Inventory Site Record

Freightliners Farm was originally established on waste ground near Kings Cross station in 1973, the name arising from the railway goods vans that were used to house the animals. In 1978 the farm moved to its present site and purpose-built buildings were erected in 1988. A registered charity, it is run by a volunteer Management Committee. It is the only city farm with a non-slaughtering policy and many of the animals are rare breeds. In addition to its farm animals, Freightliners has an ornamental garden as well as a vegetable and kitchen garden, and an orchard has recently been planted, all maintained with assistance from the gardening club.

Site location:

Sheringham Road

Postcode:

N7 8PF

What 3 Words:

builds.kick.bronze

Type of site:

Other

Borough:

Islington

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

Autumn/winter 10am-4pm; spring/summer 10am-4.45pm. Closed Mondays apart from Bank Holidays. Closed Christmas week.
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 5 times, most recently in 2017.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Strawbale Café 10am-3.45 Thur-Sun; Farm Shop

Events:

Has opened for OGSW

Public transport:

Tube: Highbury and Islington (Victoria); Caledonian Road (Piccadilly). Overground: Highbury and Islington. Bus: 43, 153, 271, 393

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/06/2014

Last minor changes:

14/03/2025

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.freightlinersfarm.org.uk

The farm has a full educational programme, with facilities for children and adults of all ages, with activities, workshops, tours and other events. In 2011 Freightliners Farm won a £10,000 Green Insurance Company Grant for its bee-keeping project with young people, and in 2014 it won the Queen's Award for Volunteering. An Animal Village was set up, sponsored by Lottery Grants for Local Groups Awards for All and Community Investors Development Agency Children Fund Local Network. The café was built by volunteers and is constructed of traditionally jointed green oak, a green roof, and walls insulated with straw bale, giving the café its name.

Near to the farm is Paradise Park (q.v.), within which is the Mary Tealby Peace Garden. Mary Tealby (1801-1865 ) lived in Islington and was the founder of the Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, later to become Battersea Dogs' Home, which she had established in 1860 on Hollingworth Street, now the site of Freightliners Farm and Paradise Park. Mrs Tealby had started a temporary home for lost dogs in stables behind nos. 15 and 16, raising funds from friends and after her death in 1865 the home was carried on by a committee who included her brother, the Revd. Edward Bates. Although ridiculed by press and public, the home received benefactions and by 1869 was admitting an average of 850 dogs a month, with c 200 kept there at any one time. Complaints about the noise in a residential area prompted a move in 1871 to more suitable premises, where the enterprise became the Battersea Dogs' Home.

Sources consulted:

Freightliners Farm leaflets / website: www.freightlinersfarm.org.uk; https://www.islington4women.org/blog/mary-tealby-1801-1865; https://islingtonguidedwalks.com/paradise-park-and-freightliners-farm/

Grid ref:

TQ310848 (531095,184926)

Size in hectares:

0.5

Site ownership:

Freightliners Farm

Site management:

Freightliners Farm

Date(s):

1973; 1978

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough Importance II

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Protected Vista

Other LA designation:

None

Freightliners Farm, June 2014. Photograph Sally Williams

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