North London Food & Culture

See Kentish Town as it was in the 1970s at The Fields Beneath

Not so long ago, Prince of Wales Rd didn't have a coffee shop or gallery in sight, as this evocative exhibition of photos reveals

The Overground is suspended. For ten years.
The Overground is suspended. For ten years.

Back in July’s print edition, we were lucky enough to feature some images by photograph Jeremy Ross that capture the raw spirit of Kentish Town in the 1970s. These evocative shots reveal the creativity and the destruction that shaped the area, and nowhere more dramatically than along Prince of Wales Road.

A selection of these prints have just gone on show at The Fields Beneath (pictured above, next to the Overground station that was boarded up for a decade) and are to be exhibited there until the New Year.

As TFB’s Gavin says, “The 70s saw huge changes come to Camden, with the introduction of wide scale social housing, the founding of Camden Lock Market and more locally, the development of a strong community of sqatters along Prince of Wales Road. Jeremy was one of them, living at number 32.”

Pre-Talacre construction work by the station. The block now houses a Costcutter and Renzo's coffee shop


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“He took walks along the canal, photographing as he went. Rarely did he leave the house without his camera, yet rarely did he leave with a particular idea of what to photograph – the journey was the subject, and how the world changed along that journey.”

The photos are fascinating for anyone who lives in or loves the area, and the exhibition also features some rare shots of the haunting aftermath of 1978’s huge King’s Cross Granary Warehouse fire too.

Read the story behind the photos in the links above, and why not grab one of the final few back issues featuring the original article from our shop. If you are interested in purchasing one of Jeremy’s high quality prints, email: info@kentishtowner.co.uk. We hope to feature them in the shop alongside the other art and photography if there’s demand, so let us know.

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The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section.