Campbell Road, or "The Bunk" - was known as the worst street in London.
Campbell Road had a bad reputation from the moment it was built in 1865, on land known as the St Pancras’
Seven Sisters Road Estate. It was a long street just to the west of
Fonthill Road, off Seven Sisters. Building along the street was done piecemeal and took a long time. Over a period of years, the demand fell and poor people, unable to afford to buy or rent a whole house, started taking rooms in the properties.
In 1880 a lodging house was opened at 47 Campbell Road, licensed for 90 men. It was the first of many such establishments in the road and by 1890 Campbell Road had the largest number of doss house beds for any Islington street.
People were very poor, many of them with large families. With such over-crowded rooms, life was often lived in the street. Campbell Road was a slum so wretched that its inhabitants sold the glass from their windows, so unlawful that the police steered clear - career criminals lived there. It was so insular that the the children from the next street down would be chased out - there was also a fierce territorial rivalry between the top and bottom end.
Campbell Road residents were frightened to give their address as it often meant they wouldn’t be given a job at the numerous small factories in Islington.
In 1937 the name of the road was changed to
Whadcoat Street in a vain attempt to dilute its bad reputation. Slum clearance started in 1952 finally putting an end to the street, and in its place was built a council estate - the Six Acre estate. All that now remains of the notorious Bunk is the name
Whadcoat Street on a brick wall. Locals still talk about doing a Campbell Bunk or getting-away-with-it.
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| CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY |
 
David Gleeson Added: 7 Apr 2023 22:19 GMT |
MBE from Campbell Bunk (1897 - 1971)
Walter Smith born at 43 Campbell Bunk was awarded the MBE in january honours list in 1971. A local councillor for services to the public.
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Janet Creed (nee Burke) Added: 31 Aug 2017 14:46 GMT |
Campbell road
My father was William Burke, 74 Campbell road n4 my mother was May wright of Campbell road, I was born on 13.02.1953, we stayed with my grandparents in Campbell Road, William and Maggie Wright.
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Vanessa Whitehouse Added: 17 Feb 2021 22:48 GMT |
Born here
My dad 1929 John George Hall
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KJH Added: 7 Mar 2023 17:14 GMT |
Andover Road, N7 (1939 - 1957)
My aunt, Doris nee Curtis (aka Jo) and her husband John Hawkins (aka Jack) ran a small general stores at 92 Andover Road (N7). I have found details in the 1939 register but don’t know how long before that it was opened.He died in 1957. In the 1939 register he is noted as being an ARP warden for Islington warden
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Barry J. Page Added: 27 Jul 2022 19:41 GMT |
Highbury Corner V1 Explosion
Grandma described the V1 explosion at Highbury Corner on many occasions. She was working in the scullery when the flying bomb landed. The blast shattered all the windows in the block of flats and blew off the bolt on her front door. As she looked out the front room window, people in various states of injury and shock were making their way along Highbury Station Road. One man in particular, who was bleeding profusely from glass shard wounds to his neck, insisted in getting home to see if his family was all right. Others were less fortunate. Len, the local newsagent, comforted a man, who had lost both legs caused by the blast, until the victim succumbed to his injuries. The entire area was ravaged and following are statistics. The flying bomb landed during lunch hour (12:46 p.m.) on June 27th 1944. 26 people lost their lives, 84 were seriously injured and 71 slightly injured.
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KJH Added: 7 Mar 2023 23:03 GMT |
Andover Road, N7
Edit: John Hawkins died 1959 (not 1957). Earliest date I have found for him at 92 Andover Road is 1935 on the Electoral Register.
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| LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT |
Loraine Brocklehurst Added: 24 May 2023 14:00 GMT |
Holcombe Road, N17
I lived at 23Holcombe Rd. with my parents, Grandfather , Aunt and Uncle in 1954. My Aunt and Uncle lived there until it was demolished. I’m not sure what year that was as we emigrated to Canada.
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Jen Williams Added: 20 May 2023 17:27 GMT |
Corfield Street, E2
My mother was born in 193 Corfield Street in 1920.Her father was a policeman.
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sofia Added: 19 May 2023 08:57 GMT |
43 MELLITUS STREET
43 MELLITUS STREET
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Added: 17 May 2023 11:50 GMT |
Milson Road (1908 - 1954)
My grandparents and great grandparents and great great grandparents the Manley family lived at 33 Milson Road from 1908 to 1935. My grandad was born at 33 Milson Road. His parents George and Grace had all four of their chidren there. When his father Edward died his mother moved to 67 Milson in 1935 Road and lived there until 1954 (records found so far, it may be longer). Before that they lived in the Porten Road. I wonder if there is anyone that used to know them? My grandad was Charles ’Ted’ Manley, his parents were called George and Grace and George’s parents were called Edward and Bessie. George worked in a garage and Edward was a hairdresser.
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Added: 16 Apr 2023 15:55 GMT |
Rendlesham Road, E5
I lived at 14 Rendlesham Road in the 1940s and 50s. The house belonged to my grandfather James Grosvenor who bought it in the 1920s for £200.I had a brother who lived in property until 1956 when he married. Local families were the paisleys, the Jenners and the family of Christopher Gable.
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Sandra Field Added: 15 Apr 2023 16:15 GMT |
Removal Order
Removal order from Shoreditch to Holborn, Jane Emma Hall, Single, 21 Pregnant. Born about 21 years since in Masons place in the parish of St Lukes.
Source:
Sign up
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Sue Germain Added: 10 Apr 2023 08:35 GMT |
Southwood Road, SE9
My great great grandfather lived in Time Villa, Southwood Rd around 1901. He owned several coffee houses in Whitechapel and in South London, including New Time Coffee House so either his house was named after the coffee house or vice versa.
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David Gleeson Added: 7 Apr 2023 22:19 GMT |
MBE from Campbell Bunk (1897 - 1971)
Walter Smith born at 43 Campbell Bunk was awarded the MBE in january honours list in 1971. A local councillor for services to the public.
Reply |
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is an area in north London which grew up around an important railway interchange near the borders of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. Alsen Road, N7 Alsen Road, which existed between 1851 and 1972 crossed the still-extant Andover Road. Ambler Road, N4 Ambler Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Berriman Road, N7 Berriman Road is one of the streets of London in the N7 postal area. Briset Way, N7 Briset Way was a road constructed as part of the Andover Estate. Carville Street, N4 Carville Street is a 1970s incarnation of a demolished street of the same name. Carville Street, N7 Carville Street (Marylebone Street) was a short cul-de-sac, built in the 1850s. Chard House, N7 Chard House is one of a series of 1930s residential blocks. Dulas Street, N4 Dulas Street is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Durham Road, N7 Durham Road, dating from the 1850s, is the eastern edge of the modern Andover Estate. Ennis Road, N4 Ennis Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Fonthill Road, N4 Fonthill Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Honeyfield, N4 Honeyfield is one of eight blocks on the 1960s estate known as Six Acres. Isledon Road, N7 Isledon Road is one of the streets of London in the N7 postal area. Leeds Place, N4 Leeds Place is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Lennox Road, N4 Lennox Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Monsell Road, N5 Monsell Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Moray Mews, N7 Moray Mews is one of the streets of London in the N7 postal area. Morris Place, N4 Morris Place is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Plimsoll Road, N4 Plimsoll Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Pooles Park, N4 Pooles Park is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Rock Street, N4 Rock Street is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Sonderburg Road, N7 Sonderburg Road, dating from 1851, is one of the few local roads to survive the arrival of the Andover Estate. Station Place, N4 Station Place is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Sussex Way, N7 Sussex Way was a new name for the 1850s-built Sussex Road. Turle Road, N4 Turle Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Victor Road, N7 Victor Road was laid out by the St Pancras, Marylebone and Paddington Freehold Land Society in the early 1860s. Wells Terrace, N4 Wells Terrace is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Woodfall Road, N4 Woodfall Road is one of the streets of London in the N4 postal area. Yeovil House, N7 Yeovil House is the westernmost of six 1930s blocks named after railway junctions. Yonge Park, N7 Roth Walk is a meandering walkway skirting Durham Road and Carew Close. The Blackstock The Blackstock lies on the corner of Seven Sisters Road and Blackstock Road.
Finsbury Park is an area in north London which grew up around an important railway interchange near the borders of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. Finsbury Park is not to be confused with [Finsbury">Finsbury] which is 5.3 km further south in the London Borough of Islington.
The area is centred on Finsbury Park station, a major bus, rail and tube interchange near the southern end of the public park of the same name.
The surrounding area has a cosmopolitan feel, as reflected by the wide variety of shops and establishments on Seven Sisters Road,
Blackstock Road and
Stroud Green Road. The North London Central Mosque (formerly the Finsbury Park Mosque), which drew attention for extremist activity before a change in leadership in 2003, is located here. Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium is nearby.
Finsbury Park station first opened on 1 July 1861 and was originally named
Seven Sisters Road (Holloway). It is on the route of the East Coast Main Line from King’s Cross to the north of England and Scotland. The southern section of this was built in stages during the 1840s and early 1850s by the Great Northern Railway (GNR). Tracks were first laid through Finsbury Park in 1850 to the GNR’s temporary terminus at Maiden Lane just north of the permanent terminus at King’s Cross (which opened in 1852).
Soon after the first station opened, the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) began construction of a line from Finsbury Park to Edgware. The GNR took over the EH&LR shortly before its opening on 22 August 1867. The station was given its current name
Finsbury Park on 15 November 1869.
The Great Northern & City Railway (GN&CR) was an underground railway planned to provide a tunnel link between Finsbury Park and Moorgate in the City of London as an alternative London terminus for GNR trains. The tunnels were constructed with a large diameter to accommodate this service but a dispute between the two companies prevented the GN&CR connecting its tunnels to the GNR platforms. The GN&CR tunnels, instead, terminated beneath the main line station without a connection to the surface and the line operated as a shuttle between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This line opened on 14 February 1904.
The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR) (now London Underground’s Piccadilly line) opened on 15 December 1906 between Finsbury Park and Hammersmith in west London. The tube railway originated as the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) in 1897 and was initially supported by the GNR as a means of relieving congestion on its main line into King’s Cross by constructing a tube line under the GNR’s tracks from Alexandra Palace to King’s Cross and then to the Strand. The GN&SR was taken over in 1901 by a consortium led by Charles Yerkes before any work had been carried out and the section north of Finsbury Park was cancelled. The GN&SR was merged with the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway to form the GNP&BR. It was constructed with the smaller-diameter tube tunnels common to other underground railways being constructed in London at that time. Its platforms were constructed by the GNR parallel with the GN&CR’s platforms beneath the main line station. The Piccadilly Line was later extended northwards.
London Underground had for many years been planning a new route across central London to relieve pressure on the central sections of the Piccadilly and Northern lines. In the early 1960s the plans were consolidated into a single plan for the Victoria line. The route of the new line was designed to provide the maximum number of interchanges with other Underground and British Rail lines as possible, and Finsbury Park was an ideal candidate for this. The first section of the Victoria line, including Finsbury Park, opened between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington on 1 September 1968.
