There are roads round here called Tollington Park, Tollington Place, Tollington Road and Tollington Way and there's even a Tollington ward but no-one thinks of themselves as living in Tollington.
This is a shame. Tollington's in the Domesday book:
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| Image courtesy of the wonderful Professor John Palmer and George Slater and domesdaymap.co.uk |
John Wittich's Discovering London Street Names says it's in Anglo-Saxon charters even earlier as 'Tollandune' or 'The hill pasture of Tolla'.
It's about as likely as this place (on the Tollington Way/Hornsey Road junction) re-opening or that bike being rescued.
I would like it to come back and displace Holloway, Finsbury Park and Stroud Green.
It's about as likely as this place (on the Tollington Way/Hornsey Road junction) re-opening or that bike being rescued.
*Popout
I've just been looking at photographs on Flickr of the interior of St Mellitus on Tollington Park. Looks funky! Tollington sounds like a nice place to say you live.
ReplyDeleteIt does have a good sound to it. Rather grander than Holloway.
ReplyDeleteI'd be supporting this, were in not for your imperialist ambitions towards Stroud Green.
ReplyDeleteArkady,
ReplyDeleteI see this more as the freedom fighters of Tollington versus the imperialist armies of Stroud Green.
I bet you're the sole 'Tollington' submission on the SG survey too.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I did encourage you in this.
Looking at the survey results, there is going to a ‘Hornsey Road Problem’, or ‘the Western Question’ as I like to call it. It looks like there will be good grounds for staking the western SG NF border as far as the Hanley Road. But I’m uncomfortable at running the border down the middle of the road, as this would be creating the same problem for the Hornsey Road that we’re trying to resolve for the Stroud Green Road. The Hornsey Road ought to be a linear regeneration zone in its own right.
Someone ought to consider a Neighbourhood Forum embracing the HR. I wonder if anyone in Upper Holloway is considering that. If not… tu Mirandola?
Incidentally, I learned the other day that there is, or used to be, something called the ‘Hornsey Road Association’ which used to be quite active. Have you heard of it?
@Arkady,
ReplyDeleteI'd get involved with a new Hornsey Road Association (never heard of it, but will ask in local history centre) or Neighbourhood Forum but for various complicated and dull reasons I wouldn't be the right person to set one up.
I think all the Islington J resident parking area should be called Tollington
ReplyDeleteAs in this: http://www.islington.gov.uk/DownloadableDocuments/TransportandStreets/Pdf/CPZ_Maps/CPZ_J.pdf
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea. I do sometimes wonder, though, whether it wouldn't be better for that area to be called Stroud Green rather than remain sort of nameless because no-one actually uses 'Tollington' any more.
Hello, my name is Amy and I write for the Islington Tribune. I have a column in the paper called 'Our Neighbours' that focuses on local people, issues and achievements. I was wondering if maybe we could talk about your blog and wanting to embrace the 'Tollington'. Please get in touch on: asmith @ islington tribune.co.uk
ReplyDeleteHi, there
ReplyDeleteBeen living in the area for 13 years and never quite got if The Tollington used to be a pub or...
Hi back,
ReplyDeleteI haven't found out yet. It does look like it used to be a pub. What was the area like when you moved here?
Overall, not too dissimilar to how it is now...bar a few differences.
ReplyDeleteThe Baths were already out of action...I remember a shop on Tollington Way which used to sell party ware. The Council building (now empty) used to be Islington Asylum Services, Ajani used to be Stripes Cafe', the Afro Hairdresser used to be also a hairdresser's, Mr C (Caribbean Take Away) was briefly a "pound store" type of shop (I still have the dust bin I got from there!). The building at the corner with Bavaria Road used to be a locksmith and then became a pine furniture shop. What is now "Luxuria" has been another beauty salon and an internet cafe'. The off licence near the junction with Tollington Way used to be an Italian deli-cum-cafe' (they re now in Crouch End, near Hornsey Town Hall) and the same people also used to own the one on Stroud Green Road - corner of Tollington Park (recently shut down).
I have always been intrigued by a place that has the sign "Baretto" on Tollington Way (kind of opposite "The Tollington", but never got round to find out what it was.
I will try and jog my memory for more...
Wow. Thank you for this and for the e-mail you sent me. I'd never noticed that Baretto place...
ReplyDeleteI've just discovered your blog and absolutely love it. I have been a Tollington Way resident for five years and am constantly pushing to rebrand the area, but instead of "Tollington" I favour the far-grander "The Tollingtons". It would please me no end if that ever made it onto a map.
ReplyDeleteHi then again...,
ReplyDeleteThank you! 'The Tollingtons' is good, but why not go further? 'Royal Tollington Spa' or 'Tollington-on-the-Hornsey'? or even 'Tollington village'? The possibilities are endless.