Edward Square: An Islington Pocket Park With An Inspiring Mural

Walking along Copenhagen Road, look for the entrance to a little park called Edward Square.

It has an interesting origin story itself but also contains an inspiring artwork.

Edward Square

Edward Square was built in 1853 as a square of houses around an enclosed garden. The garden was opened to the public in 1888 as one of London’s first public gardens.

In 1963, following the clearance of bomb-damaged houses, the London County Council eyed the spot up to build a new Catholic Secondary School. This plan ended up falling through due to a declining school population in Islington.

By the 1980s the green space, between the surviving houses, had become overgrown and neglected and was under threat of being developed again.

Locals, including heritage and preservation campaigner Lisa Pontecorvo, got together to campaign for funding to save the space. Islington has the least amount of green space per resident of any London borough, so every patch of grass is precious.

They ended up being given a Single Regeneration Budget funding allowance from the King’s Cross Partnership and Islington Council to save and restore the park.

In 1984 part of that restoration was the painting of the brilliant mural you can still find here. It is called ‘The Tolpuddle Martyrs’.

Who Were The Tolpuddle Martyrs?

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset. In 1834 they were arrested for essentially starting a trade union.

Fed up of falling wages they signed a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were charged under an arcane act as part of a wider labour dispute and sentenced to deportation to Australia.

On 21st April 1834 a huge group gathered nearby to where the Edward Square now is, on an area known as Copenhagen Fields, to peacefully protest the deportation.

The demonstration was organised by the Central Committee of the Metropolitan Trade Unions and included a procession through London to Kennington Common to deliver a petition with over 200,000 signatures. The Home Secretary Lord Melbourne initially refused to accept the petition but acceded a week later.

Copenhagen Fields was named after a 17th tavern and tea-house called Copenhagen House. The Caledonian Clock Tower Park is one of the remaining green spaces on the site.

Copenhagen Fields became a popular gathering point for radical protesters in the late 18th century.

As well as the protest on Copenhagen Fields there were mass protests across the country and the martyrs ended up being pardoned and returned to England in the late 1830s. The marches are therefore an early example of a successful workers’ rights movement.

The Mural Today

The mural, depicting the protests, was painted by the artist Dave Bangs in 1984, who said it took “two seasons to complete” and was one of his “best works”.

The mural has also sadly been threatened over the years. It was covered with advertising hoardings in the 1990s and Lisa Pontecorvo had to step in to have it removed.

Lisa was sadly killed in a road traffic accident in 2008. Her portrait was subsequently painted into the mural to commemorate her. She can be seen below holding the scroll describing the Tolpuddle Martyrs protest.