Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LITTLE ITALY
In the late nineteenth century, London experienced a huge influx of Italian immigrants who
created their own
Little Italy
in the triangle of land now bounded by Clerkenwell Road,
Rosebery Avenue and Farringdon Road; craftsmen, artisans, street performers and musicians
were later joined by ice-cream vendors, restaurateurs and political refugees. Between the wars
the population peaked at around ten thousand, crammed into overcrowded, insanitary slums.
The old streets have long been demolished, and few Italians live here these days; nevertheless,
the area remains a focus for a community that's now spread right across the capital.
The main point of reference is
St Peter's Italian Church
(
T
020 7837 1528,
W
italianchurch
.org.uk), a surprisingly large, bright, basilica-style church built in 1863 and still the favourite venue
for Italian weddings and christenings, as well as for Sunday Mass. It's rarely open outside of daily
Mass, though you can view the World War I memorial in the main porch, and, above it, the grim
memorial to seven hundred Anglo-Italian internees who died aboard the
Arandora Star
, a POW
ship which sank en route to Canada in 1940. St Peter's is the starting point of the annual Italian
Procession, begun in 1883 and a permanent fixture on the Sunday nearest July 16 (see p.25).
A few old-established Italian businesses survive, too: the Scuola Guida driving school at
178 Clerkenwell Rd, and the deli, G. Gazzano & Son, at 167-169 Farringdon Rd. There's also a
plaque to
Giuseppe Mazzini
(1805-72), the chief protagonist in Italian unification, above the
barbers at 10 Laystall St. Mazzini lived in exile in London for many years and was very active in
the Clerkenwell community, establishing a free school for Italian children in Hatton Garden.
10
Islington Museum
245 St John St • Daily except Wed & Sun 10am-5pm • Free •
T
020 7527 2837 •
!
Angel or Farringdon
If you're keen to learn some more about Clerkenwell, Finsbury or the wider borough
of Islington (see p.288), it's worth seeking out the
Islington Museum
, housed in the
basement of the Finsbury Library (access is down the steps on the north side). There's a
dressing-up box for the kids and some fascinating sections on the area's radical politics
for the adults. Highlights include the bust of Lenin, part of a memorial designed by
Lubetkin, that was erected in 1942 in Holford Square (see p.153), but had to be
removed after the war, after it was targeted by Fascists; you can also view some of the
library books embellished by Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell (see p.290).
Clerkenwell Green
here hasn't been any green on
Clerkenwell Green
for at least three centuries. By
contrast, poverty and overcrowding were the main features of nineteenth-century
Clerkenwell, and the Green was well known in the press as “the headquarters of
republicanism, revolution and ultra-non-conformity” and a popular spot for
demonstrations
. The most violent of these was the “Clerkenwell Riot” of 1832, when a
policeman was stabbed to death during a clash between unemployed demonstrators
and the newly formed Metropolitan Police Force. In 1871, a red flag was flown from a
lamppost on the Green in support of the Paris Commune. London's first
May Day
march set off from here in 1890, and the tradition continues to this day. In 1900, the
Labour Party was founded at a meeting on nearby Farringdon Road; in 1903 Lenin
and Stalin first met at the
Crown & Anchor
(now the
Crown Tavern
); the Communist
Party had its headquarters close by on St John Street for many years; and the Party's
Daily Worker
(and later
Morning Star
),
The Guardian
and
he Observer
were all printed
on Farringdon Road.
Marx Memorial Library
37a Clerkenwell Green • Mon-Thurs 1-2pm or by appointment; closed Aug • Free •
T
020 7253 1485,
W
marx-memorial-library.org •
!
Farringdon
The oldest building on the Green is the former Welsh Charity School, at no. 37a, built
in 1738 and now home to the
Marx Memorial Library
. Headquarters of the left-wing
