Hackney, London
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Hackney is a district in
East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern
London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...
, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
and includes part of the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...
. Historically it was within the county of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
. In the past it was also referred to as ''Hackney Proper'' to distinguish it from the
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
which subsequently developed in the vicinity of
Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English ' ...
, the term ''Hackney Proper'' being applied to the wider district. Hackney is a large district, whose long established boundaries encompass the sub-districts of
Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...
,
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
(including Kingsland and Shacklewell), De Beauvoir Town, Upper and Lower Clapton,
Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...
,
Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...
,
Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in East London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, namely Fish I ...
, South Hackney and West Hackney.


Governance

Hackney was an administrative unit with consistent boundaries from the early Middle Ages to the creation of the larger modern borough in 1965. It was based for many centuries on the
Ancient Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Hackney, the largest in
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
. Hackney was a sub-Manor of the Manor of Stepney, and the ancient parish of Hackney was an early daughter parish of Stepney, though the date the Hackney parish was established is not known. Hackney's church is first recorded around 1275 and Hackney may have been an independent parish by that time. The parish would have been based on the boundaries of the sub-manor of Hackney at the time it was created. Any boundary changes to the manor after around 1180 would not be reflected in changes to the parish boundaries as, across England, they became fixed at around that time, so that boundaries could no longer be changed at all, despite changes to manorial landholdings – though there were examples of sub-division in some parishes. The manorial system in England had largely broken down in England by 1400, with manors fragmenting and their role being much reduced. The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets), a historic ‘county within a county’, under the leadership of the Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets (the post was always filled by the Constable of the Tower of London). The military loyalty to the Tower meant local men served in the Tower garrison and Tower Hamlets Militia, rather than the Middlesex Militia. This arrangement lasted until 1900. The ancient parishes provided a framework for both civil (administrative) and ecclesiastical (church) functions, but during the nineteenth century, there was a divergence into distinct civil and ecclesiastical parish systems. In London, the ecclesiastical parishes sub-divided to better serve the needs of a growing population, while the civil parishes continued to be based on the same ancient parish areas. The
Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120), also known as the Metropolis (Management) Act 1855 or the Metropolis Local Management Act 1855, is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom tha ...
merged the civil parishes of Hackney and
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
under a new Hackney District. This proved unpopular, especially in more affluent Stoke Newington, and after four unsuccessful attempts, the two parishes regained their independence when they were separated by mutual consent under the Metropolis Management (Plumstead and Hackney) Act of 1893. The
London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 ( 62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 42 loc ...
converted the parishes into
Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...
s based on the same boundaries, sometimes with minor rationalisations. Neighbouring Stoke Newington was smaller than the desired size for the new boroughs, and there were proposals to re-merge Stoke Newington and Hackney, or to detach the northern part of Hackney and join it with Stoke Newington. These proposals were rejected due to the experience of ''"intolerable and interminable feuds"'' between the districts when they were previously ''"forced together"'', and because the
First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...
,
Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...
recognised that there was ''"great ill-feeling and mutual ill-will... between the inhabitants of the two districts"''. In 1965, Hackney merged with
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
and
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
to form the new
London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...
. Prior to 1994, a small part of Victoria Park was in Hackney, but a minor boundary alteration was made so that the whole park came under the control of Tower Hamlets.


Place name origin

The first surviving records of the place name are ''Hakney'' (1231) and ''Hakeneye'' (1242 and 1294). The name is
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
, but the meaning is not certain. It seems clear however that the 'ey' element refers to an island or a raised or otherwise dry area in marshland. The term 'island' in this context can also mean land situated between two streams. The 'island' may have been beside the Lea or perhaps near the confluence of the Hackney Brook and Pigwell Brook in the
Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...
area. The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names examined various interpretations of the place name and favoured the interpretation that Hackney means 'Haka's island', with Haka being a notable local person The Dictionary suggests that the 'Hack' element may also derive from: * The Old English 'Haecc' meaning a hatch – an entrance to a woodland or common. * Or alternatively from 'Haca' meaning a hook, and in this context, a bend of the river. * The Biblical scholar James Rendel Harris theorised that 'Hack' means '
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...
'.


History


Pre-Roman

Hackney is a mostly low-lying area in proximity to two rivers, the Lea and the Hackney Brook. This would have made the area attractive for pastoral and arable agriculture, meaning most of the area is likely to have been deforested at an early date. There is archaeological evidence for settlement and agriculture as far back as the Stone Age. During the late Iron Age, the area was part of the territory of the powerful
Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...
tribe.


Roman

There will have been a network of probably minor, local roads in Hackney before the Romans conquered southern Britain after 43AD, but the area's proximity to the provincial capital,
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...
, meant that it was soon crossed by two large long-distance routes. The first was Ermine Street (modern A10) which emerged from
Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...
and headed north to Lincoln and York. The second was a route which branched off Ermine Street just outside Bishopsgate and headed SW-NE across Hackney, across the
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
,
Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...
and Lower Clapton areas to cross to the Lea on its way to
Great Dunmow Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It lies to the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, Essex, Braintree, east of London Stanste ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. This crossing appears to have crossed the Lea 168 metres south of the Bridge at Mandeville Street near Millfields Road (sometimes known as Pond Lane Bridge). Three Roman sarcophagus burials have been found, two of stone and one of marble. These, particularly the marble example indicate a high-status settlement of some sort. The stone examples had a coin hoard found nearby.


Anglo-Saxon

The area around Millfields Park, Lower Clapton, is sometimes described as the site of a battle in which Aescwine, having rebelled against Octa, King of Kent, defeats him in battle and became the (reputed) first King of Essex. The ford over the Lea neighbouring
Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
is referred to in the (much later) accounts of the battle. Historical records describing this period are extremely sparse, so the historicity of the battle and even Aescwine himself is disputed. The place name ''Hackney'' is Old English, so was probably first applied in this era. Hackney was part of the territory of the
Middle Saxons The Middle Saxons or Middel Seaxe were a people whose territory later became, with somewhat contracted boundaries, the county of Middlesex, England. The first known mention of Middlesex stems from a royal charter of 704 between king Swæfred of ...
, a people who seem to have formed a province of the East Saxons, albeit not part of their core territory. The area was a part of the huge manor of
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
, an area owned by the
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
, and its great size and proximity to the
City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
means it may have been part of the grant of land made when the Diocese of London (The East Saxon Diocese), was re-established in 604 AD. Later, the Middle and East Saxon area would become subject to various other Kingdoms, last among them
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
, which sought to unite
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and roll back the partial
Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
conquest of the country. A coin of Egbert of Wessex was found on
Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...
. The Kings of Wessex divided their kingdom into shires, with Hackney becoming part of the shire of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, an area named after the
Middle Saxons The Middle Saxons or Middel Seaxe were a people whose territory later became, with somewhat contracted boundaries, the county of Middlesex, England. The first known mention of Middlesex stems from a royal charter of 704 between king Swæfred of ...
.


The Norman Conquest

After their victory at Hastings, the Normans needed to secure London. To this end, they burned
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, crossed the river upstream and harried much of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and Hertfordshire. The Manor of Stepney was less badly hit than much of the rest of Middlesex, though the area along Ermine Street (the A10), in Hackney, is believed to have been badly affected. The
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 covered England at manorial level, so Hackney is only assessed as part of Manor of Stepney, of which it was a sub-manor. The landscape at this time was largely agricultural, Domesday returns for Middlesex indicate that it was around 30% wooded (much of it wood-pasture), about double the English average. Hackney would have had a lower proportion than the county as a whole, consisting of mostly lower land, close to rivers that made it more attractive for farming. The proportion of woodland in England decreased sharply between the
Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
and the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
due to the pressure of a rapidly increasing population, and the same pressures would have been experienced here.


Post-medieval

From the Tudor period onwards, the various settlements in Hackney grew as wealthy Londoners moved to what they saw as a pleasant rural alternative to living in London which was, nonetheless, close to the capital; in some ways it was comparable to a modern commuter town. A number of royal courtiers lived in
Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...
, while
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
had a palace at Brooke House,
Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of east London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and orig ...
, where Queen Mary took the
Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in the Kingdom of England, or in its subordinate Kingdom of Ireland, to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was to be trea ...
. Sutton House, the oldest surviving residential building in the district, was built in 1535.


Urbanisation

The main ‘Hackney Village’ grew much larger than the others, in 1605 having as many houses as
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
, Newington (i.e. West Hackney), Kingsland and Shacklewell combined. In 1727
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
said of the hamlets of Hackney In the 1770s Hackney became home to one of the largest and most celebrated plant nurseries in England, Loddiges Paradise Field Nursery, founded by German born Joachim Conrad Loddiges (1738–1826) and continued by his son George Loddiges (1786–1846), and known as The Hackney Botanic Nursery Garden. With its range of heated glasshouses the nursery was famed for displaying newly discovered plants from around the globe including the Americas, the Caribbean, Australia and the far East. The growth of the East End of London was stimulated by the building of Regent's Canal between 1812 and 1816, with construction work on a new town at De Beauvoir beginning in 1823 and continuing through the 1830s. The arrival of the railways, around 1850, accelerated the spread of London and the expansion of the existing nuclei so that Hackney was almost entirely built up by 1870.


Edwardian

In 1907, the Fifth Congress of the
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...
held at the Brotherhood Church on the east side of Southgate Road. The conference was held in the UK after being banned in other countries. Attendees included
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
,
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
,
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (;  â€“ 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...
,
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...
and
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
. The congress debated strategy for a communist revolution in Russia and strengthened the position of Lenin's
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
.


Hackney Gurkhas

From 1860 to 1912, Hackney was part of the recruiting district of the 7th Battalion, Essex Regiment. Hackney provided three of the battalion's eight
companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
,
Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
and
Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...
two each, and
West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...
(with a depot at
Silvertown Silvertown is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hund ...
) one. The establishment of a recruitment district spanning the Lower Lea was anomalous in that Hackney (unlike Leyton, Walthamstow and West Ham) was part of the Tower Hamlets (or Tower Division) of Middlesex, rather than
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. However the local connections meant the arrangement worked well. From 1912 onward, Hackney raised its own infantry battalion with the Hackney companies of the 7th Essex transferred over to form the core of the new battalion, which retained some Essex Regiment traditions until at least the 1920s. The 7th Essex struggled to replace their Hackney comrades and were still understrength at the start of WW1. The new battalion focussed recruitment in Hackney, but also attracted men from neighbouring areas such as
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
and
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
. The battalions would be nicknamed the ''Hackney Gurkhas'' or ''Cockney Gurkhas''. It’s not clear which shared traits gave rise to the nickname - though smart appearance, tenacity and cheerful resourcefulness have all been suggested - but some sources emphasise their short stature, resulting from a malnourished upbringing in some of the country’s poorest districts. Whatever the origin, the Eastenders were flattered by being likened to their tough far eastern counterparts and proudly adopted the term, ensuring it survived through both world wars and beyond. The battalion had its own cap badge, depicting Hackney's emblem, St Augustine's Tower, together with the borough's latin motto ''Justitia Turris Nostra''. A direct translation into English is ''Justice is our tower'', but this may be paraphrased as ''Fairness is our strength''. The battalion was 'duplicated' in WWI, so that Hackney raised two front-line infantry battalions for the London Regiment: the ''1/10th (City of London) Battalion (Hackney)'' and the ''2/10th (City of London) Battalion (Hackney)''. The 1/10th was assigned to the 162nd (East Midland) Brigade in the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division, seeing service at
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
and the Middle East, finishing the war in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
. The 2/10th was assigned to the 175th (2/3rd London) Brigade, in the 58th (2/1st London) Division, fighting on the western front and finishing the war in the Peruwelz area of Belgium. A third Hackney battalion, the 3/10th was based in the UK and used as a training unit, providing reinforcements to the two frontline battalions. By WW2, Hackney's battalion was organised as the 5th Battalion of the
Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...
, a very unusual arrangement as Hackney had no connection with Berkshire, and most of the men had never been there. On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, and with war expected, the Battalion was mustered to West Ham United's
Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...
. A call for volunteers would lead to some of the Hackney men, together with men from other units, forming No. 3 Independent Company, a pre-cursor to the Commandos. After service in Norway, the Company was disbanded and the men returned to their units.Account of Roy Welland - 5th (later 1st) Royal Berkshires http://www.2ndroyalberkshire.co.uk/storie_welland.htm In the early years of the war the Hackneys were deployed to defend the east coast against a potential German invasion. The Hackney Battalion came ashore under fire, in support of the Canadian 3rd Division, at and around Bernières-sur-Mer,
Juno Beach Juno and or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allies (World War II), Allied invasion of German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the World War II, Second Wo ...
, early on the morning of
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, the 6th June 1944. It fought as infantry on D-Day, with a particular focus on mopping up by-passed strongpoints (such as pill-boxes) and other resistance so troops landing later could land unhindered. Some elements pushed forward five miles with the Canadians that night.Dad's War, Chris Tarrant, Penguin Random House, Chapter 4. After D-Day the focus switched to its Beach Group duties which was mainly
stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...
work, but also included marking minefields, processing prisoners, the wounded and the dead. The battalion continued to take casualties through artillery, airstrikes, mines and accidents. The allies broke out from Normandy in July 1944, at which point the Hackney Battalion was broken up with most troops being re-assigned to battalions which had suffered the highest losses in the campaign. Officers were astonished at the offended parochial pride this caused among the Hackney men. As a concession to their local loyalties, whole intact Hackney
platoons A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
were transferred to the depleted battalions receiving them. These platoons fought their way across France, Belgium the Netherlands and into Germany. Some other platoons joined General Slim's 14th Army (known as the Forgotten Army) to campaign against the Japanese in India and Burma. An undersize rump of the battalion was retained as a 'Bank Group', a similar role to a Beach Group, and deployed in the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...
as a mobile reserve. At 2am on 24 March 1945, two companies of the Hackney Battalion troops, acting in support of 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division as part of
Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe b ...
, were among the first British troops to cross the River Rhine, in the
Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...
area. The battalion was still in the area when
VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of German Instrument of Surrender, Germany's unconditional surrender of Wehrmacht, its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official su ...
came soon after. It was disbanded in June 1945. The Hackney's were revived as 648th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1947, before finally being disbanded in 1955.


World War One - Home Front

The first bomb of the first air raid on London, fell on 16 Alkham Road, West Hackney, in May 1915 by the German Army airship LZ 38. No one was seriously hurt at that address but 2 people, Henry Good, a 49 year old labourer, and his wife Caroline were found burnt to death in Balls Pond Road, Hackney. It was widely reported that the couple were found kneeling, as though in prayer and the Henry Good's arm lay round his wife's waist. Five people were killed elsewhere in London, including four children, causing great anger among the public.
East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
was at particular risk at this time, due to the Kaiser's order, later rescinded, that the raiders limit their attacks to targets east of the Tower of London.


World War Two - Home Front

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Hackney was badly affected by wartime bombing that left the area with 749 civilian war dead, with many more of its citizens injured or left homeless. Many other Hackney residents were also killed on active service around the world. The number of devices hitting Hackney was upwards of 613 high explosive bombs, 16 parachute mines, 37 V-1 'doodlebugs', 10
V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...
s and many thousands of 1 kg incendiary devices. Notable buildings destroyed by bombing included Tudor-era Brooke House in Upper Clapton and West Hackney church.


Post-war and Olympic Games

The post-war period saw extensive re-building, and the area became increasingly multi-cultural in character. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1960s the area's large Jewish and other minority populations made it a target for provocative rallies by Oswald Mosley and the far-right organisations he founded. These were actively opposed by many local people, together with organisations such as the 43 Group and this led to a number of violent confrontations, notably in the Ridley Road area of
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
. Hackney was one of the host areas when London staged the 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...
, with three venues falling within its part of the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...
: *
Copper Box Arena The Copper Box Arena is a multi-sport venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England. Previously known as the Handball Arena, it was renamed because, aside from Handball at the 2012 Summ ...
hosted events including Handball, Modern Pentathlon and Goalball. This 7,000 seat multi-sport venue is still used for community and elite sport. * The Riverbank Arena was a temporary venue that hosted
Field Hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
during the Olympics, and Football 7-a-side and Football 5-a-side during the Paralympics. * London Olympics Media Centre. The facility is still in use and now known as ''Here East''.


Affordable housing

Hackney's solution to
affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...
has been able to put more of it on the market by making use of inclusionary practices. This district built a significant number of affordable units and subsidised them with market-rate units. In Hackney about half of the new units are affordable. In an effort to avoid displacing current residents, construction was completed in phases.


Geography

The outline of Hackney's traditional boundary resembles a right-angled triangle with the right-angle in the SW and the Lower Lea Valley, running NW–SE forming the hypotenuse. The western boundary is based on the N–S axis of the Roman A10, though the sub-district of De Beauvoir Town lies beyond it, as do small areas of Dalston and Stamford Hill. The district's southern boundary follows the Regents Canal– Hertford Union Canal in part, and for the remainder marches a little to the north of it, with Victoria Park also forming part of the southern boundary. The highest points around Stamford Hill and Clapton Common are over 30m AOD, with the lowest areas being along the
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...
. The Hackney Brook was the largest natural internal watercourse, entering Hackney in the NW, at the foot of the southern foot of Stamford Hill and exiting in the south-east, however, this watercourse was fully culverted in the 19th century. The boundaries of Hackney take in the sub-districts of
Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...
,
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
(including Kingsland and Shacklewell), De Beauvoir Town, Upper and Lower Clapton,
Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...
,
Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...
,
Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in East London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, namely Fish I ...
, South Hackney and West Hackney. The Lea and Hackney Marshes are underlain by alluvium soils, and the higher ground between Homerton and Stamford Hill is formed on a widening bed of
London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...
.
Brickearth Brickearth is a term originally used to describe Superficial deposits, superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits. Brickearths are periglacial ...
deposits are within tongues of clay extending beneath Clapton Common, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington High Street. The centre and southwestern districts lie on river terrace deposits of Taplow Gravel. The area around Victoria Park and Well Street Common lies on flood plain gravel. It lies approximately above sea level.


Open spaces

Open spaces in Hackney include: * Clapton Common * Hackney Downs * Hackney Marshes * Mabley Green * London Fields *
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...
(part) * Springfield Park and Spring Hill Recreation Ground * Stoke Newington Common, originally known as Cockhangar Green, and part of Hackney rather than Stoke Newington proper * Victoria Park (outside of Hackney, but forming part of the southern boundary) * Well Street Common * West Hackney Recreation Ground * Millfields Park


Transport


Rail

Hackney is served by six stations, including by the
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
at Hackney Central railway station, and it is named after the central area of Hackney, as well as Hackney Downs. Central was open by the North London Railway opened as ''Hackney'' on 26 September 1850, to the east of Mare Street. It closed on 1 December 1870 and was replaced the same day by a station to the west of Mare Street, designed by Edwin Henry Horne and also named ''Hackney''. This station passed in due course to the
London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
and later on to the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...
, which closed the entire North London Line east of Dalston Junction to passenger traffic in 1944. Downs was opened on 27 May 1872 when the
Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
opened the first part of its new line from
Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 333,587 in 2021. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Hig ...
to
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
. A pedestrian link between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations was opened in 2015 by London Overground Rail Operations. Until Hackney Central's closure in 1944, a passenger connection had linked the two stations. However, when Hackney Central re-opened in 1985, the footway was not reinstated and passengers transferring between the two stations were obliged to leave one and walk along the street to the other until the link was rebuilt.
Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in East London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, namely Fish I ...
opened on 12 May 1980 by
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
on the re-routed line which bypassed the site of the former Victoria Park station as part of the Crosstown Linkline. In 1872, London Fields railway station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway. It closed in 1981 due to a fire, repairs were eventually carried out and the station reopened in 1986. In February 2006, a
Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...
(DLR) report called Horizon 2020 was commissioned, which suggested that the DLR be extended to Hackney Central from Bow Church via Old Ford and
Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...
, taking over the old parts of the North London Line to link up with Poplar and
Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...
.


Buses

Hackney is served by a large number of
London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...
routes, 26, 30, 38, 55, 56, 106, 149, 236, 242, 253, 254, 276, 277, 388, 394, 339, 425 and 488 as well as the D6, and W15. Hackney is also served by the London night bus network with routes N26, N38, N55 and N253 all running in the area. Route N277 also serves here when the 277 route was withdrawn between Dalston and Highbury Corner and the N277 was retained.


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

*
Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...
,
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
, South Africa *
Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...
, Barbados *
Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
,
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
, Germany *
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
, Israel * Presnensky District,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia *
Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...
,
ÃŽle-de-France The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
, France


Notable people


External links


Bombing raid in West Hackey
May 1915, via eastlondonlines.co.uk


References

{{LB Hackney Districts of the London Borough of Hackney Places formerly in Middlesex