Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's

Lower Lea Valley The Lower Lea Valley is the southern end of the Lea Valley which surrounds the River Lea. It is part of the Thames Gateway redevelopment area and was the location of the 2012 Summer Olympics. A 2005 documentary ''What Have You Done Today, Mer ...

, lying on the western bank of the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. 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 Creek. It is one of ...

. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, and from its origin as an area of true

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

. The marshes were extensively drained from

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times onwards, and rubble was dumped here from buildings damaged by air raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, raising the level of the ground. The principal area of the marsh lies below Lea Bridge Road between the Old River Lea, and the Hackney Cut – an artificial channel of the Lee Navigation, dug about 1770, to avoid a loop in the natural watercourse. The southern extent is marked by the A12; although the industrial land around Hackney Wick Stadium was originally an extension of the marsh, it now forms a part of the

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. Hackney Marsh is one of the largest areas of common land in Greater London, with of protected commons.

History

The marsh

The River itself was always an important waterway, being navigable to

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

; the Marsh was formed by the periodic flooding of the river, and so formed useful pasture, but could not be occupied permanently. Before the 10th century, the estuary of the river came as far as

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 are sometimes a ...

, crossed at

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

. Marsh Road, the continuation 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, i ...

High Street, led to the marshes, and thence to Temple Mills. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

appear to have built a significant stone causeway across the marshes here; a periodical, the ''Ambulator'' of 1774, noted

there have been discovered within the last few years the remains of a great causeway of stone, which, by the Roman coins found there, would appear to have been one of the famous highways made by the Romans'The northern suburbs: Haggerston and Hackney', Old and New London: Volume 5 (1878), pp. 505-24
accessed: 15 December 2006

The river forms a natural boundary, so in 527 AD it formed the boundary between the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

kingdoms of

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. In the 9th century, it formed a part of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

boundary and reputedly,

King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...

stranded an invading

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

fleet here in 895 AD. This was achieved by draining the river where it met the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, but the increased drainage affected river navigability, until it was restored in the 17th century. By

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times, both sides had become

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and attempts were made to control the flow of water through the marshes. Mills were established including the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

mill at Temple Mills. Much of the marsh was 'owned' by the Templars and used for pasture. When the Templars were abolished, the land passed to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

, and thence to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, when monastic lands were seized. At this time, much of the land was associated with the Hackney village of Lower

and with the large manor house at

. Around 1770, the river was straightened by the construction of the Hackney Cut, now forming the western extent of the marsh. The natural watercourse passes to the east over the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir, just below Lea Bridge Road. A nature reserve occupies the former Middlesex Filter beds on the island between the two watercourses. By 1795, the former Templar mills were being used for preparing lead (submerged in urine, and heated by decaying cow dung, the lead was converted to lead oxide, and then finely ground to form a pigment for white, yellow and red

lead paint Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead. As pigment, lead(II) chromate (, "chrome yellow"), lead(II,IV) oxide, (, "red lead"), and lead(II) carbonate (, "white lead") are the most common forms.. Lead is added to paint to acce ...

). A new watermill was established on the Crown land of the marshes by

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist caval ...

for an improved method of boring guns, however the secret died with him in 1682 and the enterprise collapsed. At the end of the 19th century Hackney suffered from increased demand for building land, both for housing and to extend the factories in

. The marshes had always suffered periodic flooding from the Lea but with the introduction of mains sewerage a flood relief sewer was constructed beneath the marshes. Most common and Lammas lands were then preserved by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

and passed to the control of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Coun ...

, but the marsh remained excluded from the MBW scheme because many of the lammas rights were still exercised, predominantly grazing. This was a period of increasing arguments between landowners and groups, such as the Eton Manor Mission, who were trying to use the marsh for recreation. The of marshes were finally preserved by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

in 1890, by purchasing the rights and landowners' interests for £75,000. They opened to the public in 1893 by the Chairman of the LCC, Sir John Hutton and were formally dedicated in 1894. The LCC undertook further flood prevention, straightening some of the bends in the River by introducing four 'cuts', the old channels being retained to form islands. There were few houses on the marshes, but a notable exception was the White House Inn, by a bridge on the old road to

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 River L ...

. Originally built as part of a Lea fishery scheme, the pub is now long gone but a bridge remains, rebuilt to supply

anti-aircraft batteries Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

during

In the Marshes towards Hackney Wick were low public houses, the haunt of highwaymen and their Dulcineas. Dick Turpin was a constant guest at the "White House," or "Tyler's Ferry," near Joe Sowter's cock-pit at Temple Mills; and few police-officers were bold enough to approach the spot.

London, Hackney Marshes - 1973 - geograph

Small areas of the marsh have been taken for housing and sports fields and others added. were taken in 1915 to build the 'National Projectile Factory'; after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, in 1922 this site was used to create the Mabley Green recreation ground. A further were taken in 1937 for the building of the Kingsmead Estate. Hackney Power Station was situated to the north west of the marshes, across the Lee Navigation, and operated between 1901 and 1976. Between the 1970s and 1990s, a camping site was situated at the north end of the Marshes, adjacent to Cow Bridge, at one point branded as Tent City. The Lesney die cast model factory was built on the

side of the Lee Navigation in the 1940s, having success for many years with their ''

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...

'' brand. The factory was a major local employer and closed in 1990.

Sport

In 1881, men from

Homerton College Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the co ...

, then still in the London area, founded the Glyn Cricket Club. Members of the cricket club then decided to form a football section to keep fit during the winter months, this football section was to become the famous Clapton Orient Football Club which for thirty years played its home games at Millfields Road Stadium (1900–1930). In 1946 the Club was renamed

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

and their home ground is now the Matchroom Stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, E10 5NF. Today the marshes provide many pleasant walks, in reach of the inner city, but the most famous use of Hackney Marshes is for

Sunday league football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain and Ireland to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number o ...

, with 88 full-size

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

pitches marked out. On a typical Sunday, over 100 matches are played by amateur teams in several local leagues. This led in 2006 to a dispute between the

and Nike, Inc. over the company's use of the borough logo on their sportswear. The dispute was settled with payment of £300,000 going to support local youth sports groups. The annual Hackney Half marathon, taking place in May, starts and finishes at the marshes.

London Olympics 2012

Part of the

London 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 developm ...

for the Summer Olympics of 2012 was built on Hackney Marshes. This caused some controversy with local residents' groups, who expressed concerns that East Marsh was to be tarmacked and used as a disabled

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

park for the games. This was a temporary measure. Arena Fields, however, was lost to the Olympic Park and its site will become part of the legacy

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 developm ...

permanently. This area is to be replaced by parkland of comparable size and value on the Hackney side at the end of the 2012 Summer Olympics. It will not be possible to reinstate the loss of mature and varied trees or to compensate for the disruption caused to wildlife by construction. The natural course of the River Lea forms the borough boundary with

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

and

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

(except for East Marsh, which lies between the river and Temple Mills). The Olympic plans included upgrading this watercourse and improving public access. The

lies south of the A12, on industrial land around the former Hackney Stadium.

Music, literature and film

Gus Elen If It Wasnt for the Ouses In Between

Alexander Baron Alexander Baron ( – ) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for his highly acclaimed novel about D-Day, ''From the City, from The Plough'' (1948), and his London novel ''The Lowlife'' (1963). Early life Baron's father was B ...

wrote a celebrated novel ''The Lowlife'', published in 1963. The book takes place primarily in the Hackney area and loosely depicts Baron's childhood. *The celebrated

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

performer Gus Elen sang a song entitled ''If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses In Between'' which included the following chorus:

''Oh it really is a wery pretty garden
And
Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...
to the eastward could be seen;
'Wiv a ladder and some glasses,
You could see to 'Ackney Marshes,
If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between.''

*An experimental 15-minute film ''Hackney Marshes November 4th 1977'' by John Smith was shot on the marshes. It was adapted for television the following year.''John Smith filmography''
accessed 18 July 2008 *In 1997, Nike presented a selection of Premiership players turning out for the Sunday League teams to the soundtrack of Blur's " Parklife". *The 2005 film ''

Bullet Boy ''Bullet Boy'' is a 2004 British crime drama film directed by Saul Dibb, written by Saul Dibb and Catherine Johnson, and stars Ashley Walters. The film's original music was composed and performed by Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, who rel ...

'' (Saul Dibb) used the marshes and local streets as a location. *Radio 1's Hackney Weekend was held here on the marshes on 23 and 24 June 2012. with acts such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, will.i.am, Florence + The Machine, Leona Lewis and Plan B all performing across the two days.

Education

Transport and locale

Railway stations

The area is not well served by public rail transport, although has many bus services. Access to the Olympic Park is served by Stratford.

Lea Bridge station Lea Bridge is a railway station on the line between Stratford and Tottenham Hale on the Lea Valley Lines, which reopened on the evening of 15 May 2016 with the full service beginning on 16 May 2016, operated by Greater Anglia. The station ...

is the closest rail station to the Marshes. It is one stop away from Stratford. The nearest

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

station are

and

, which are about a twenty-minute walk away. At about thirty minutes walking time, the nearest

London Underground stations The London Underground is a metro system in the United Kingdom that serves Greater London and the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. Its first section opened in 1863, making it the oldest underground metro system in the ...

are

and Stratford.

Stratford International Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it to ...

is also a

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operate ...

and

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

station. (International trains are not currently stopping here).

Walking and cycling

Nearby,

is on the

Capital Ring The Capital Ring is a strategic walking route promoted by London's 33 local councils, led by the City of London Corporation in partnership with the Greater London Authority and its functional body for regional transport, Transport for London, ...

walking route, much of which is accessible to cyclists. The

and local canals have a tow path which is accessible for both walking and cycling. The

provides a continuous route to

and

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

via the Lea Valley Path for the particularly determined.

Leyton Marsh Leyton Marsh is an open space in the Lower Lea Valley, located in Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Geography The marsh is bordered by the Walthamstow Marshes to the north, and by Coppermill Fields, the Lee Navigation and the ...

and the

Walthamstow Marshes Walthamstow Marshes, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was once an area of lammas land – common land used for growing crops and grazing cattle. In aviation histor ...

SSSI are located to the north of Hackney Marshes, and are part of the Lee Valley Regional Park.

Notes and references

{{LB Hackney Areas of London Common land in London Homerton Hackney, London Lee Valley Park Marshland in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hackney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park