LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY

'The London Borough of Hackney' is a London borough located to the north-east of the centre, and forms part of inner London.

Borough of contrasts

Of the UK's almost 500 local authority areas, Hackney is one of a small number which has a profile in the rest of the UK. This has been the result of extensive coverage in the national media over a period of years stretching from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It has served as the case study for most of the major political and public policy issues of this period: immigration, education, child protection, housing, urban regeneration, gentrification, crime and disorder. While not all of the coverage has portrayed a negative image of the borough, especially regarding urban regeneration, the majority has done so.
This has led to a national perception which can be at odds with the changing realities of the borough. So while Hackney is known as being one of the poorest and most crime-affected London boroughs, Hackney Police and Council achieved the biggest drop in crime across the whole of London in the four years up to 2007 (28% reduction)^[1]. In addition, this perception has tended to mask the considerable contrasts in the borough with negative perceptions and coverage being related to Hackney, while positive perceptions and coverage being related to parts of the borough such as Hoxton, Shoreditch or Stoke Newington.
The south western tip of the borough is adjacent to the City and close to the Broadgate development. In this area some office development has taken place within the borough boundary. Also in the south west is Hoxton and Shoreditch which are central to the London arts scene and home to numerous clubs, bars, shops and restaurants, much of which is centred on Hoxton Square. The development of Shoreditch and Hoxton caused land value to increase in the area such that developers looked to other parts of the borough for development. Much of Hackney is inner-city in character and in places like Dalston large housing estates now sit side-by-side with gated communities.
The centre of Hackney is known as Hackney Central - to distinguish it from the Borough, the 1930s town hall is situated here. Adjacent to the town hall is the Hackney Empire, Ocean music venue and a modern library block, also housing the Learning Trust and the council museum. South Hackney abuts Victoria Park (which is in neighbouring Tower Hamlets) and terraced Victorian and Edwardian housing stock has survived in the area.
To the north of the borough is Clapton, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington. To the east is the large open space of the Hackney Marshes and the districts of Hackney Wick and Homerton. There is some declining light industry around the River Lea (the eastern boundary) and land is planned to be re-used for the 2012 Summer Olympics, making the area one of the Host Boroughs for the games.
In October 2006, a Channel 4 survey programmes 'The Best and Worst places to live in the UK', claimed Hackney to be the worst place to live in the UK.^[2] In response, Jules Pipe elected Mayor of Hackney stated "''Of course Hackney has problems, as do all inner city boroughs, but it is an amazing place to live. It is diverse and exciting with fantastic architecture, a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and a bright future as an Olympic borough.''". He went on to point out that the same production team had also made programmes boosting Hackney as a place to invest in property.^[3] In January 2007, the House Price Index, released by the UK Land Registry showed the later view to prevail, with Hackney putting on the third highest increase (14.6%) in property values within London during 2006.^[4]
There are 1,300 listed buildings in Hackney, including the iconic grade II
★ Hackney Empire, Tudor Sutton House, and the grade I medieval St Augustine's tower. The Borough contains 25 conservation areas including Clapton Square, and many urban open-spaces including Clapton Common and Clissold Park. Conservation areas also protect large areas of Georgian and Victorian housing, and areas of industrial heritage.^[5]

History

St Augustine's Tower. Dating back to the 13th century, this is Hackney's oldest building. It is all that remains of the original medieval parish church, which was demolished in the late 18th century (September 2005)

The borough was formed in 1965 from the area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. The new council adopted elements of its constituents in the new coat of arms; Shoreditch by three bells from Shoreditch Church (recalled in the rhyme ''Oranges and Lemons''), Stoke Newington by two trees bearing fruit, and Hackney by the eight pointed cross of the principal landowners of the parish in the middle-ages, the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The shield is surmounted by a representation of St Augustine's Tower, the remains of Hackney's former parish church. The motto is ''Justitia turris nostra'', translated as ''Being fair is what makes us strong''^[6]. The Queen's portrait hangs in the council chamber, wearing the robes of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Individual parts of the borough have a rich history. The Roman road, Ermine Street forms the western edge of the borough. Much of the rest of the land was covered with open oak and hazel woodlands, with marshland around the rivers and streams that crossed the area. Hackney lay in the Catevallauni tribal territory^[7]. The eastern boundary of the borough is formed by the River Lee. This was an ancient boundary between pre-Roman tribes, and in the Roman era, was tidal as far as Hackney Wick and continued as the boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex.
In the Tudor period the lands of the religious order were seized and Hackney became a retreat for nobility around Hackney Central and Homerton, including Henry VIII's palace by the Lee Bridge roundabout, where Brooke House School stands today 'Hackney: Settlement and Building to c.1800', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 10-4 Date accessed: 02 Oct 2006. Sutton House, on Homerton High Street, is the oldest surviving dwelling in Hackney, originally built as ''Bryck Place'' for Tudor diplomat Sir Ralph Sadleir in 1535.
London's first Tudor theatres were built in Shoreditch and the Gunpowder Plot was first exposed at nearby Hoxton^[8]. Many grand houses stood in Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill, with the latter providing a haven for Hackney's many orthodox Jewish residents from the 1930s. Alfred Hitchcock made many of his first films in Hoxton at the
Gainsborough Studios in Poole Street^[9].
Hackney Marshes play host to the largest collection of football pitches in Europe; and will be the site of part of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Council

Hackney Town Hall was built in the 1930s for the old
Metropolitan Borough. (October 2005)

Unlike most other English local authorities, the Borough is governed by a directly-elected Mayor who is also the political leader of the council. The Mayor – currently Jules Pipe – is supported by a Cabinet, Councillors and a Speaker, currently Councillor Faizullah Khan, who fulfils the civic and ceremonial duties previously undertaken by the (non-political) mayor^[10].
At the Hackney Council election on May 4th, 2006 the Labour Party were returned with 44 councillors, winning one seat and losing one. The Conservative Party led by Councillor Eric Ollerenshaw OBE forms the largest opposition party on the council with nine councillors, the Liberal Democrats have three, and for the first time a candidate from the Green Party was elected^[11].
'Borough Wards'

★ Brownswood

★ Cazenove

★ Chatham

★ Clissold

★ Dalston

★ De Beauvoir

★ Hackney Central

★ Hackney Downs

★ Haggerston

★ Hoxton

★ Kings Park

★ Leabridge

★ Lordship

★ New River

★ Queensbridge

★ Springfield

★ Stoke Newington Central

★ Victoria

★ Wick

Demographics of Hackney

The 2001 census gives Hackney a population of 202,824.^[12]
The population is ethnically diverse. Of the resident population, 89,490 (44%) people describe themselves as White British. 30,978 (15%) are in other White ethnic groups, 50,009 (25%) are Black or Black British, 17,414 (9%) are Asian or Asian British, 8,501 (4%) describe themselves as 'Mixed', and 6,432 (3%) as Chinese or Other.
132,931 (66%) of the resident population were born in the UK. A further 10,095 (5%) were born in other parts of Europe, and the remaining 59,798 (29%) born elsewhere in the world.
The 2001 census also shows Christianity is the biggest religion in Hackney, with 94,431 (47%) Christian; 27,908 (14%) Muslim; 10,732 (5%) Jewish; and 6,831 (3%) belong to other religions. A further 38,607 (19%) stated no religion, and 24,315 (12%) did not state a religion.
32% of householders are owner–occupiers.

Education

In 2002, the borough entered into a ten year contract with the ''Learning Trust'', an independent collaborative body that organises education for Hackney's 27,000 pupils in over 70 schools, nurseries and play centres. The trust was set up in response to an OFSTED report that identified failings in the then existing system^[13].

Infants and nursery schools

★ Ann Tayler EYC ★ Clapton Park EYC ★ Comberton EYC ★ Comet Nursery ★ Fernbank Nursery	★ Hillside Day EYC ★ Linden House EYC ★ Mapledene EYC ★ Wentworth ★ Woodberry Down EYV

:''Sources''^[14]

Primary schools

★ Baden-Powell ★ Benthal ★ Berger ★ Betty Layward ★ Brook Community ★ Burbage ★ Colvestone ★ Daubeney ★ De Beauvoir ★ Gainsborough ★ Gayhurst ★ Grasmere ★ Grazebrook ★ Harrington Hill ★ Holmleigh ★ Holy Trinity CE ★ Jubilee ★ Kingsmead	★ Lauriston ★ London Fields ★ Lubavitch Ruth Lunzer Girls' ★ Mandeville ★ Millfields Community ★ Morningside ★ Nightingale ★ Northwold ★ Orchard ★ Our Lady & St Joseph RC ★ Parkwood ★ Princess May ★ Queensbridge ★ Randal Cremer ★ Rushmore ★ Sebright ★ Shacklewell ★ Simon Marks Jewish	★ Sir Thomas Abney ★ Southwold ★ Springfield Community ★ St Dominic's RC ★ St John and St James CE (formerly Rams Episcopal) ★ St John of Jerusalem CE ★ St John the Baptist CE ★ St Marys CE ★ St Matthias CE ★ St Monicas RC ★ St Pauls with St Michaels CE ★ St Scholasticas RC ★ Thomas Fairchild ★ Tyssen ★ Whitmore ★ William Patten ★ Woodberry Down Community

:''Sources''^[15]

Secondary schools

★ The Bridge Academy ★ Cardinal Pole Roman Catholic School ★ Clapton Girls Technology College ★ Hackney Free and Parochial C of E School ★ Haggerston Girls School ★ Homerton College of Technology ★ KPMG City Academy (2009)	★ Mossbourne Community Academy ★ Our Lady's Convent RC High School ★ Jack Petchey Academy ★ Skinners' Company's School for Girls ★ Stoke Newington Media Arts & Science College ★ Yesodey Hatorah Secondary School for Girls

:''Sources''^[16]

Further education

★ BSix Sixth Form College

★ Hackney Community College (see also Hackney Community College Basketball Academy)
:''Sources''^[17]

Transport

Hackney is currently the only London borough north of the Thames that has no London Underground stations other than those on its borders with other boroughs. Manor House is in the extreme north-west of the borough and on the boundary with Haringey, while Old Street is in the extreme south-west and on the border with Islington.
Transport for London is extending the East London Line northwards through the borough, reusing some of the abandoned line between Dalston Junction and Broad Street, with stations planned at Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction. When complete, in June 2010, the line will be handed over to London Overground, who will run services from Hackney to South London.
The North London Line (which will become part of London Overground in November 2007) and the Lea Valley Lines pass through the borough, with the following stations within its boundary:

A busy sunset over Graham Road, Hackney Central (19 September 2005—3 days before the autumnal equinox)

North London Line

:''stations (west to east)''

★ Dalston Kingsland railway station

★ Hackney Central railway station

★ Homerton railway station

★ Hackney Wick railway station

Lea Valley Lines

:''stations (north to south)''

★ Stamford Hill railway station

★ Stoke Newington railway station

★ Rectory Road railway station

★ Clapton railway station

★ Hackney Downs railway station

★ London Fields railway station

Districts in Hackney

Some locations in the borough of Hackney.

The borough includes the following areas:

★ Dalston

★ De Beauvoir Town

★ Hackney Downs

★ Hackney Central

★ Hackney Marshes

★ Hackney Wick

★ Haggerston

★ Homerton

★ Hoxton

★ Kingsland

★ Lea Bridge

★ London Fields

★ Lower Clapton

★ Shacklewell

★ Shoreditch

★ South Hackney

★ Stamford Hill

★ Stoke Newington

★ Upper Clapton

★
★ ''see also'' Hackney parks and open spaces

Postcode Areas

★ EC1

★ EC2

★ E1

★ E2

★ E5

★ E8

★ E9

★ E10

★ N1

★ N4

★ N15

★ N16

Cultural attractions and institutions in Hackney

★ Arcola Theatre (Theatre performance)

★ Cell Project Space (Studio rental and gallery)

★ Chat's Palace Arts Centre (Community based arts and performance)

★ The Circus Space (International circus school and performance space)

★ Clowns' Gallery, Museum and Archive

★ Dalston Culture House (which includes the Vortex Jazz Club)

★ Flowers East (Commercial gallery)

★ The Geffrye Museum (Domestic rooms through the ages, presented in an 18th century Alms House)

★ The Hackney Empire

★ The Hackney Museum (Local history museum)

★ Hackney Archives (Local archives - booking essential)

★ The Hackney Society

★ Hoxton Hall (Community centre & performance space in Victorian Music Hall)

★ INIVA (The Institute for New International Visual Arts)

★ The Lux Cinema (Cinema closed, collection moved to Shacklewell Lane)

★ The Rio Cinema

★ Space Studios (studio space for artists, and exhibitions)

★ Sutton House (Heritage house and museum owned by the National Trust)

★ Transition Gallery (Commercial gallery)

★ Miro (Commercial gallery)

★ The White Cube (Commercial gallery)

Individuals associated with Hackney

Edmond Halley

Among those who were born in Hackney, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are ''(alphabetical order)'':

★ Grace Aguilar (writer)

★ MC Steinberg (rapper)

★ John André (Soldier, executed as a spy by George Washington - lived with his Huguenot parents in Clapton)

★ Anna Laetitia Barbauld (poet, lived in Stoke Newington and buried in St Mary's)

★ Jeremy Beadle (TV presenter)

★ Sir Francis Beaufort (hydrographer, is buried in St John's Church Gardens)

★ Steven Berkoff (playwright and actor, educated at Hackney Downs School)^[18]

★ Black Audio Film Collective- (film makers) had their workshop in Ridley Road from 1984-1995.

★ Tony Blair - (British Prime Minister, lived in London Fields in the early 1980s)

★ Marc Bolan (musician - born in Homerton, and raised at 25 Stoke Newington Common)

★ William Booth (Founder of the Salvation Army, buried in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington)

★ Richard "Abs" Breen (solo singer and in boy band Five, born in Hackney?)

★ Eric Bristow (darts player)

★ Michael Caine (actor, educated at Hackney Downs School)

★ Edith Cavell (Nurse executed in Belgium in 1915, worked at St Leonard's Hospital)

★ Benjamin Cohen (British internet entrepreneur and journalist)

★ Harry Cohen (Labour Member of Parliament born in Hackney)

★ Phil Collen (Guitar player for Def Leppard)

★ George Collison (first President of Hackney Academy, Well Street Hackney Central)

★ Daniel Defoe (writer - born in Stoke Newington)

DJ Dextrous

★ DJ Dextrous (Ivor Novello Award & BAFTA Award winning Producer/DJ- born in Stoke Newington)

★ Pete Doherty (Musician)

★ Siobhan Dowd (Author: lived for a short time in Marsworth House, Whiston Road, Haggerston 2000-2001)

★ Idris Elba (television, theatre and film actor, and a hip-hop soul recording artist)

★ Colin Firth (actor, lived in Sutton Place, Homerton)

★ William Godwin (political philosopher - studied in Hoxton)^[19]

★ Sir Edmund Gosse (poet, author and Critic - lived in De Beauvoir)

★ Philip Henry Gosse (naturalist - lived in De Beauvoir)

★ Edmond Halley (astronomer - born in Haggerston)

★ Ron "Chopper" Harris (Chelsea F.C.) all time most appearances, lived in Hackney & attended Upton House school

★ Carol Harrison (actress who is best known for her role as Louise Raymond in the popular British Soap Opera ''EastEnders'' - lives in Victoria Park, South Hackney

★ William Hazlitt (writer - studied in Homerton)

★ Shaka Hislop (goalkeeper for West Ham United and Trinidad and Tobago born in Hackney)

★ Alfred Hitchcock began his film career at the Gainsborough Studios in Poole Street^[9].

★ John Howard (prison reformer - born and lived in Lower Clapton)

★ John Hunter (second governor of New South Wales lived in Judd St, buried in St Johns churchyard)

1907 Hetty King sheet music, expressing a concern of modern residents

★ Hetty King (''male impersonator'' of the Music hall era, was born in Shoreditch. Her father, William Emms was a local comedian known as William King)

★ Ronald and Reginald Kray (gang leaders, born in Hoxton)

★ Leona Lewis (singer, songwriter, first female winner of UK talent contest The X Factor (TV series) - lived in Stamford Hill)

★ Kevin Lisbie (born in Hackney, football player for Charlton Athletic)

★ Marie Lloyd (entertainer - was born in Hoxton and lived her later life in Hackney Central)^[21]

★ George Loddiges (horticulturalist and scientist - lived in Hackney Central)

★ Martine McCutcheon (actress and singer)

★ Tom McRae (singer and songwriter) - lived in Dalston and Hackney Central

★ Syrie Maugham (interior decorator)

★ Bill Meyer (artist) (printmaker and artist)

★ Bruno Pironti (Engineer) (Technology Award - Hackney College @1990)

★ Moses Montefiore (Financier and philanthropist was raised in Stamford Hill)

★ Samuel Morley (MP) (philanthropist and abolitionist was born in Homerton and lived in Stamford Hill)

★ Anthony Newley (actor, singer - born in Homerton)

★ Colonel John Okey (regicide of Charles I, lived at ''Barber's Barn'', on Mare Street)

★ James Parkinson (physician who researched Parkinson's Disease, lived in Hoxton)

★ Jack Petchey (local businessman, football investor and philanthropist)

★ Harold Pinter (Nobel Prize-winning playwright, educated at Hackney Downs School)

★ Edgar Allan Poe (writer - educated in Stoke Newington)

★ Richard Price (philosopher, mathematician and first actuary, lived in Hackney Central)

★ Joseph Priestley (chemist and philosopher)

★ Charles Reed (Hackney's first MP)

★ Mike Reid (actor and comedian)

★ Nathan Meyer Rothschild (Financier lived in Stamford Hill from 1818-35)

★ Helen Shapiro was educated at Clapton Park Girls School

★ Iain Sinclair (writer - lives in Haggerston)

★ Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden guitarist)

★ Sir Alan Sugar (businessman)

★ Jessica Tandy (actress, born in Geldeston Road Clapton)^[22]

★ Buster Bloodvessel ( Douglas Trendle )Lead singer of Bad Manners lived in the Stamford Hill area of Hackney for a number of years and had a 50ft barge stationed in his back garden, which he used as an office.

★ Dick Turpin (notorious highwayman, plied his trade on Kingsland Road and in Stoke Newington. He was a reputed regular at the White House Inn on Hackney Marshes, and a ward is named for him in Homerton University Hospital)

★ Sid Vicious (musician)

★ Isaac Watts (theologian, logician, hymn writer - lived and died in Stoke Newington)

★ Rachel Whiteread (artist, lives and works in Dalston)^[23]

★ Barbara Windsor (actress, born in Shoreditch)

★ Ray Winstone (actor, born Hackney Hospital, Homerton)^[24]

★ Mary Wollstonecraft (reformer and writer, mother of Mary Shelley, born and lived early years in Hoxton)

References

External links

★ Hackney Labour Party Links to Labour Councillors, London Assembly Members and MEPs

★ Hackney Conservative Party Links to Conservative Councillors, London Assembly Members and MEPs

★ Hackney Liberal Democrats Links to Liberal Democrat Councillors, London Assembly Members and MEP

★ Hackney Green Party Links to Green Councillor, London Assembly Members and MEP

★ Hackney Independent Link to Hackney Independent Party

★ Hackney Rugby Football Club

★ The Hackney Society (Heritage Conservation)

★ Hackney Walks

★ Tudor Life in Hackney (National Archives)

★ The London Regt (Hackney) (History of the Hackney Battalion of the London Regiment)

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