Earlier this afternoon I was in Canonbury, a district in the Borough of Islington, when I spied this church spire nicely illuminated by the autumn sunshine.

I was intrigued by the fact that the end of the main church building (nearest the camera) seems to have been converted into residential accommodation.

I progressed around to the front of the church and discovered that this is St Stephen’s Canonbury. As I had an appointment I could not spend more time investigating.

The church just qualifies as Victorian, dating from two years into that reign (1839).

Canonbury owes its name to the fact that the land was given to the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1253. As the priory was in Smithfield, I assume the canons derived income from from the land by renting it out for farming.

There we have two topics for further research!