That’s no Angel: it’s been a pub for five centuries
Itried to avoid watching much of the General Election coverage, but there was something that piqued my interest.
When I saw the Labour leader outside a polling station after casting his vote in his constituency of Islington North, my mind was cast back to my Monopoly-playing youth.
One square, The Angel, Islington, always intrigued me – what was The Angel? – S.
A pub!
Well actually a 16th-Century inn called the Angel Of Annunciation.
The inn was a stopping off point for many travellers heading to the city of London as the rural area outside it was dangerous, with travellers often having an armed escort to ward off highway robbers.
Over time, the area became known as The Angel, as other inns and businesses were built alongside on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road.
Rebuilt several times over the centuries, the Angel was, at various times, a post house, a livestock trader’s, stables and assembly rooms.
By 1903, the Angel Hotel stood on the site, but it was acquired by J Lyons & Co in 1921 and was used as a restaurant.
In 1935 it was chosen as a property for the British version of Monopoly, one of the light blue properties with Euston Road and Pentonville Road.
Victor Watson, of manufacturers John Waddington Ltd, and his wife, Marge, decided to include the property on the board whilst taking tea at the cafe
In 1998, Wetherspoons opened a pub on a site close to where the Angel Of Annunciation once stood.