Barnsbury

The name is a syncopated form of Bernersbury (1274), being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman Conquest. The area of Barnsbury was predominantly rural until the early 19th century. By the end of the 18th century, Barnsbury, like other parts of Islington, was regarded as an attractive part-rural suburb by the comparatively wealthy people wanting to move out of the cramped City of London and industrial Clerkenwell. The area is close to the city, and had strong local trade in its position as the first staging post for travellers making the journey from London to the north, and with considerable…