Description
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.
Practical Information
| Site location | Sheringham Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | N7 8PF |
| What3Words | ///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. |
| 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 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2014 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
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.
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.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ310848 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.5 |
| Site Ownership | Freightliners Farm |
| Site Management | Freightliners Farm |
| Dates | 1973; 1978 |
| 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 | Islington |
| 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 |
Gallery
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Paradise Park is popular with children and families owing to its football pitch, RSPB sparrow meadow, community cafe, and playground, which is named after Martin Luther King. It also has free to use outdoor gym equipment, chess tables and the Mary Tealby Peace Garden. The history of Paradise Park began with a temporary adventure playground set up in 1968 on a patch of derelict land that the GLC granted parents permission to use for a summer play scheme. Funding was secured from Christian Aid and the Martin Luther King Foundation, whose grant came with the proviso that the playground should be named after Martin Luther King. The new playground was an immediate success and in September 1968 the GLC agreed to a permanent playground in the corner of the site and announced plans to create a new park, Paradise Park, on the rest of the site.
St Mary Magdalene was built in 1814 as a chapel of ease to Islington Parish Church, the population having grown from the mid C18th onwards, and it became a parish in its own right in 1894. The former burial ground was converted as public gardens and opened in May of that year, part of the expense met by the Islington Vestry and the LCC. A number of chest tombs and headstones remain, predominantly near the church; the gardens are laid out with sinuous paths, shrubberies and formal lawns within which are numerous rose beds. There are a number of fine mature trees in the churchyard.
Arundel Square was one of the last of Islington's Victorian squares to be built and was laid out in the 1850s on Pocock's Fields, named after the Pocock family of dairy farmers who leased much of this land in the early 1800s. The central garden was initially managed by the Trustees of Pocock's Estate and then from 1863 by a residents' committee. Playground equipment was installed in 1936 with funding from the National Air Raid Distress Fund and the King George's Fields Foundation. By the 1950s the gardens were run down and had become a wasteland. In 1957, Islington Council converted it into a public park with a refurbished playground.