Description
John Spencer Square was laid out in 1963 with Prior Bolton Street, Grange Grove and St Mary's Grove as part of postwar rebuilding in the Canonbury area. The square overlooks the residents' communal garden, which has some mature trees but is otherwise rather featureless. It is named after Sir John Spencer who was Lord Mayor of London and had a country retreat at Canonbury in the early C17th; he is buried in St Helen's Bishopsgate. Former residents include Labour Party Cabinet Minister Barbara Castle and her husband Ted Castle (d.1979), journalist and GLC Alderman.
Practical Information
| Site location | Prior Bolton Street |
|---|---|
| Postcode | N1 |
| What3Words | ///pays.wings.meals |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Islington |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, visible |
| Public Transport | Rail/London Overground/Tube (Victoria): Highbury and Islington. London Overground: Canonbury. Bus: 4, 19, 30, 277 |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2004 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ318846 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1963 |
| Designers | Nash, Surveyor for Western Ground Rents |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | CA8 |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
The Manor of Canonbury is so-called for its one-time ownership by the Priory of St Bartholomew, dating back to Henry III's reign. The manor was purchased in 1570 by Sir John Spencer and inherited by his daughter whose husband became Earl of Northampton in 1618, and whose family continues to own the property. Canonbury Tower adjoins the main Canonbury House, and was leased separately from the 1650s and both had a number of illustrious tenants. The Tower was used as the Tower Theatre from the 1960s to 2003, and is now managed by Canonbury Tower Charitable Trust. In the small garden is a mulberry tree said to be planted in the early C17th when Sir Francis Bacon was tenant.
The garden was the centre of an irregular circle of villas, which were built by 1863 on the Marquess of Northampton's Canonbury Estate. Originally named Canonbury Park Square, it was renamed Alwyne Square in 1879. The central garden was described in 1928 as having a low wall with iron railings, planted with grass, bushes and trees. Following bomb damage in WWII, the square was rebuilt in 1954 by the developers Western Ground Rents, designed by their surveyor Nash, and now consists of small blocks of flats, and rows of terraced houses. Only one of the original houses remains. The garden contains grass, with some mature horse chestnut trees, and is surrounded by modern railings.
Highbury Roundabout was laid out in 1960-66, on land that had been devastated by a German bomb on 27 June 1944. It was previously the northern part of Compton Terrace and its communal garden, built between 1819-31. Surrounded by busy roads, the central area of the roundabout was planted with grass and a variety of trees of different species. A strip of garden adjacent to the roundabout at the north end of Compton Terrace commemorates those who were killed, injured or bereaved as a result of the 1944 bomb. Named Highbury Corner Garden it was created in winter 2008/09 as part of Islington Council's initiative, ‘Greening the Grey'.