Editing Barnsbury (section)

==History==
The name is a [[Syncope (phonology)|syncopated]] form of ''Bernersbury'' (1274),<ref>Mills, D., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names,'' (2000)</ref> being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the [[Norman Conquest]]. The area of Barnsbury was predominantly rural until the early 19th century.

By the end of the 18th century, Barnsbury, like other parts of Islington, was regarded as an attractive part-rural suburb by the comparatively wealthy people wanting to move out of the cramped [[City of London]] and industrial [[Clerkenwell]]. The area is close to the city, and had strong local trade in its position as the first staging post for travellers making the journey from London to the north, and with considerable agricultural traffic and cattle driving to the nearby [[Smithfield, London#Market|Smithfield cattle market]] in the city.

Barnard Park, consisting of 10 acres (4 hectares) including a large area of football pitches, was created in 1967 on an area of housing that had been bombed during [[The Blitz|World War Two]], and was named after former [[Islington London Borough Council|Islington]] Mayor Cllr George Barnard.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morris|first=James|date=2018-06-16|title=From war bombing to 'stinking' paddling pools: A history of Barnard Park|url=https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/lifestyle/from-war-bombing-to-stinking-paddling-pools-a-history-of-3796148|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Islington Gazette|language=en-UK}}</ref>

[[Pentonville (HM Prison)|Pentonville Prison]] (built 1842) is located within Barnsbury.