Inventory Site Record

Wilton Square was part of the Clothworkers' Estate and was separated from the main area of the estate when New North Road was constructed in 1812. Wilton Square and Wilton Street were built by 1853, the latter renamed Wilton Villas in 1940. In 1847 the central space was occupied by a temporary chapel, replaced by a Baptists chapel in 1863, eventually demolished after 1963. In 1971 the entrance to Wilton Square was blocked from traffic and the central gardens were replanted with new shrubs and railings erected, retaining the mature plane trees.

Site location:

New North Road/Wilton Square

Postcode:

N1

What 3 Words:

trash.aside.candle

Type of site:

Garden Square;, Public Gardens

Borough:

Islington

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

8am - dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

none

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Essex Road/Old Street. Tube: Old Street (Northern) then bus. Bus: 271, 76, 141, 341

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/04/2012

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.islington.gov.uk/services/parks-environment/parks/your_parks/greenspace_az

Building began on the Clothworkers' Estate in the 1840s and the Wilton Square site together with part of New North Road was leased by Richard Field, a printer and 'commission agent for bandannas'. Field withdraw from the Wilton Square site, which reverted to the Clothworkers' Company and in 1851 it was leased by Edward Rowland and Thomas Evans, who built Wilton Square and Wilton Street by 1853, the latter renamed Wilton Villas in 1940. The central space had been occupied by a temporary chapel in 1847, then in 1863 by a small Baptists chapel known as Salem, which had been removed from Hoxton. The Salem Chapel closed in 1913 and it was then sold to the London and Manchester Assurance Company in 1931, and used by the YMCA until 1963 after which it was vandalised and then demolished. A Welsh Methodist Chapel had also been built at the junction with Wilton Street by 1857; rebuilt in 1884 it was restored in 1955 as a hostel for the Catholic St Vincent's Housing Association, later replaced by a block in 1986.

The garden is a triangular site with two circular paved areas with seating, a central path across the middle and a perimeter path, with shrub beds around the borders.

Sources consulted:

Mary Cosh, The Squares of Islington Part II: Islington Parish, (London, 1993)

Grid ref:

TQ325837 (532580,183766)

Size in hectares:

0.13

Site ownership:

LB Islington

Site management:

Greenspace; Friends of Wilton Square

Date(s):

1852-53, 1970

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: Nos. 1 - 18; 24 - 27; 29 - 39; 42 - 45 Wilton Square and attached railings

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:

Yes

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:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

CA

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None