Blackstock Road

Blackstock Road is a major road in north London running from Seven Sisters Road south westerly to Highbury Park. It runs along the border between the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Islington.

Facilities

Blackstock Road hosts a diverse array of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. At its south end there are a number of public houses, while at the north end there are Algerian Cafés, with many restaurants and shops running along its length up towards Highbury Park. Pubs en route include the Blackstock, The Kings Head, the Arsenal Tavern, the Woodbine, the Gunners and the Bank of Friendship.

Transport

Blackstock Road is very well served by public transport. There are four bus services running along it, the 19, 4, 236 and 106, reaching out to Battersea, Waterloo or Archway, Hackney Wick and Whitechapel respectively. Blackstock Road is also in close proximity to Finsbury Park station at its northern end, providing easy access to the Victoria Line and Piccadilly Line. Arsenal station on Gillespie Road is within five minutes walk of the southern end of Blackstock Road.

Police Raids

On 28th March 2008, the road was the location of a large-scale Metropolitan Police investigation and culmunating in raids where 600 officers searched for stolen items and criminal behaviour. According to sources they found "350 stolen items including 120 laptops, 110 cameras, 32 iPods, 20 sat-navs and 47 fake passports and driving licences" [BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7317060.stm Retrieved on 10-10-08] .

History

The Hackney Brook flowed through the south westerly end of Blackstock Road from its source in Holloway before emptying into the River Lea at Hackney Wick. The book The Ground Water Diaries by Tim Bradford states that the 'Bank of Friendship' pub is so named because the people of Highbury used to wave at the folk of Stoke Newington across the river.

Blackstock Road's original name was Boarded River Lane when it was still a dirt track.

The river that used to run into where Blackstock Road sits now originated near Newington Green, cutting across Highbury Vale, over where Wilberforce Road, Queen's Drive and Finsbury Park Road now are. On the river in the 18th century was a renowned hostelry known as the Eel Pie House, serving pies with eels that had been fished out of the river. The pie houses' location is thought to have been located on the spot where 57 Wilberforce Road now stands (according to the Encyclopedia of London).

Other Blackstock Roads

There is another Blackstock Road in the Hemsworth area of Sheffield.

External links

* [http://www.brownswood.org.uk/ Brownswood community website.]
* [http://www.finfuture.co.uk/ FinFuture - Finsbury Park area lobby group.]
* [http://finsburypark.wordpress.com/ A blog for Finsbury Park N4.]

References

* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22516#n31 Article on British History.ac.uk]