Islington High Street, London N1

Image: © David Hallam-Jones Taken: 23 Nov 2013

This, the southernmost stretch of Islington High Street, joins Duncan Street in the distance, although the very tall red brick building is on Upper Street, i.e. the A1 road. The two-storey, white building is the Grade II-listed Phelps Cottage dating from 1838. The cottage was named after Samuel Phelps who transformed Islington’s Sadlers Wells theatre into a much more reputable venue. Phelps (1804-78) was an actor and theatre manager. The cottage survived demolition in the early 1980s when many buildings on the East side of Islington High Street were cleared to make way for a large office block. It was restored in its original style in 2005, with the reproduction window frames, at a cost of £300,000. Foxtons, the estate agents, rent Phelps Cottage as additional office space. The dull biscuit-coloured building beyond Phelps Cottage was a former tram station; a former electrical sub-station and a former shopping mall. It now houses a gent's outfitters. Behind the photographer is one of several pedestrian entrances (or exits) in and out of Camden Passage.

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