|
|
 |
| |
Family history: from left, Sheila Tiley, George Tiley, Esther Tiley and her two-year-old daughter Iris |
No 53, home of a family’s past
THREE generations of an Islington family were among more than 100 guests who celebrated the launch of a book about a historic house.
The book, 53 Cross Street, has been written by Islington historian Mary Cosh and former art lecturer Martin King, and includes 40 illustrations by photographer Pauline Lord.
It has won praise for its detailed research into the history of the Georgian house and its former occupants, from the time it was built in 1785. The project was inspired by Mr King, a more recent occupant of the Islington house who discovered its unique stencil-painted walls.
Among guests at the book launch were retired full-time trade unionist George Tiley, his daughter Esther, a professor at Birkbeck College, and her two-year-old daughter, Iris.
The book features their ancestor, John Tiley, who set up a brass engravers at the house in 1871. His work can be seen at St Paul’s Cathedral and Union Chapel in Islington.
A former Transport and General Workers Union employee, George Tiley, who is 90, has fond memories of the house in Cross Street where his great-grandfather, a silversmith, grew up. “It’s a lovely book,” he said. “It helps my family to understand a little of its history.”
Other guests at the launch, held at St John’s Gate, in Clerkenwell, included historians, writers and activists, among them Harley Sherlock, Peter Powell, James Dunnett, Christopher Elrington, Mark Hassall, Kathleen Frenchman, and former Islington councillors Bridget Fox, Joe Trotter and Richard Heseltine.
The hardback is published by Islington Archaeology and History Society, 8 Wynyatt Street EC1V 7HU (020 7833 1541), priced £20. |
 |
|
| |
| Your Comments: |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
