The tree stump that was home to the Canonbury Pixies, delighting children. Photos: Matt Brown

THEY were the much-loved pixies of Canonbury, moving into the N1 postcode at the end of 2021 and delighting the local children.

But one day they vanished, and the mystery of what happened to the Canonbury Pixies has now taken hold in the mind of one local actor and comedian, who is determined to turn sleuth to solve the puzzle.

Writing in the latest edition of the Canonbury Society newsletter, Paul Whitehouse, once des­cribed by Hollywood pal Johnny Depp as the “greatest actor of all time”, commiserated with their fate.

“As I walk through the neighbourhood, the tragic demise of the Canonbury Pixies often electrifies my mind, pushing aside everyday concerns, mundane and not so mundane,” he writes, suggesting it is a more central issue for him than the ever-present debate around low traffic neighbourhoods.

Describing it as a “burning issue” for locals, he stated their disappearance “has been neglected by some, though not by me or our younger residents.

“The Pixies had moved into an abandoned tree stump on the corner of Alwyne Villas after an anonymous and imaginative soul ‘did it up’ with a small, red front door, a crooked brick chimney, magic wands and painted pebbles promoting Peace and Joy.”

The Compton Pixies first appeared when a mysterious artist built a chimney and a red front door into a tree stump at the junction of Alwyne Villas and Canonbury Place.

Paul Whitehouse

The creator has an Instagram account by the name of pixiehouse_by_t, which has numerous photos of pixie homes across Islington. “Build it and they will come. Pixies, elves and fairies swiftly moved in. But where are they now?!” lamented Mr Whitehouse.

While their fate is unclear, Mr Whitehouse accused the council of “ruthlessly evicting” them from their “beautifully appointed home”.

“I appreciate there are more important things for adults to be preoccupied with, but for my daughter and her friends a daily encounter with a pixie in years gone by gave the day a certain magic,” he mourned.

He described how, when his daughter was younger, he would impersonate the pixies as they passed the stump, to the delight – and slight puzzlement – of the children.

“This delight was occasionally tinged with bemusement as they weighed up the likelihood of real pixies living in a tree stump against that of a daft dad doing silly voices,” he added.

“Now, I know this little scenario doesn’t address pollution, climate change, political upheaval, and war (wrongful eviction though, possibly) and the exquisitely decorated tree stump probably didn’t mean much to the passing banker, council official or construction worker but, on a few glorious occasions, the pixies brought joy and a smile to the face of local children.”

Signing off wistfully, he admitted the pixies were “sadly missed” and “possibly more by me than my daughter, her friends and the rest of the neighbourhood’s children all put together”.

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We’ve encouraged the artist that uses our stumps to produce street art to continue to do so, as we know the benefits this brings to the local community.

“We’re unable to confirm if this particular pixie house was removed by the council. In some cases, to replace trees that have been removed due to them being dead, diseased, or dangerous, we remove the stumps so that replacement trees can be planted. We’ve reached out to the artist so that we can advise on any tree stumps that do not require removal, so that they can use these for their street art.”

• If anyone knows what happened to the pixies, please get in touch. Email: charlotte@islingtontribune.com