Ethel Eleanor Mary Cosh, FSA was a British freelance journalist and local historian who was known for her works on the history of Islington, London. Her book, A History of Islington, was the first full-length history of the area since the mid-nineteenth century. She also wrote two historical works relating to Scotland. Cosh died in December 2019 at the age of 100.
Early life
Mary Cosh was born in Bristol on 3 March 1919 to Arthur Strode and Ellen Cosh. She was educated at Clifton High School.
Cosh wrote extensively on the history of Islington, including her masterwork, A History of Islington, published by Historical Publications in 2005, which was the first full length history of the area since the mid nineteenth century. She also wrote two historical works relating to Scotland, firstly Inveraray and the Dukes of Argyll with Ian Lindsay, published by Edinburgh University Press in 1973, and Edinburgh, the golden age, published in 2005. That work dealt with the social and cultural life of Edinburgh during the Scottish Enlightenment, covering the period 1760 to 1832 and drawing on contemporary accounts in literature, newspapers, letters and journals. Cosh became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1986.
Selected publications
Fiction
The real world. Cassell, London, 1961.
Non-fiction
Inveraray and the Dukes of Argyll. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1973.
An historical walk through Clerkenwell. Islington Libraries, London, 1980.
History of St. Stephen's Church, Canonbury: The building and the people from its consecration in June 1839 to June 1989. St Stephen's Church, Canonbury, 1989.
An historical walk through Barnsbury. Islington Archaeology & History Society, London, 1981.
A Regents Canal walk: From Camden Lock to City Road Basin. Isledon Publications, 1985.
An historical walk along the New River. Islington Archaeology & History Society, London, 1988.
The squares of Islington. Part 1, Finsbury and Clerkenwell. Islington Archaeology & History Society, London, 1990.
The squares of Islington. Part 2, Islington parish. Islington Archaeology & History Society, London, 1993.
McBean, Angus. Angus McBean in Islington. London: Islington Archaeology & History Society.
Edinburgh, the golden age. John Donald, 2005.
A history of Islington. Historical Publications, London, 2005.
53 Cross Street: The biography of a house. Islington Archaeology & History Society, London, 2001.
