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Highbury Fields is an open space in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. At 11.75 hectares (29 acres), it is the largest open space in the borough.[1]
It extends north from Highbury Corner almost as far as Highbury Barn. As well as parkland, Highbury Fields contains recreational facilities including tennis courts and Highbury Pool,[2] which reopened after refurbishment in January 2007. The park is a popular thoroughfare for people walking to the nearby Emirates Stadium.
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The houses surrounding the Fields are good examples of Georgian and Victorian town houses and are highly desirable residences.[citation needed] These terraces lie on three roads: Highbury Place, Highbury Crescent, and Highbury Terrace.
John Dawes bought much of the demesne and began the residential development of Highbury. He granted leases in 1774-9 for 39 houses on Highbury Place. These were designed and built by John Spiller, a speculative builder of Southwark. The terrace was completed in 1777. Famous residents include:[3][4]
- 1. Walter Sickert, the Impressionist painter, lived here and ran a school for artists from 1927 to 1931.
- 25. John Wesley stayed here.
- 25. Joseph Chamberlain lived here from 1845 to 1854.
- 39. John Spiller moved in when the terrace was completed in 1777.
- ??. Abraham Newland, chief cashier of the Bank of England, never slept out of the Bank for 25 years. His house on Highbury Place was for daytime use only.[5]
The next major development around what was to become Highbury Fields was the construction of Highbury Terrace. The central part of the terrace dates to 1789. By 1794 nos. 1-16 had been built.[3] Sir Francis Ronalds, lived and worked at number 1 Highbury Terrace between 1796 and 1813.[6]
Highbury Crescent was begun in 1844, when land was laid out for it by James Wagstaff and James Goodbody. Nos. 19-25 were let to Goodbody in 1846. The houses were pairs of large Italianate villas, with rich and varied decorations in stucco.[3]
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At the south end of the fields stands a war memorial by Bertram Mackennal dating from 1905, featuring a wreath, cannons and the captured standards of defeated enemies. It commemorates Islington residents who fell in the Boer War.[7]
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