Long ago – well, 10 years, to be precise – I made a discovery in a, to me, unknown corner of Islington. I was fascinated by what I found and wrote about it on my blog. (See A discovery.) As the weather today is sunny and mild, I decided for my solo walk [1] to revisit my discovery.

Baron Street – a sunny, mild day

The easiest way to reach it is along Islington High Street and Upper Street but I preferred to avoid the busy main roads.

White Conduit Street

I crossed Chapel Market into White Conduit Street and walked through Sainsbury’s car park into Tolpuddle Street.

The Culpepet Park pigeons

Entering Cloudesley Road, I visited my friends the pigeons of Culpeper Park. They were enjoying the warm weather, sunbathing, prospecting for food and (the males) performing courting displays to females.

Old Royal Agricultural Hall

I passed down Bachelor Street into Liverpool Road near the old Royal Agricultural Hall, rebadged as the Design Centre.

The Pig and Whistle

At the Pig and Whistle pub, I entered Theberton Street and soon turned left into…

Gibson Square

…Gibson Square. Like all “squares”, this one has a central garden.

Gibson Square garden

Once private to residents of the square, the garden ceased to be maintained and was taken over by the Council in the 1930s and is a fine example of its kind, a pleasant setting in which to sit or stroll on a fine day.

Milner Square garden

Adjacent to Gibson Square is Milner Square which also boasts a central garden. In fact, both squares were developed together as part of the Milner Gibson Estate in the 1830s, so we might consider them siblings.

Building in Milner Square garden

A feature of Milner Square garden is this curious building. It has no windows and no door, despite the false alcoves imitating these. There is no inscription, either, to help us determine its purpose. Perhaps I will discover its secret one of these days (or a helpful reader will tell me!).

The eastern side of the square

The buildings on the eastern side of the square at first sight form an impenetrable barrier to my destination which is somewhere behind them.

A door that isn’t a door

But wait! What might at a quick glance be mistaken for a door is not one at all but an opening to a passageway!

The Hole in the Wall

Officially called Almeida Passage, it is known locally, for obvious reasons, as the “Hole in the Wall”. The interior walls are painted grey in order, I suspect, to deter graffiti writers. The many patches of different shades of grey suggest remedial action when said graffitists still manage to leave their calling cards.

Battishill Street

In Almeida Street, the second turning on the left brings me into Battishill Street, approaching my goal. This street, incidentally, is named in honour of the musician and composer Jonathan Battishill (1738-1801).

Battishill Street Gardens

Here we find the Battishill Street Gardens, a rather unpretentious green space but pleasant nonetheless. At a quick glance, you might think that this is all there is to the gardens.

Curving path

You could easily mistake this path as one leading to another entrance. Happily, on the day I first came here I was curious and went to see where it led.

It brought me to a paved courtyard but my interest was immediately captured by what was on two of the walls. (The GIF may take a while to load.)

Musgrave Watson’s frieze

Unfortunately, the jerky display and poor lighting makes it difficult to see the details but the GIF at least gives an idea of the scale of the work. As an explanation, I reproduce the notice next to the sculpture:

Here are a few photos of parts of the frieze:

In retrospect, this was not the best day to photograph Musgrave Watson’s frieze because of the awkward angle of the low winter sun. The poor state of the frieze, dirty and overgrown, doesn’t improve the visibility either. It is in desperate need of some expert care and attention.

Whatever we may think of the Victorians and their imperial pretensions, works such as these impress with their energy and unbounded optimism and self-confidence. This is something we may well find ourselves envying in this present age of uncertainties. I find it sad that this work is left to languish and decay here, forgotten and uncared for.

Back through the Hole in the Wall

For my return journey, I retraced my steps back to the Hole in the Wall which, on this side, starts with an open section.

Holy Trinity Church, Cloudesley Square

This time, instead of following Liverpool Road, I cut through Cloudesley Square, where the Grade II* listed Holy Trinity Church is still undergoing refurbishment.

Old shops, now dwellings

This brought me out into Cloudesley Road where we find these two old shop fronts. They present an interesting example of history turning back in itself. The two properties would originally have been ordinary houses like those on either side until their owners decided to convert them into shops. Their retail lives now behind them, they have once again reverted to dwellings, albeit with their shopfronts still in place.

Scooter – are they following me?

As happened yesterday, I came upon a child’s scooter, left unattended in the street. I’m beginning to wonder whether I am being followed by the ghosts of abandoned scooters!

Tempted at Mercer’s

On reaching Chapel Market again, I found myself looking longingly at Mercer’s coffee shop. I don’t usually buy coffee when I am out on my own because that makes it a special treat to have coffee when I am with Tigger. As today’s walk was longer than usual, though, I felt I deserved a reward and allowed myself to be tempted!

Coffee in hand, I rushed home to drink it while still hot and to start writing up this post.

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[1] You may recall that at present Tigger goes in to work Wednesday to Friday.