Islington is known for it's rows of grand Georgian and Victorian houses lining street after street. In one particular road, there is a Trompe-l'oeil, quietly disguised as a local building which has been added onto the gable of a house on the junction of Mildmay Road and Wolsey Road. Blink and you might miss it; the painting is partly obscured by a tree and the fading of colour means its fake facade starts to blend in with the real building.
The mural shows a Classical style house in the background whilst in the foreground there is another set of windows on the right and a door with staircase on the left. There is also a column that cuts through the whole piece. Beside it stand a child holding a bunch of flowers. In the background an elderly gentleman tends flowers. All in all a surreal scene. In fact it sits nicely with the surreal garden mural which was located around the corner on the Mayville Community Centre.
The Wolsey Road Mural was created in 1981 by Carolyne Beale for Mildmay Housing Action Area as part of an area improvement and modernisation scheme. Luckily it's managed to survive by just getting on with being a cheerful and curious piece of art, set in inner city London. As far as we understand there are no plans to repair or destroy the painting so long may the little girl keep smiling at us passersby.
We are currently researching the history of this mural. If you can help, please do get in touch.
This mural is in OK condition