The building was commissioned to replace the ageing mid-19th century
vestry hall on Upper Street which had been used by the Parish of
St Mary's, Islington. The vestry hall had become the headquarters of the
Metropolitan Borough of Islington in 1900. After the vestry hall had become inadequate for the council's needs, civic leaders decided to procure a new town hall; they purchased a site with a row of
Georgian era terraced houses known as Tyndale Place for this purpose in 1920. The design for the northern section involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Upper Street; it featured a stone porch with the borough
coat of arms above flanked by full-height windows and
Corinthian order pilasters to either side; there was also a window in a similar style on the first floor above the doorway. The principal rooms were the mayor's parlour, which was in the rear wing facing Richmond Grove, and the council chamber, which was in the northern part in Upper Street. Since 1930, when
Arsenal won their first
FA Cup against
Huddersfield Town, victory receptions have been held at the town hall.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the town hall and met with civic leaders to mark her coronation in 1953. The building served as the town hall of the
Metropolitan Borough of Islington and continued to serve as the local seat of government after
Islington London Borough Council was formed in 1965. The town hall hosted a high-profile reception, attended by the
Duchess of Cambridge, to promote
Chance UK's early intervention child mentoring program in October 2015. ==References==