Yorkshire and let to dairy farmers. George Thornhill began Thornhill Square in 1847, and Samuel Pocock, one of those rich farmers began Thronhill Crescent around 1849.

Lived in at first by prosperous middle class households, the area became run-down by the middle of the last century with many properties in multiple occupation and high levels of street crime. But Islington became fashionable in the 1960 and 70s and gentrification led many of those living to purchase the freeholds and the area went upmarket. Some flats now sell for over a million pounds and entire houses over two million.

More from Barnsbury in the next post in this series.

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Kings Cross and Pentonville 1990

Kings Cross and Pentonville: Although I took a few pictures in the next few weeks, mainly on my way to or from meetings, it was well into February before I was able to go on another long photographic walk. Of course the weather at that time of year often isn’t too kind and days are short, but winter is the best season for photographing much of London’s buildings, as so much is hidden once trees come into leaf.

*Grays Inn Rd, Kings Cross, Camden, 1990, 90-2b-54*

I can’t now recall why I decided to return to the Kings Cross area on Sunday February 11th 1990, though I liked to revisit areas periodically, and the journey to the Victoria line station was an easy one, suitable for short days to give me more hours of usable light.

I left the station by the Pentonville Road entrance and walked back towards the main station, taking a couple of pictures on my way before heading down Grays Inn Road. This picture looking back towards Kings Cross Station includes both the station clock tower – I seem to have arrived shortly before 10am – and the well-known “lighthouse” built simply as advertising for Netten’s Oyster Bar. What seems an incredibly long horizontal pole holds one of the many traffic lights in the area .

*Posters, Grays Inn Rd, Kings Cross, Camden, 1990, 90-2b-55*

In the centre of these fly-posted posters is an advert for ‘THE BEST SHOP IN TOWN’, SHE-AN-ME at 123 Hammersmith Road, West Kensington, London W14. It offers ‘UNUSUAL – BONED DRESSES – 6″ HEEL BOOTS – LATEX RUBBER …’ and much more, a fetish shop specialising in PVC, rubberwear and bondage equipment. Although Yelp still has a listing for the business it is long gone; after some years as ‘Simply Pleasure’ it is now ‘Quick Local Store’ selling snacks, cold drinks, tobacco, souvenirs, toiletries and household items.

*Scales, Weights, 319-321, Grays Inn Rd, Kings Cross, Camden, 1990, 90-2b-56*

One of London’s more photographed signs, though now a little faded and above a Nail Bar and Computer Centre on this nicely curved building. The Greek Restuarant at 325 is now a fast-food place – and is flanked by two others.

Tattoo Studio, Pentonville Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-43 — *Tattoo Studio, Pentonville Rd, Pentonville, Camden, 1990, 90-2b-43*

I walked back onto Pentonville Road, here the boundary between the London boroughs of Camden and Islington. Modern Jock’s Tattoo Studio on the south side was on the ground floor and Chestnuts Hair Studio for Men and Women through the same door on the first floor, illustrated by arrows for the non-literate. Born around 1920 British tattooing legend Jock Liddel started as a tattoo artist at the age of 16 in Scotland and his famous shop was at 287 Pentonville Road for many years. He died in 1995 but had moved down to Kent a few years earlier. His shop and several adjoining are now an American multinational fast food burger and fries chain.

*Signs, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-34*

‘Kings X People Say NO’ to the Chunnel Terminal for Kings X – Chaos for London’ read the array of posters on the back of a road sign, one of four signs in this picture, along with those for the Autodrome, Peacemeal Whole Foods and Loseley Dairy Ice Cream.

I was briefly and peripherally involved with the Kings Cross Railway Lands Group and their ‘Planning for Real’ exercise with local residents which formed a basis for the comprehensive alternative plan published in their Kings Cross Railwaylands Towards a People’s Plan Full Report published in October 1991.

Of course their plans were not adopted but the opposition certainly played a part in the decision to drop the plans for a new Kings Cross and instead to develop St Pancras as the international terminal. As an article on Londonist points out, “The plans would have seen 83 homes and 58 shops demolished. The scale of destruction would have witnessed landmark listed buildings like the Scala pulled down … The entire block between Caledonian Road, York Way and Caledonia Street would have also been lost.”

*Northdown St, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-23*

The Kings X Sauna on the corner of Northdown Street and more useful shops and offices on Caldedonian Road. The sauna at No.70 later became an estate agents.

*Mercantile House, All Saints St, Pentonville, Islington, 1990, 90-2b-25*

Further north on Caledonian Road I turned west into All Saints St where I photographed Mercantile House which appropriately later became home to global brand consultancy agency Wolff Olins – who have now moved to Southwark.

Work began in 2022 to transform this and other buildings on the site into Regent’s Wharf, “a ground-breaking new campus … created with the next generation of innovators in mind.”

Mercantile House was built in 1891 as the Head Office for Thorley’s Food for Cattle with their mill behind it on the bank of the Regent’s Canal. They had moved onto the site in 1857.

“A family owned business for over 100 years, Joseph Thorley’s Ltd was an iconic player of the industrial age, inventing and distributing ‘spicy aromatic condiments’ that would beef up your cattle, pep up your pigs and ensure your chicken laid the best clutch in the roost.

This MiracleGro for animals was made to a secret recipe and sold around the world even in far flung outposts such as the Falkland Islands, all from the headquarters at Regent’s Wharf in King’s Cross.”

“Thorley’s progressive ideas extended to their charming and playful marketing, with eye-catching advertising and branding that has become collectable today. Animal feeds went by many wonderful names such as Grula for Horses, the famous Thorley’s Cake that reared ‘Champions’, Ovum for chickens and Rabbitum.”

Albion Yard and Balfe Street, 1989

Albion Yard and Balfe Street: My walk around King’s Cross on Saturday 8th April 1989 continues. The previous post was Along the Cally & York Way. I was taking part in a walk led by the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, GLIAS.

York Way area Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-34 — *Albion Yard, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-34*

I cannot now remember if we took an alley from York Way to enter Albion Yard or if we turned east along Railway Street, from where there was another entrance. But I think this building was on our route into Albion Yard, and is now still present either in Albion Yard or the connected Ironworks Yard.

Neither of these yards is named on the old larre-scale OS maps, and only Albion Yard appears on my old street atlas. A few yards away from the Balfe Street entrance on the corner with Caledonian Road The Albion pub opened in 1845 when Balfe Street was called Albion St but the yard was simply labelled on the 1877 map as ‘Blue Manufactury.’ The Albion building is still there though by the time of this walk known as Malt & Hops. For some years it was the Ruby Lounge wine bar, then a Be At One cocktail bar and is now home to the Institute of Physics.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-35*

The name ‘Albion’ is the oldest known name for the mainland of Britain, in use at least since it was recorded by Greek geographers around 6,000 years ago to distinguished it from Ireland. They are thought to have got the name from the Celts and it was Romanised as Albion.

Some believe it came from a word meaning white and relate it to the ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ but it seems more likely to have a different origin simply meaning ‘land’ or ‘world’, and possibly the same root that also led to Alps and Albania.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-36*

Albion largely survives in modern English simply in the name ‘Alba’ used by Scottish separatists and in Celtic languages for Scotland.

But Albion is the England of myths, with the fantasies of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae being repeated as fact in histories in the five centuries that followed. But most important for its continued popularity was the work of visionary poet and printmaker William Blake and his ‘Jerusalem‘, subtitled ‘The Emanation of the Giant Albion‘ published in just as six copies before his death in 1827. Later many have come to regard him as the greatest artist Britain has ever produced.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-21*

Albion Yard had entrances from York Way, Caledonia St, Balfe St and Railway St and was the interior of this block of four streets. The entrances and a few of the buildings that were present in 1989 still exist though in rather different state, but the character of the area, now labelled ‘Regent Quarter’ is very different.

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-22*

An property group’s site provides the following description:

“Regents Quarter is a development of almost six acres of land next to Kings Cross Station that and has been transformed into a living working community. Victorian workshops have been converted into loft style apartments, sitting comfortably alongside ultra modern business and residential spaces…

This sought after gated development boasts a lovely entrance hall further benefitting from a 24 hour concierge/security service.”

*Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-24*

Some of the properties were still in use as small workshops but others are clearly derelict. I was intrigued by the heads of mannequins visible in the first floor with a door on which the name MODRENO had been hand-painted. This photograph had a sign painted on the wall ‘NO PARKING MODRENO LOADING BAY – SIGNED LECKY’S DUMMY MODELS’. You can find out much more on Modreno at Foxxhunting – Modreno.

Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-12 — *Leaving Albion Yard to Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-12*

You can view a very detailed presentation of the proposed redevelopment of the whole area, which includes a plans and a number of photographs of the current Albion Yard, part of what will be called Jahn Court. You can recognise this and other buildings in my pictures in the photographs there.

*Entrance to Albion Yard, Balfe St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-14*

The mid 19th century house at left and the adjoining arch with its inscription ‘WORKS & MILLS’ and the date 1846 is Grade II listed. Balfe St was formerly Albion St, and was renamed after the composer of the opera The Bohemian Girl, William Balfe in 1938.

My King’s Cross walk with GLIAS will continue in a later post

The first post on this walk was Kings Cross, St George’s Gardens & More.

Along the Cally & York Way

My walk around King’s Cross on Saturday 8th April 1989 continues. The previous post was King’s Cross Road – 1989

*Alley, 7 Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4d-13*

Although I had begun this walk on my own, at some point I had joined up with others for a walk around the area organised by GLIAS, the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, of which I had long been a member, and some of the others taking part in the walk can be seen in this and some later pictures.

This alley is now an entrance to the Regent Quarter, an estate which “is currently arranged in two blocks and comprises approximately 260,730 sq ft of mixed-use real estate, across 12 office buildings and 20 retail and leisure units” which was purchased by Hong Kong based Endurance Land in 2018 who aim to revitalise the 3.5 acre site.

The name Regent Quarter applies to a larger area, mainly within Islington but also including the ‘Lighthouse’ block in Camden which largely grew up around the railway. Back in 1989 around a third of the buildings in the area were vacant, some derelict and the rest largely in poor condition, partly because of the blighting effect of uncertainly over future major developments in the area, much of which was then expected to be demolished for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and in which I became interested through the Kings Cross Railway Lands Group in the late 1980s.

*Old Forge, Business Centre, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4d-15*

This is now a part of the Regent Quarter and I think these particular buildings in the block west of the Caledonian Road reached from the alley above through the opening at the centre of this picture are still present around this internal courtyard. But I can find no mention now of the Old Forge Business Centre name still in the area.

*Old Forge, Business Centre, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-61*

Another picture of the internal courtyard of what was the the Old Forge Business Centre.

*Caledonian Rd, Keystone Crescent, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-65*

We returned to the Caledonian Road and I took this photograph across the road of one end of Keystone Crescent, but our walk conitnued north up the Caledonian Road, though I did photograph Keystone Crescent on other walks in the area.

*Lanitis Fabrics, Caledonia St, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-66*

The group turned west down Caledonia Street stopping to admire the 1906 built frontage of the former Kings Cross Laundry, with the large intertwined KCL insignia. More recent signs included those for Lanitis Fabrics Ltd, and Stella Models, with signs calling for Machinists, Overlockers, Pressers, Finishers and Cutters, though I think the business had closed and the building was vacant. The building is still there, much cleaned up.

*York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-51*

Caledonia Street took us to York Way. I’m not sure but I think this may be one of the few listed buildings in the area at 34B, where the Grade II listing text mentions “The highly unusual roof structure is a notable survival.”

If so, the frontage on York Way is rather more impressive than this side of the building, with a nicely symmetrical frontage around an arched carriage entrance, a warehouse for the adjoining black lead works designed by Thomas Marsh Nelson and William Harvey in 1873.

I think this building was where I showed work and gave a presentation as a part of the The London International Documentary Festival in 2010, I think the first time the festival had included still photography.

*Taxi depot, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-53*

I think the sign at the upper centre of the image once read COACHWORK DEPT with the later addition of MOTOCOL LTD. The sloping ramp to these first floor works was built for horses and this could possibly have been a converted stables.

Now it was a busy depot for London ‘black cab’ taxis, with the driver of one at right using an air line on a tyre and small group talking by a diesel pump.

*Grange Motors, York Way, Pentonville, Islington, 1989 89-4e-55*

A second picture shows others on the walk going to look more closely at Crash Repair Specialists Grange Motors, while more taxi drivers are now by the pumps. The alley along the side of Grange Motors led to an enclosed yard surrounded by derelict buildings, but I’ve not digitised the couple of pictures I made there. It was a dead end and we had to come back out onto York Way.

To be continued…

The first post on this walk was Kings Cross, St George’s Gardens & More

Dancing and Dereliction – TQ30

North of Covent Garden in the 1km wide strip of London in TQ30 we come into the areas of St Pancras in LB Camden (which includes Kings Cross) and Pentonville in Islington which were largely outside the tourist zone, apart from housing a number of hotels, none of which appear in my colour pictures from 1986-93.

Printer, Kings Cross Rd, St Pancras,1990 TQ3083-057

Businesses here catered for London, and many were failing thanks to changes in technology and the de-industrialisation of our economy. A large swathe was blighted by plans for development of the railway lands, including much outside the actual rail areas that were threatened by demolition, though thanks to local opposition much has so far been saved.

Wellers Court, Somers Town, 1990TQ3083-048

North of Kings Cross there was to be wholesale demolition, and even listed buildings were not safe. The gasholders that were such a prominent landmark in the area were soon to be dismantled, with some being re-erected some distance away on the opposite side of the canal.

Gasholder, Pancras Rd, Kings Cross, 1990 TQ3083-030

And the dancers on the side of Stanley Buildings were having their final dance before they and the other nearby buildings were demolished.

Dancers, Stanley Buildings, Kings Cross, 1990TQ3083-009

Perhaps surprisingly I took few pictures of the Regent’s Canal in colour, though rather more in black and white, but I had photographed around here fairly extensively in the previous few years and perhaps felt I had little more to say.

Works, Albert Wharf, New Wharf Rd, Pentonville, 1986 TQ3083-021

But it was good to have a picture of the road side of Charles Bartlett, Export Packers & Shippers, whose chimney and works dominate this stretch of the canal.

Door and Brooms, Caledonian Rd, Pentonville, 1990TQ3083-064

But the road that fascinated me most was the Caledonian Road and its side streets, as a number of the pictures here show. You can see these and others on the third page of my album TQ30 London Cross-section.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.