Nag's Head, Holloway
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Nag's Head, Holloway is a locality in North London, in the Borough of Islington.
It was originally named after the Nag's Head public house in the Holloway Road (the A1). The pub changed names (despite stiff local resistance) when it was bought by a pub chain, O'Neills, and closed permanently in early 2004. It is now a clothes shop. The name remains attached to the Nag's Head market (behind Holloway Road on the northwest corner of Hertslet Road) and the Nag's Head Shopping Centre.
History
The area, like so much of the rest of North London, experienced rapid growth around the very early 1900s and quickly became an important local shopping centre. This was aided by the importance of the road junction here - the area was an important hub for trolleybus services up until their withdrawal in the 1950s. The construction of the London and North Eastern Railway line (which, when first built, had a station on the same site as the current Holloway Road Underground station) also had a significant impact on the development of the area in the late nineteenth century.
The Odeon cinema on the junction of Tufnell Park Road and Holloway Road was built in the late 1930s as a Gaumont but was severely damaged by a doodlebug during the Second World War. It has recently undergone extensive refurbishment but retains its impressive foyer and staircase. The original, 3,000 seat theatre has, however, been divided into a number of smaller cinemas.
Other information
The area is best described as being that part of the Holloway Road and the immediately surrounding streets bounded by Seven Sisters Road / Parkhurst Road to the northwest and Camden Road to the southeast. The Marlborough Building (part of London Metropolitan University) is a prominent feature.
The area has suffered from a lack of investment (both from private and public sources) in recent years and has become known as a popular pitch for the sale of illegally smuggled cigarettes by criminal gangs. It is currently part of the "A1 Project" regeneration plan being carried out by Islington Council, and has one of the highest densities of resident per square foot in London.
"Nag's Head, Holloway" is still used as the name of this locality by London Buses. The name is also used to describe on maps and road signs the Holloway Road / Camden Road / Tollington Road / Seven Sisters Road junction which straddles the area.