The Florence Trust is currently exhibiting at Holy Trinity as part of Frieze Week and have put on a striking show which integrates work by the artists with the interior of the church, particularly the Richard Cloudesley east window - see Gallery photo here. Open till Sunday 13th and well worth popping in if you're passing!
Jenny's latest local history masterpiece! Read all about "Five Generations of the Oldfields of Islington - Cowkeepers and More"
Click here for latest, April newsletter. Note we are hosting another Cloudesley Association drinks party in the Crown on Tuesday, April 30th, from 6.30pm. A great opportunity to meet your neighbours. Be there if you can!
Does anyone recognise this Islington street where the first Anderson Shelter was assembled in 1939? Click here for the story of another groundbreaking investigation by the Cloudesley Association's crack team of local history sleuths and if you know the answer to this mystery please let us know.
Another chance to see art by Freddie Yauner in Chapel Market organised by White Conduit Projects on Sunday 7 January. Click here for the flyer.
Newsletters are coming out thick and fast! Click here for November 2023.
Click here for the latest newsletter (September 2023) which has j
ust been circulated to members.
White Conduit Projects Gallery will be hosting an interesting sounding exhibition about food traders in neighbouring Chapel Market beginning on September 6. Click here and here for details. I'm certainly planning to go along to the opening reception on September 8 - Nick.
Once again we will be hosting a drinks party at the Crown Pub, on Tuesday, September 12th, at 6.30 to 8.00pm. You should all have received the invitation email. Make sure you get there early for your free drink!
If you've ever wondered about the charming building at 16A Cloudesley Street, Jenny has researched its history as a school and youth club and you can read all about it by clicking here.
We have a magnificent new fountain in Thornhill Gardens. Click here to read all about it.
The Barnard Park Summer Party is happening this Saturday 17th June 11.00 to 3.00. Check out their flyer here. Fun for all the family!
Next time you're passing the churchyard, check out the bluebells, which look particularly good this year. And various wildflowers should be making an appearance soon!
Hooray! Lesley Cole from Cloudesley Street will once again be organising a street party, this time to celebrate the King's Coronation on Sunday 7th May. See attached flyer for details. The Association will be helping to fund the party and all members are invited. The last party, for the Platinum Jubilee, was a great success as you can see from these photos in the Gallery.
Local artist Anne Howeson will be leading a walk through the railway lands around Kings Cross depicted in her recent works and talk about what inspired them on Saturday 3rd June 2-4 pm. Details in this flyer. If you'd like to join Anne, please rsvp directly via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to White Conduit Projects, N1 9EL, the Gallery organising the event.
Another masterpiece from Jenny, this time about the two "trench" air raid shelters which used to be in Thornhill Gardens, one either side of the central area. Who would have guessed?
The Association meeting on January 24 was well attended and there was a lively debate with guest Rowena Champion about plans to turn Barnsbury into a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), plans which the majority of those attending clearly opposed. Check out the meeting minutes here.
Following on from this, the Council have published details of how to engage with the consultation on their plans. We have circulated an update here.
A special Christmas treat for fans of local historian Jenny's research into Cloudesley Road. Using Mick Bucknell's new data she's massively updated her two "Hunting Ghosts" reports and added greatly to our knowledge of the road's history. If you can add more, do please get in touch.
Given how political and socially divisive the Islington Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) issue has become, your website manager, Nick, has decided to no longer post his polemics on the subject here on the Cloudesley Association website but will be doing so on a new website called Keep Islington Moving - check it out if you dare! More details here.
There will be a Christmas Sing Along at Barnard Park this Saturday evening - details here. Note that it's from 5.00 to 6.00pm so plenty of time to get back home in time to watch England triumph over the ancient enemy in the world cup! Also a reminder that there will also be carols in Lonsdale Square on Tuesday December 20 at 7.00pm, as we reported in the last newsletter.
Hot off the press, our latest newsletter has just been emailed to all Cloudesley Association members. To see it on the website, click here.
As Barnsbury residents, we're invited to a Council meeting at Bridgeman Road library on Tuesday 15th November at 5.45pm to "have our say" on plans for a "Liveable Barnsbury". I think it's mainly about the Council extending its LTN programme into our neighbourhood, so you should probably be there. And as it happens, I've just posted another opinionated polemic on this subject here (you can download this directly from here if you want). As always, your feedback is warmly welcomed.
New website articles are coming thick and fast at the moment! Here's Jenny's extensively researched history of the Mission Hall on Richmond Avenue and its predecessor St George's Hall, now demolished, which used to be just opposite.
More nuggets from Mick Bucknell - this time 1950 photos of a Cloudesley Road outing to the seaside organised by the "Friendly Neighbours Association" - his Dad features in most of them.
Based on a cornucopia of new data provided by Mick Bucknell, we've done a big addition to Jenny's popular "Hunting Ghosts" piece on the history of shops in Cloudesley Road. It turns out Cloudesley Road was what can only be described as a major commercial centre throughout the 1800s and well into the 1900s. The details are fascinating. How did it start and where did it go? Find out here!
We've been researching the history of our favourite pub - the Crown on the corner of Cloudesley Road and Cloudesley Square. Apparently it was originally just one of the first wave of terraced houses to be built on the Cloudesley Estate, which obtained a victualler's licence in the mid 19th century. Then around 1900 it was completely rebuilt as the rather magnificent Grade II listed building we know today. But there are still big gaps in our knowledge. If anyone knows more - early history, what it was like during the 20th century, or anecdotes about its ups and downs within living memory - then please get in touch. Later addition: thanks to some great feedback, the article above has been substantially revised and extended - we now suspect the Crown may have been a purpose-built public house from the outset in 1830, and we are learning more and more about its colourful recent past!
Our latest newsletter has just been released. The most exciting news item is that we will be hosting a drinks party at the Crown Pub, on Wednesday September 14, at 6.30 to 8.00pm. Make sure you get there early for your free drink!
We've discovered on Nextdoor Barnsbury some delightful paintings of Islington pubs by the artist Francisco Gutierrez (see website https://franciscoadolfo.com/pubs/) . Check out these watercolours in the Gallery of The Crown (in winter and summer) and The Albion.
Lesley has reminded us that there will be a jubilee street party in Cloudesley Street at 1.00pm on Thursday. You should have received a flyer. Bring your own drink and food to share. Enjoy!
Later: and here's some photos! Thanks Lesley.
If you're interested in a personal view of "The Case Against LTNs in Islington", click here. Let us know whether you agree or disagree. Then to calm you down, here are some more photos of the wildflowers in the churchyard!
The May newsletter has been circulated. The main news item is Islington Council's response to our email about Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. Read all about it here. One item which didn't make it on to the newsletter is that Kate Price of Cloudesley Square is delighted to announce that Mayflower, her play about the Pilgrim Fathers, will finally be having a proper production at The Hen and Chickens Theatre, Tuesdays through to Saturdays from 24th May to 11th June. There will be a matinee every Saturday as well. Details here.
A new post on the Church Restoration blog. Nothing has happened at the church as such but we do have some nice pictures of the first spring flowers to start blooming in the South garden. Enjoy!
Check out this wonderful story kindly provided by David Griffiths, whose grandmother was born in 11 Cloudesley Square, baptised at Holy Trinity Church and educated with her brothers at the Trinity school - complete with very early photos of the school classes. There is an intriguing twist to this tale linking Nos 11 and 16 Cloudesley Square and involving two boys who formed a lifelong friendship at Barnsbury school.
And for regulars at The Albion, here's what your local looked like in its glory days in the 1880s.
The London Diocese have asked us to circulate the following online survey on how the Church might be used by the community when it is opened up as the Cloudesley Centre:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CloudesleyCentre2022
This is an important subject for most of us in the Cloudesley Association so we urge you to fill in the survey. We don't have any other contextual information at this stage such as when or if this is going to happen or how it fits in with other plans for the church, but the preamble to the survey gives a rough idea of what the Diocese have in mind. For those of you who are new to the area we have a wealth of information about the church on this website going back many years - start by clicking here.
Our last Association meeting at the Drapers Arms attracted a record turnout and you can read the minutes here. These included details of the filming to take place at The Crown on February 23, 24, 25 - we're quite excited about this and will be on the lookout for Cate Blanchette and Kevin Kline! Remember to check the parking restrictions and if necessary move your car by Tuesday night. Also, we've just learned that the film crew will be using the church for catering and equipment. If you have any questions, please contact the Location Manager, James Lay, on 07964 002282 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The January update is hot off the press - see here. Note in particular that we are having the first (physical) Association meeting for a long time on Monday 7th February, 6.30pm-7.30/7.45pm, upstairs at the Drapers Arms. Do come along - and if you've recently joined this will be a great opportunity to get to know other members. As an enticement, we are providing drinks for free so be sure to order what you fancy at the bar on the way in!
Artist and Cloudesley resident Anne Howeson creates haunting "Present in the Past" works of art by 
superimposing images of modern buildings on reworked archival prints of old Islington scenes - enjoy them here.
A hidden corner of Islington reveals a time when London streets were paved with wooden blocks - read about it here.
Chris Tennant will once again be organising carols in Lonsdale Square at 7.00pm on Tuesday 10th December and has kindly invited Cloudesley residents to join in.
Our Autumn Newsletter has been circulated to everyone on the Association mailing list, with information about the church, traffic plans, meetings, tube lines, gardens, schools, events and a couple of photos - enjoy!
Stop Press! See details of Cloudesley Square resident Kate Glover's new play "Mayflower", by clicking here.
Stop Press Again! Sue from Richmond Avenue has kindly contributed some fascinating memories of life as a child in years gone by - click here.
Click here for the latest (July) post on the Church Restoration blog. The nave ceiling is finished and some extra repair work is being done to the pinnacles and clerestory windows.
Lesley from Islington Guided Walks has alerted us to a couple of new walks which are part of an Islington Guides Festival to celebrate the end of lockdown, from 19th-27th June. Here are the details:
Lesley is leading a further "Tales from the Crypt" guided walk on Thursday 24th June at 6.00-7.30pm, at a much-reduced rate of £6 as part of the Islington Festival of Walks, more information here: https://islingtonguidedwalks.com/events/tales-from-the-crypt-of-holy-trinity-cloudesley/
Susan, who was one of the other guides last autumn, is leading a slightly different walk looking at the 500 year legacy of Cloudesley at 12.30-1.30 pm on Tuesday 22nd June, only £5: https://islingtonguidedwalks.com/events/cloudesley-500-years-of-a-16th-century-legacy-to-islington/
Both walks are part of the Islington Guides Festival running from 19th-27th of June, covering an array of different areas and topics across the borough. The link to all our walks is: https://islingtonguidedwalks.com/our-walks/
And for those of you thinking about restoring your fanlight to its original glory, here's an article describing how the owner of No 11 Cloudesley Street did just that!
Plus, hot off the press, a report on the hard hat tours of the nave ceiling - with painted plaster casts!
Update to last newsletter - the Diocese are now offering hard hats tours of the new church nave ceiling - details here
The latest newsletter is now available, packed with information about the church, including the latest church renovation blog, as well as news about tube noise, the MET Safer Neighbourhoods Team and events at Kings Cross. Enjoy!
We've updated our main church page with a summary of the Diocese Zoom meeting mentioned below and also details of a brand new website set up by the Diocese to showcase the results of the "Tales from the Crypt" research project - you can visit it directly here: www.cloudesleycentre.org
New member Jo has kindly sent us this photo of a plane tree on the South side of the Holy Trinity churchyard with an uncanny face hidden in it. Don't see it? Click here for help!
The scaffolding has come down from the North side of the church and work has moved inside - read all about it in the latest Church Restoration Blog. We also have a new article about another old resident buried at Highgate Cemetery - William Craghill (or should that be Crachill?).
Stop Press! The Diocese will be hosting a Zoom session on the church on Thursday March 11th at 7.00pm. Details here. This, and other matters, are included in the latest Newsletter, here.
There hasn't been much breaking news recently because, frankly, not much has been going on! But we do have a few updates to the website including: Jenny's notes on the Freeman family, who were important landlords in the early days of the Cloudesley Estate, some pictures of the newly restored Church in the gallery, and a celebration of the Cloudesley Square Residents Association, which was active in the 1980s.
The north aisle of the church roof is nearly complete so we've added a new post to the Church Restoration Blog describing how the work was done. Jenny has also completed research on a new Cloudesley family - the Fairs of Stonefield Street. And it seems the filming in Cloudesley Square has been postponed indefinitely - pity, I was quite looking forward to it!
Mark Fletcher from the Church on the Corner has emailed to let us know there will be al fresco carols in Thornhill Square on Sunday 20th December at 6.00pm. Details here. Wrap up warm and sing your hearts out!
We've just circulated a mini-newsletter reminding you all about the next Cloudesley Association meeting next Monday December 7th at 6.30 with details on how to join via Zoom. Rowena Champion is guest of honour!
And here are the minutes. Most of the discussion was focused on the new cycle lanes on Liverpool Road.
Also, some mysterious markings have been discovered inside the church!
The Tales from the Crypt Exhibition will reopen in the South aisle of the Church in Cloudesley Square, for a short time only this weekend and next - Saturday and Sunday 11am to 2pm on December 5, 6, 12, 13. Make sure you drop in. It's free and it's fun! See you there.
Several new articles to entertain and enchant you! Jenny has been busy with, firstly, an account of George Moss, beadle and sexton at Holy Trinity from 1850 to 1861, and secondly, Tony Douglas, who 100 years later lived in what is now Barnsbury Park in the 1960s when it was virtually a bombsite. Bringing us up to date is news about our erstwhile church guardian cum director superstar, Ed Watts. Great photos throughout!
We're spoiling you - yet another newsletter! Note in particular that we will be holding the next Cloudesley Association meeting, via Zoom, on Monday December 7th at 6.30. Our Councillor Rowena Champion has kindly agreed to be with us.
At last! The ugly scaffolding has finally been taken down and the fine turrets at the west end of Holy Trinity are revealed again in all their glory with the sunlight glinting off the smart new stainless steel wrapping! Read all about it in the latest chapter of the church restoration blog, here.
Read "Barons of Beef - the Dixon Dynasty" - a great story about another early Cloudesley Estate family who had a big impact on the area.
The latest newsletter has been circulated and is available here. It includes the sad news that Florence is leaving us to live the dream up in the Lake District. She has done a magnificent job as secretary over the past few years and will be sadly missed. I will be attempting to fulfill Florence's secretarial duties in her absence, unless, of course, anyone else wants to take on the job. Nick
Click here to read a letter which Kevin Rogers from the London Diocese has written to residents with an update on what's happening at the church. Progress is good, with work started on the North aisles and the turrets, and plans for the crypt. Kevin and Rosie Fraser will be giving a Zoom talk on this on Thursday 29th October at 6pm with opportunities for residents to ask questions. Update your diaries! Details as follows:
Click here to read a letter which Kevin Rogers from the London Diocese has written to residents with an update on what's happening at the churchMeeting ID: 722 627 9564 Password: 041293
Update 30.10.20 : the zoom meeting has now taken place and you can read about it here.
Three outputs from the Tales From the Crypt research are now available to residents in the form of an Exhibition in the church, evening Zoom Talks and a new Islington Guided Walk. All highly recommended - see here for details. Also, the latest article in the church restoration blog, describing the completion of the work on the south aisle, where the Exhibition is now housed.
Amanda and Florence have circulated the latest Cloudesley Association Newsletter, with proposals for "Low Traffic Neighbourhoods", an update on Thornhill Gardens, more on the restoration work at Holy Trinity Church and the associated "Tales From the Crypt" project, a link to a marvellous documentary about Milner Square, and several other items of local interest. The website continues to be updated; we have a new Thornhill Gardens Photo Gallery, an article on Sidney Bridgman's Memoirs about local life in the 50s and 60s, and a link to a book about "The Cats of Cloudesley Square"! Enjoy.
See London as you've never seen it before with these LIDAR maps from Layers of London. Also, after many false starts, I've finally got the "Smart Search" facility to work - try typing a word or phrase into the box below the banner above then click "Search" and see what happens.
Like many of us, the website has been poorly recently, but it's now out of intensive care and there's lots of new stuff (mostly, but not exclusively for older persons!) - and from a variety of new contributors - thank you all. We have new History articles on People (Jevon Harper, the Bridgman Family, Tony Blair (!)) and Places (the Metropolitan Cattle Market (and Don McCullin)). The section on Thornhill Gardens is regularly updated and there's new material under Dove Brothers. And there's a new "Blog" on the progress of the Church Restoration which already has three posts, with lots of photos kindly shared by the contractors Fullers Builders (no, not the brewery!) - fascinating if you're interested in architectural heritage. Enjoy, and keep those contributions coming!
To cheer us up during this time of lockdown, here's an old newspaper article from 1990 about the Celestials who used to be in Holy Trinity Church in Cloudesley Square.
We've set up a new Coronavirus section of the website under "The Area" heading, here. So far, it includes general advice about the virus, information about the Caledonian and Barnsbury Covid 19 Mutual Aid Group, advice on Coronavirus-related scams from Neighbourhood Watch, and a leaflet from Islington Council. Keep safe and remember to wash those hands!
Latest newsletter attached. The version here on the website is a slightly updated version of the one which was circulated recently and includes some new details about Holy Trinity church. In particular, note that there will be an Exhibition starting on March 19th at the Islington Museum on St Johns St featuring research carried out by member volunteers into past residents buried in the church crypt. Do please pay it a visit! We've also made a couple of additions to the website. Kieran Garvey has written a really interesting and detailed report into Henry Buckler, who was a pillar of the Cloudesley community in the first half of the 19th century. And we've added a section on Cloudesley Pubs, Past and Present. If you have any stories to tell about your favourite boozers, especially those which no longer exist, this is the place to share them!
BAFTA triumph! Ed Watts, our guardian at Holy Trinity, has now won Best Documentary at the BAFTAs for his film "For Sama". He was also nominated for the same award at the Oscars, but "we wus robbed". Congratulations Ed!
We've recently been contacted by Islington Neighbourhood Watch who have provided us with various useful documents which you can find here.
Older Breaking News items
More website reorganisation. I've added a new piece on the history of the Cloudesley Estate and the role played by the local charitable trust Cloudesley in the introduction to the "History" section, expanded "About Us" and added to "Maps" (try using the LMA website facility to examine in detail what the Cloudesley Estate looked like just before building began in 1817 - fascinating!). Apologies for any bugs which may have appeared. Nick
Amanda and Florence have published the latest Cloudesley Association newsletter, here, full of festive facts. Also various additions to the website, particularly under "History", and "The Area" - for example a gory postscript to our piece on Thornhill Gardens! Also an update on the tube noise issue.
I've been reorganising the website. "History" is a new menu item with the contents of the old Cloudesley History article (which was getting too big) broken up into smaller bits, while the contents of the old "Projects" menu item have been reassigned mostly to "The Area". Also several other changes. I hope you like the new version. If not, or if you spot any bugs or have suggestions for a better organisation, please let me know. Nick
Jenny and I have been busy adding much new local historical research to the website. Jenny has transcribed all census records for the whole of Stonefield St (!) and you can see the results here, together with a number of analyses of the data (the street declined massively - believe it or not, one house had 27 occupants in 1911, and several had more than 20!). She has followed this up with detailed family histories of two residents with family members buried in the crypt. Meanwhile, I have completed a "House Through Time" history of my own house, 16 Cloudesley Square - Nick.
A star is born! Did you know we have a famous filmmaker in our midst? Ed Watts has made a superb film about Syria - "For Sama" - which has won several awards, including at Cannes, and has been attracting the most glowing reviews - check it out here. Believe it or not, Ed and his wife Olivia are guardians in Holy Trinity Church - they tell me it's quite cosy in there!
Latest newsletter and minutes from the meeting held on May 21. Also various additions to the Cloudesley History section, a great picture of the Catalpa tree in bloom at the top of Cloudesley Road, and what to do if you're experiencing tube noise from the Victoria line which runs under the Cloudesley Estate.
Update. They've gone! Like thieves in the night! They were there in force this morning then when we looked mid-afternoon - not a trace. Where did they go? Spooky!
Invasion of the Killer Bees! A giant swarm of bees has taken up residence in the tree outside our house on the East side of Cloudesley Square! Local bee experts have advised doing nothing for a couple of days, then if the bees haven't moved on they'll come round and deal with them - hopefully humanely. Meanwhile neighbours are advised to keep their windows shut!
Does anyone have any information about Cloudesley Physically Handicapped (PH) School, which occupied the Dowrey Street site from 1909 to 1972, when it was demolished and replaced with, first Samuel Rhodes School, and then the current Bridge ILS and New River College PRU? We've been contacted by Peter Lambert, who was a pupil there during the war years from 1940 to 1951. He has kindly shared his memories of the school with us and you can read his fascinating account here.
Yet more Cloudesley History! Learn about another Islington family who appear in the Holy Trinity burial records, the Snees, and also an article on Gentrification and how it played out on the Cloudesley Estate!
Latest newsletter including date of next meeting: Tuesday May 21 at 6.30 in the Drapers Arms - be there!
Important news! The Diocese have received funding for a project to research the history of Holy Trinity church and are calling for volunteers to help. Read all about it here.
More Cloudesley History, including Families Buried in the Church, Cloudesley War Dead, the Reverend Fell, and Alf Hutt. Fascinating stuff!
Check out the latest Newsletter for March. It includes a reference to a draft "Legal Scheme" from the Church Commissioners, regarding the Diocese's proposals for the restoration of Holy Trinity Church. You can study the relevant documents here. If you wish to make a formal representation for or against the draft scheme, or you believe the Association should do so, there is a deadline of April 14 2019.
Check out Jenny's latest remarkable works of local history: "Hunting Ghosts - Cloudesley Road - Past and Present", and also "Gold Dust - Born and Bred in Cloudesley Road". We've also added several more items to the "Cloudesley History" project.
We have updated the website with a major new section on Cloudesley History. You can download Holy Trinity Church records of Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials of past Cloudesley Estate residents and well as census records for every house in Cloudesley Square from 1841 to 1911 (check out who lived in your house in past years!). It's a great story! This is a work in progress and we urge all residents to get in touch with any related information they may have, to enrich our understanding of this fascinating part of London.
Amanda and Florence have just emailed out the latest Newsletter - check out what's happening here.
A list of famous or otherwise interesting past residents of the Cloudesley area (work in progress).
More about maps, cricket, tea gardens and Booth's poverty maps.
December Newsletter just out - lots to report on the church and much besides!
Check out this old map of the area in 1830 by cartographers C&J Greenwood. A lot's changed!
In the early 1970s Artist Glynn Boyd Harte and his wife Carrie moved into the then dilapidated house at 28 Cloudesley Square, renovated it in Regency style and subsequently presided over a "young fogey bohemian" social set in pre-gentrification Islington. Read about their story here.
An Islington Life! Local resident Jenny Tatton has discovered the fascinating story of Charles Mason Sharpe whose coffin rests in the crypt of Holy Trinity Church. Read about it here or go direct to Jenny's research here.
Attention tree lovers! I've added a new section about Street Trees under About the Area, here, and also included some pictures of notable local trees in all their autumnal glory in the Gallery, here. Enjoy, Nick!
