Holloway, London

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Holloway is a north London area in the London Borough of Islington, about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north of Charing Cross. It follows Holloway Road, the A1, and at the centre is the Nag’s Head area, between the mainly residential Upper Holloway and Lower Holloway. The area is diverse and is home to the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal Football Club plays. Until 2016, Holloway Prison, the largest women’s prison in Europe, stood here.

The origin of the name Holloway is not clear. It may come from Hollow Way, a dip in the road used by cattle drives, or from a route linked to pilgrimage. The Great North Road (now the A1) passes through Holloway. In earlier centuries the area was rural, but it grew quickly in the 19th and early 20th centuries as London expanded, with new roads and rail links helping development. A former railway station near Holloway Road helped the area grow, and the Nag’s Head junction became a busy hub for trolleybuses until the 1950s.

In 1921, Marie Stopes opened the first UK sexual health clinic for women at 61 Marlborough Road to offer birth-control advice and devices. The Odeon cinema at the junction of Tufnell Park Road and Holloway Road was built in the 1930s, damaged in World War II, and has since been refurbished; it is a Grade II listed building.

Holloway was bombed during the war because of its proximity to King's Cross. HMP Holloway, opened in 1852, became a women’s prison from 1902 until its closure in 2016; it housed well-known prisoners such as Ruth Ellis and Christabel Pankhurst. The site is planned for redevelopment.

Today, Holloway is undergoing redevelopment and gentrification, especially around Nag’s Head and the areas between the Arsenal stadium and Caledonian Road. It is also home to the North Campus of London Metropolitan University, near Holloway Road station, and has a lively arts scene with many graffiti artists.

The area is densely populated and very multicultural. Arsenal moved from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in Holloway in 2006; the stadium seats about 60,355 people. Transport options include nearby Tube stations (Caledonian Road, Highbury & Islington, Holloway Road, Archway), Overground services, Drayton Park railway, and numerous bus routes (including 4, 17, 21, 29, 43, 91, 153, 253, 254, 259, 263, 393 and night buses).