Riceyman Steps

ISLINGTON

TQ3082NE GWYNNE PLACE 635-1/67/435 (East side) Riceyman Steps

GV II

Flight of 20 steps, formerly 'Plum Pudding Steps' now 'Riceyman Steps'. Pedestrian access connecting Gwynne Place and thus King's Cross Road to Granville Square: functions as only entrance to square from west where ground falls sharply away; situated between exterior side walls of two houses (nos. 33 & 34) (q.v.) in Granville Square. 1841-1843; possibly rebuilt mid C19. Original design probably by John Booth, Surveyor to the Lloyd Baker Estate. Granite steps with York paving stones to landings. Bottom two steps lead to 1st landing; next flight of 15 steps leads to 2nd landing; top flight of 11 steps enters Granville Square. Bottom two steps approximately 20 feet in width; upper flights approximately 15 feet wide. In the 1850s the Metropolitan Railway was constructed beneath the SW corner of Granville Square and nos. 29-38 were demolished and rebuilt in 1864-1865. Gwynne Place, originally called Granville Place, below the steps was essentially destroyed in the Second World War. In the 1960s Gwynne Place was demolished to build a car park but the steps remained. In 1971 the London Ryan Hotel was planned to straddle the steps but they were again retained. Always known locally as 'Plum Pudding Steps' until 1923 when they were popularized as 'Riceyman Steps' in honour of Arnold Bennett's novel of the same name. (The Squares of Islington: Cosh, Mary: The Squares of Islington Part I: Finsbury and Clerkenwell: Islington: 1990-: 49).

Listing NGR: TQ3092682625