North London Food & Culture

Come and celebrate the spirit of Kentish Town

As our third (and biggest yet) Kentish Cluster post-work drinks approaches, what’s the history behind this area's unique spirit, and why is it good for business?

Last month's Kentish Cluster, held at The Vine
Last month’s Kentish Cluster, held at The Vine

I’ve known Kentish Town all my life. Back to when there were rollerskating sales girls at Kickers shoe superstore (currently Iceland), local nutty boys Madness dominated the 7” racks at the Circle In The Square record shop (now Tesco) and brawls regularly spilled out of the Vulture’s Perch (now the perfectly refined Oxford).

Neighbourhoods inevitably change, yet often not quite as dramatically as people fear. The piano factories, livestock markets and tram lines were long gone by the time I was born, but all had been replaced by different, profitable industries. It would be rather weird if they hadn’t.

And while there have been some fairly rapid shifts here in recent years, the spirit of the place remains strikingly constant.

Join us on the cobbles, as June's Kentish Cluster comes to Camden Town Brewery
Join us on the cobbles, as June’s Kentish Cluster comes to Camden Town Brewery

The topsy-turvy environmental mix – carved up by the railways and where factories rub up against genteel terraces – plus the variety of people all this has brought here to live and work, is what gives K-Town a special edge. Despite the gentrification-phobes moaning that brushing up old pubs and a proliferation of artisan coffee shops threaten to suck the soul out of the place, we think it’s always going to be too beautifully mixed-up for that.


LOCAL ADVERTISING


When Stephen Emms started Kentishtowner back in November 2010, there was something in the air here, even though it was far from the buzzing hub of microbreweries and tech startups you’ll find today.

His aim was to celebrate what was then an underrated pocket of the capital, when all eyes (especially in the media) were on Dalston, Shoreditch and the like. But actually, world-class creative businesses like Spring Studios and Rankin’s Annroy gallery had been at work in the understated back streets for years.

It was in 2012 – the year Soho House Group came to Highgate Studios with three hip restaurants, the year of the Grafton, Fields Beneath, and many more – that a full scale shift seemed to occur, from “nice enough place with good transport links” to “centrally located hotspot.”

Pizza East at Highgate Studios
Pizza East at Highgate Studios

Kentishtowner has documented and, we hope, contributed towards the blossoming of all kinds of exciting, culture-shifting ventures here, transforming the high street into a place where independent shops thrive once more, and old textile factories are stuffed full of truly innovative new businesses.

Launched back in April, Kentish Cluster is our monthly drinks run by a partnership of people from locally-based companies, including Student Beans, Mumsnet, MVF Global and Softwire. It aims to promote the best of the area in very much the same way we do online and in print, capturing the indefatigable spirit of Kentish Town in the form of a boozy after-work social gathering.

It comes at a time when technology – rather than pianos, elephants or carpets – dominates the local business and cultural landscape. But even the growing cluster of tech companies here isn’t really a change. Back in the 70s, the world’s very first laptop was designed above a dry cleaners on Kentish Town Road.

With the likes of Sainsbury’s opening their very first shop right here too, the quirky spirit of Kentish Town has always been good for business and innovation.

Well worth celebrating with a pint of locally-brewed Hells on Thursday, we’d suggest.

#KCdrinks at Camden Town Brewery Bar, Wilkin St Mews (behind Kentish Town West Overground), 6pm – 9pm on Thursday 26th June
Drinks c/o our sponsors Highgate Studios
Register here now as spaces are limited. Find out the latest news via the KC social networks:
[social_icon url=”http://facebook.com/kentishcluster/” profile_type=”facebook” title=”View our Facebook Page”][social_icon url=”http://twitter.com/kentishcluster/” profile_type=”twitter” title=”View our Tweets”]


Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

About Kentishtowner

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.