Gillespie Road dates from the 1870 as a spate of building transformed the area.
Part of the course of Hackney Brook ran along Gillespie Road. The stream rises near Mercers Road, running south to cross Holloway Road and then continuing to Lowman Road, where it turns north-east and runs along Gillespie Road to Mountgrove Road.
Gillespie Road station was opened in 1906, granting access to St John`s Divinity College, Highbury Hill, as well as serving the surrounding streets of St Thomas’s Road, Avenell Road and Blackstock Road. Rows of terraced houses were just beginning to appear in this part of London, justifying the station.
Gillespie Road station was renamed to ’Arsenal’ in 1932 after pressure from the football club – the Gillespie Road name is still displayed on the original Edwardian platform tiling. The new stadium lies now to the west of the street.
Many small works and businesses appeared in Gillespie Road during the 1930s.
