Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CLERKENWELL GREEN
Clerkenwell
Situated slightly uphill from the City and, more importantly, outside its
jurisdiction, Clerkenwell (pronounced “Clark-unwell”) began life as a village
serving the various local monastic foundations. In the nineteenth century,
the district's population trebled, mostly through Irish and Italian
immigration, and the area acquired a reputation for radicalism exemplified
by the Marx Memorial Library, where the exiled Lenin plotted revolution.
Nowadays, Clerkenwell is a typical London mix of Georgian and Victorian
townhouses, housing estates, old warehouses, loft conversions and art
studios. It remains off the conventional tourist trail, but since the 1990s, it
has established itself as one of the city's most vibrant and fashionable areas,
with a host of shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs.
