Newington Green - Listed Buildings

Listed Buildings

This outlying area of Islington carries a surprising wealth of historic architecture and Newington Green has become a conservation area. On the west side of the Green (numbers 52-55) is London's oldest surviving brick terrace, which is Grade I listed. These were built in 1658, and 100 years later were home to Price and Rogers. Shop fronts were added to all of them in the 1880s, but have now been removed on three of the houses, presumably restoring something like their original appearance. Residential London, particularly outside Westminster and the City, is essentially a 19th century city. Even in the centre, there are no brick houses this old, pre-dating the Great Fire of 1666. Two of the properties have been extensively renovated under the guidance of Bere Architects (Islington).

The Green also has two Grade II listed buildings. To the north is the Unitarian Church, which celebrated its tercentenary in 2008. The original 1708 building was financed with £300 from goldsmith Edward Harrison. It was a "substantial brick building, of nearly square form, with the high, tiled, projecting roof, common at its era". "Historic views show that the original façade had a small pediment against a large hipped roof, with a central oval window below." This building was substantially extended and improved in the mid-19th century. An internal gallery was built to increase the seating available, and a few years later the roof and apse were renewed, and a "stuccoed frontage" was built, "mirrroring the original façade with a three-bay front with two round-headed windows, but with added Tuscan pilasters and a large pediment". In the mid-20th century, the building was damaged by enemy action. In 1953 its architectural importance was recognised as a Grade II listed building.

To the west is its neighbour, the former headquarters of the China Inland Mission, an organisation founded by James Hudson Taylor in 1865 and responsible for 18,000 converts to Christianity.