Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Worst Street in London Between the Wars (Campbell Road, Finsbury Park)
Synopsis from Amazon.co.uk
From the 1880s to World War II, Campbell Road, Finsbury Park (known as Campbell Bunk), had a notorious reputation for violence, for breeding thieves and prostitutes, and for an enthusiastic disregard for law and order. It was the object of reform by church, magistrates, local authorities and scientists, who left many traces of their attempts to improve what became known as "the worse street in North London". In all that record, the voice of Campbell Bunk itself was silent. Campbell Road was eventually cleared as a slum in the 1950s. This title provides insight into the realities of life in a "slum" community, showing how it changed over a 90-year period. The author uses extensive oral history to describe in detail the years between the wars, revealing complex lessons betweem the new world opening up (especially for young women) in Campbell Bunk and the street's traditional culture of economic individualism, crime, street theatre and domestic violence.
From the 1880s to World War II, Campbell Road, Finsbury Park (known as Campbell Bunk), had a notorious reputation for violence, for breeding thieves and prostitutes, and for an enthusiastic disregard for law and order. It was the object of reform by church, magistrates, local authorities and scientists, who left many traces of their attempts to improve what became known as "the worse street in North London". In all that record, the voice of Campbell Bunk itself was silent. Campbell Road was eventually cleared as a slum in the 1950s. This title provides insight into the realities of life in a "slum" community, showing how it changed over a 90-year period. The author uses extensive oral history to describe in detail the years between the wars, revealing complex lessons betweem the new world opening up (especially for young women) in Campbell Bunk and the street's traditional culture of economic individualism, crime, street theatre and domestic violence.
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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Thanks for reminding me about this book. I metioned it here on HOL previously, when I recommended a book on London by the same author.
A maternal great grandmother of mine lived on Campbell Rd from about 1884 until 1903. When checking through the census returns, I noticed that many of the residents originally came from the Baldock & Hitchin area on the Herts/Beds border. I've always assumed that this had something to do with the railway, although I'm not completely sure.
Campbell Road was later re-named Whadcoat Road in what I presume was an effort to give it a new identity.
My maternal great grandmother was from the "Gentle" family and was distantly related to the "Gentle", the son of Police Superintendent Gentle, who became the number 1 at Harringay Arena. She later moved to Tottenham, dying in 1947, never really recovering from losing her home in a V2 incident (explained here) in January 1945.
I really must get around to ordering this book. -
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