Loading borough…
Neighbourhood profile
Laycock
Islington, London
PocketsCaledonian Road (Roman Way Bridge · Brewery Road · Market Road)Highbury Fields (Highbury & Islington · Arundel Square)Islington North & Canonbury West (Laycock Green · Union Chapel)Lower Holloway (Paradise Park · Holloway Road)
Laycock sits at the north end of Islington around Highbury Corner and Canonbury, a conservation-area ward of tall Georgian and early-Victorian terraces along Upper Street and Liverpool Road. Ninety listed buildings cover the ward — headed by the Grade I Union Chapel of 1876–77 by James Cubitt, along with the Grade II* Church of St Mary Magdalene and the Grade II* former Sunday School of the Union Chapel. Transport is very good, with Highbury & Islington giving the Victoria line and the Overground and mainline services. Thirty-six Ofsted outstanding rated schools fall within reach. The ward's 166 food venues and 164 non-food outlets along Upper Street and Essex Road make it one of Islington's most complete retail strips. The trade-offs are the ones the numbers show: crime sits in the lower third of London wards, pulled by the Upper Street nightlife economy, and green space is limited to Paradise Park and small squares. Air quality is poor along the main roads.
- Strongest93Heritage
Dense with listed buildings and conservation-area coverage
- Also strong87Connectivity
Excellent public-transport access
- Watch out2Area development
Little recent major-development activity
At a glance
- Very good public-transport access
- 90 listed buildings
- 100% covered by a conservation area
- 7 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: Paradise Park (2.4 hectares)
- 340 open venues (173 food and drink, 167 other)
9 pockets across 4 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
This is one of 684 London wards
Find the London that fits you
Laycock is one answer. The wizard scores all 684 wards against your budget, commute and priorities, then hands you a ranked shortlist of the areas that actually fit.
5 questions · about a minute · free
Browse listings
The Grade I Union Chapel on Compton Terrace in Islington was designed by James Cubitt and built between 1876 and 1877, with its prominent 170-foot tower added in 1889.
Laycock, layer by layer
Every layer’s score is free. Seven deep-dives — here and on every area, one pass — unlock with the Day Pass ↓
Scores as of 23 Aug 2026 · prices to 2026 · crime to Jun 2026 · air 2022 · sources
Property prices & growth
35Better than 15% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability15
- Rent affordability20
- Price momentum (5yr)57
- Activity (turnover)32
Locked
Prices, rent & trends
£ per square foot to buy, an estimated 2-bed rent, and decades of sale-price history for this ward.
For Laycock: 73 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
28Better than 11% of London
- Personal safety30
- Property crime23
- Anti-social behaviour32
Locked
Safety deep-dive
Every recorded crime type — burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and more — grouped into personal, property and anti-social behaviour, with the monthly trend for this ward.
For Laycock: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
87Better than 94% of London
Median public-transport access is excellent (TfL PTAL 7.0 of 8 across this ward).
Locked
Connectivity deep-dive
Real TfL journey times to London's major hubs, plus this ward's transport access rank across London.
For Laycock: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
16Among the lowest in London
- Air quality7
- Quietness30
Locked
Air & noise deep-dive
NO₂, PM2.5 and road/rail noise for this ward, each against WHO / UK limits.
Cultural Signal
52Better than 93% of London
- Nightlife43
- Dining64
- Arts & culture14
- Retail & shops36
- Sports & recreation21
- Independent scene100
- Vitality (openings, diversity)81
340 open venues nearby — 173 food & drink, 167 other.
Locked
Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For Laycock: the mix behind 340 open venues—% independent
Education
66Better than 97% of London
- Primary schools58
- Secondary schools74
Locked
School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For Laycock: 6 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
93Better than 98% of London
90 listed buildings · 100% under a conservation area
- Union ChapelGrade I
- Church of St Mary Magdalene and Attached RailingsGrade II*
- Former Sunday School, Lecture Hall and Vestry Block to Union ChapelGrade II*
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
51Better than 20% of London
- Green spaces67
- Waterways20
Largest green space: Paradise Park (2 ha). ~8 ha of green space in total.
Area development
2Better than 43% of London
Locked
Planning pipeline
Named recent approvals with homes and floorspace, the local homes pipeline, and the affordable share.
Unlock the full details
Unlock the full details for Laycock — and every other London area
Day Pass or WAYB+ — either one unlocks your full shortlist and every area profile on the site, not just this page.
- Prices — £ per square foot, an estimated rent, and the ward’s full price history
- Safety — crime by type with its monthly trend
- Getting around — real TfL journey times to the big hubs
- Schools, air & noise — every school’s inspection record, air & noise against WHO limits
- What's next — the venue mix, what’s been approved to build nearby, and cheaper areas that score like Laycock
For Laycock: 73 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min6 schools' inspection records340 venues mapped
What unlocked sections look like · example ward, not this one
WAYB+ · month to month
- Everything in the Day Pass — kept on for your whole search
- “What’s changing” on every ward: new approvals, openings and closures, score shifts
- Cancel anytime
Day Pass · 24 hours
A day of full access — every area, your whole shortlist.
- Your full wizard shortlist, revealed
- Every area deep-dive: prices, crime by type, schools, air, commute
- The planning pipeline and cheaper lookalike areas
- Unlimited saves and shareable links
Already bought? Don't pay again — open the confirmation email from where are you based? and tap Restore access to sign back in on this device.
Make it personal
Laycock might not even be your best match — run the wizard with your own budget and commute. About 90 seconds.
What's changing in Laycock
Locked
What's changing (WAYB+)
The last 90 days here: new approvals, venue openings and closures, school inspections, score shifts. Subscription only.
Already bought? Don't pay again — open the confirmation email from where are you based? and tap Restore access to sign back in on this device.
Laycock, quick answers
- Is Laycock safe?
- Laycock scores 28 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — recording more crime than most London wards. The score weighs personal safety, property crime and anti-social behaviour separately rather than ranking on one raw total, so the mix of crime matters as well as the volume.
- Is Laycock a good place to live?
- Laycock scores 48 overall when all nine data layers are weighted equally. The London comparison beside the score shows how that number ranks against every ward. Its strongest suits are heritage (93) and connectivity (87); its weakest is area development (2). Whether it suits you depends on what you weight — the same data re-ranked around your own priorities can read very differently.
- How well connected is Laycock?
- Very good public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in Laycock 7 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 87 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is Laycock expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, Laycock is among London's pricier areas: its purchase-affordability score is 3/20, where higher means cheaper per square foot (HM Land Registry sold prices matched to floor areas).
- What are the schools like near Laycock?
- Laycock scores 66 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 7 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
Wards with a similar profile
- Stanley · Kensington and Chelsea
- Vincent Square · Westminster
- St Mary's & St James' · Islington
- Courtfield · Kensington and Chelsea
Locked
Neighbourhood matches
Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
More affordable, similar areas
- Caledonian · IslingtonMore affordable
- Hammersmith Broadway · Hammersmith and FulhamMore affordable
- Dalston · HackneyMore affordable
- Kennington · LambethMore affordable
- Mildmay · IslingtonMore affordable
Like Laycock?
Find a London like this
See the London wards that score most like Laycock — especially its Heritage and Connectivity.
One quick thing
Is this page accurate?
Got something we missed or got wrong about Laycock? Let us know.