The Angel, Islington

The name of this area comes from a sixteenth-century inn that stood in open fields at the edge of the city. The inn displayed a sign featuring the Angel of the Annunciation, a religious image of the archangel Gabriel delivering news to Mary. Because travellers navigated by landmarks rather than street names, the inn became a crucial reference point for anyone heading into London. It eventually lent its name to the entire district, shifting from a simple roadside sign to a permanent fixture on the map of the capital.