Islington’s archives team were all smiles after winning their bid to bring home a piece of the borough’s creative history.

Islington Gazette: Joe Orton, playwright,murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell at their Islington home in 1967.Joe Orton, playwright,murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell at their Islington home in 1967. (Image: Archant)

A collage created by Kenneth Halliwell, who in 1967 murdered his playwright partner Joe Orton before committing suicide, was won at an auction last week.

The town hall had launched a fundraiser, covered in the Gazette last month, in the hope of raising £20,000 to buy the artwork, but in the end it took just £8,000 to bring it home, with much of it coming from the Arts Fund.

Local history boss Mark Aston said: “It’s great news. It’s always difficult to gauge how much it will go for but it’s good to go with a comfortable wad in your pocket in case you get a Texas oil tycoon bidding for everything.

“We will get our hands on it in a couple of weeks and give it a full inspection. There’s a little bit of wear and tear but it’s in pretty good condition considering it’s over 50 years old and paper based.

“I’ve had a couple of moments of quality time with it already.”