by Gavin Smith (Author)
The London Borough of Islington stretches from Hornsey Lane and Highgate Hill in the north to the edge of the City of London. Created in 1964, the new borough brought together the old boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The period of history covered by this collection of photographs begins in the 1860s and 1870s. We see here a very different world from our own, roads busy with horse-buses, motor-buses, trains and the occasional new-fangled motor-car. Children play in the streets as well as the parks. Buildings of a former age are still to be seen and architecture is on a human scale. From the 1860s and 1870s much progress was made in education and public health. Overcrowded courts and rookeries were swept away, new housing built, water supplies and drainage laid on. Medical services gradually improved. The story was not all hopeful. Islington suffered severe unemployment and poverty early this century. World War II brought widespread devastation. Post-war rebuilding changed the local landscape and improved living conditions. This book takes us on a journey through Islington's past, sometimes quite recognizable, sometimes unfamiliar, but in a time of rapid change, it is all the more interesting to look at what has gone before.
Author Biography
Gavin Smith has written numerous books on local history include Barking and Dagenham.