Known as 'The Drapery' and built in 1938, this large art deco department store, situated between the junctions of Axminster Road and Sussex Way on Seven Sisters Road in Islington, London, is a hot property. These two photos were taken in July 2006, but since then the building has been refurbished and converted into 118 swanky apartments, with retail on the ground floor. Near to the Emirates Stadium, those apartments are not going to be cheap! The restoration included repairs to the faience façade of decorative glazed tiles.
The photo above is of what appears to have originally been the main entrance, on Axminster Road.
Hi Christopher - I am trying to find an authoritative record as to when The Drapery was built - for example from the local council or some other historic record. Would you have something on this or be able to suggest where I might be able to find it? I have obtained the title deeds, but the first entry is in 1960, long after when the building was completed. Many thanks for your help.
ReplyDeleteCraig, I think you are more likely to come up with information about this building than I. I struggled to find even the date on which it was built. All the best.
DeleteI believe this is where my Grandfather, Sydney Smith, worked becoming Manager in the 1930's. Any further information would be very welcome.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome that you have a family connection to this building, Celia. I grew up in that area, and passed the building many times as a kid. But all I know about it is the little that can be found on the web. It sounds like your grandfather was a contemporary of my grandparents, who lived just round the corner from there in the 1930s, where my mother was also born. Alas, all have passed away, in some cases a long time ago.
DeleteHello ... I just stumbled on this whilst doing some reasearch. I live in Sussex Way and this site has intrigued me for decades. It features on two of my guided walks, one about deco buildings in the area and another about Holloway's Victorian shopping heyday. I have been using this lockdown time to finally get to grips with all my scribbled notes. I am now planning to compile it all as a book, because there is so much I am still finding out, though little is available this side of the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteThe date you give for the deco building here as 1929 is interesting as I have found a lot of conflicting information about it – is there any chance you could let me know where you found that.
Thanks, jane@janeslondon.com
Hi Jane, I have no idea where I got that date of 1929 from. I found this site that gives a date of 1938, so I have changed it to that:
Deletehttps://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3371987
Realistically, 1938 sounds more likely than 1929 for the style.
You could write to the company that converted it into apartments. They must know, as they would have had access to the original documents pertaining to the building:
https://www.brooksmurray.com/projects/the-drapery-2/
Your tours sound interesting. How long have you lived in that area, and do you remember Aladins Bookshop up the top end of Hornsey Road, just before Corbyn Street on the right as you go towards Hornsey Rise. I would like to write something about that shop and their owners, Shirley and Alan. The shop became just 'Shirley's' later on and stopped being a second hand book/magazine shop. But I cannot find a mention of it anywhere. It was Aladin's in the 1960s and into the early 70s.
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ReplyDeleteHello Jane,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to read about your lockdown project & we would like to feature it at some point on our community / creative / small business Instagram page @meanwhileinholloway . Feel free to connect with us there, you don’t need an Instagram account yourself to view our page, alternatively we can be reached on WhatsApp on +44-7832-118699 or +31-6-414-50855
Kind regards,
Erik S for @meanwhileinholloway
(Resident of 3Streets community behind Morrison’s supermarket )
Hello,
ReplyDeleteDo you know which year it was renovated and who did it? I couldnt find that info neither.
Thanks
Much appreciated