Hackney

Hackney is a London Borough (The London Borough of Hackney) in the northeast of London. Unlike other English boroughs, its town council is led by a mayor elected by direct suffrage.

Hackney is bordered by Islington to the west, Haringey to the north, Waltham Forest to the north-east, Tower Hamlets to the south-east and the City of London to the south-west. Much of Hackney maintains its inner city character and in places like Dalston large council houses rub shoulders with private communities. In South Hackney, near Victoria Park, there are rows of Victorian and Edwardian houses.

The historic and administrative heart of Hackney is the area roughly extending north of Mare Street and surrounding the Church of St John-at-Hackney; known as Hackney Central. To the north of the borough are Upper Clapton and Lower Clapton, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington. To the east lies wide open space, Hackney Marshes and the districts of Hackney Wick and Homerton. The light industries around the River Lea employ more than three thousand people and part of it was also used for the 2012 Olympic Games.

There are 1,300 listed buildings in Hackney, including the iconic Hackney Empire (Grade II*), Tudor Sutton House, and the medieval (Grade I) St Augustine's Tower. The borough contains 25 conservation areas, including Clapton Square, and green spaces, such as Clapton Common and Clissold Park. The conservation areas also protect large areas of Georgian and Victorian houses, and areas of industrial heritage.

History

The borough was formed in 1965 from the area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.

The Roman road called Ermine Street forms the western border of the municipality. Most of the rest of the land was covered by hazel and oak forests, with swamps near the rivers and streams that crossed the area. Hackney was the territory of the Catuvelauno tribe. The eastern boundary of the borough is marked by the River Lea. This was an ancient boundary between pre-Roman tribes, and by the time of Roman Britain it was tidal as far as Hackney Wick and remained a boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex.

In Tudor times the Crown appropriated the lands of the religious orders and put them up for sale. Hackney thus became a retirement area for nobles around Hackney Central and Homerton, including Henry VIII's Palace next to the Lea Bridge rotunda, where BSix Sixth Form College stands today. Sutton House, on Homerton High Street, it is the oldest dwelling in Hackney, originally built as Bryck Place for Sir Ralph Sadleir, a diplomat, in 1535. The town of Hackney flourished in the period from the Tudors to late Georgian era, as a rural retreat. The first "hackney coach" documented—ancestor of the more generic "hackney carriage"—operated in London in 1621. Current opinion is that the name "hackney," to refer to a London taxi, it derives from the name of the town. (Hackney, throughout its historical fame for its horses and horse-drawn carriages, is also the root of the Spanish word jaca, a term used for small breeding horses, and the Sardinian horse "achetta"). Hackney's rural reputation came to an end with the construction of the railway in the 1850s.

London's first Tudor theaters were built in Shoreditch and the Gunpowder Plot was also first revealed near Hoxton.

Notable residents of the area in the 17th to 19th centuries were Robert Aske, William Cecil, Samuel Courtauld, Samuel Hoare, Joseph Priestley and Thomas Sutton.

Many large houses stood in Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill, the latter being a refuge for many Orthodox Jewish residents from the 1930s. Alfred Hitchcock made many of his early films in Hoxton at the Gainsborough Studios on Poole Street.

Following industrialisation, extensive post-war development and immigration, many rows of Georgian and Victorian houses were gentrified, warehouses converted and new apartments built.

Districts

The districts of Hackney are as follows:

• Bethnal Green (also in the municipality of Tower Hamlets)
• Dalston
• De Beauvoir Town
• Finsbury Park
• Hackney Central
• Hackney Downs
• Hackney Marshes
• Hackney Wick
• Haggerston
• Homerton
• Hoxton
• Kingsland
• Lea Bridge
• London Fields
• Lower Clapton
• Manor House
• Newington Green
• Shacklewell
• Shoreditch
• South Hackney
• Stamford Hill
• Stoke Newington
• Upper Clapton

Municipality of contrasts

The borough is known for being one of the poorest and most crime-affected boroughs of London. Despite this perception, it is a place of considerable contrasts. The southwestern tip of the borough is adjacent to central London (The City) and close to the Broadgate housing estate. In this part, some offices have been installed within the limits of the municipality.

Also in the southwest are Hoxton and Shoreditch, key players in London's art scene and home to numerous clubs, strip venues such as Brown's, bars, shops and restaurants, many of which are concentrated in Hoxton Square. Hackney is also home to the influential art galleries White Cube and Victoria Miro Gallery

The development of Shoreditch and Hoxton caused the price of land in the area to rise, such that property developers looked to other parts of the borough for development. Most of Hackney is urban in nature and in places like Dalston there are large housing estates alongside other private housing estates. There are 1,300 properties registered in Hackney, of which the oldest is Sutton House, which dates back to the 16th century.

Featured people

• Grace Aguilar (1816-1847), writer, novelist and historian Sephardic Jewish.
• Harold Pinter (1930-2008), Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.
• Marc Bolan (1947-1977), glam rock singer, leader of the group T. Rex.
• Nicko McBrain (1952-), Iron Maiden drummer.
• Phil Collen (1957-), guitarist.
• Adrian Smith (1957-), guitarist of Iron Maiden.
• Kim Appleby (1961-), singer-songwriter and actress; with his sister Melanie (1966-1990) he formed the duo Mel and Kim.
• Melanie Appleby (1966-1990), singer, with his sister Kim (1961-) formed the duo Mel and Kim.
• Idris Elba (1972-), an actor known for his recent embodiment of Heimdall in the film Thor (2011).
• Ray Clarke, Tottenham footballer.
• Ade Akinbiyi (1974-), a Nigerian footballer.
• Lily Loveless (1990-), actress.
• Paloma Faith (1981-), actress and singer.
• Daniel Sharman (1986-), actor