South Hackney is an area of Hackney in

London 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 majo ...

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 b ...

within the Borough of Hackney. It is about northeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Walk utilises the buildings of the former

French Hospital (La Providence) The French Hospital was founded in 1718 in Finsbury on behalf of poor French Protestants and their descendants residing in Great Britain. In the 1860s it moved into the spectacular purpose-built hospital designed by Robert Lewis Roumieu in Victor ...

, a home for elderly Huguenots. The French Hospital was built in the 1860s in the style of a French-Flemish chateau, designed by

Robert Lewis Roumieu Robert Lewis Roumieu (1814 – 1877) otherwise R.L. Roumieu, was a 19th-century English architect whose designs include Milner Square in Islington and an idiosyncratic vinegar warehouse at 33–35 Eastcheap in the City of London. A pupil of Be ...

. The area just south of Well Street features social housing such as the Kingshold and Shore Estates. The former New Kingshold Estate (built 1966, demolished 1996) was subject of a 1990

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

documentary ''Summer On The Estate'' highlighting some of the problems on the estate with crime and disrepair, and residents fight to improve it. A follow-up series aired in 1995 as the two

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...

s on the estate, ''Thornhill Point'' and ''Halston Point'' were demolished in July 1995.

History

Tudor times The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began with t ...

, South Hackney consisted of two small settlements. One around the modern Grove and Lauriston Roads; the other where Grove Street and Well Street meet. There were two moated houses, the one on the north side of Well Street belonging to the Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, 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 Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, in 1416. The house survived into the 18th century, but by then it was in decline and the tenants included

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

s. This was commemorated by the name of the Two Black Boys public house. which stood on the site now occupied by Bernie Grant House in Well Street. In Church Crescent, near the church are six almshouses, created by a bequest from William Monger in 1669, and funded by land on

Hackney Marshes Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, and ...

. This land subsequently came into the control of

Sir John Cass Sir John Cass (February 1661 – 5 July 1718) was an English merchant, Tory Member of Parliament and philanthropist. He was also a key figure in the Royal African Company, which was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Biography Early l ...

. The almshouses were rebuilt in 1849, with funds from

Sir John Cass's Foundation Sir John Cass (February 1661 – 5 July 1718) was an English merchant, Tory Member of Parliament and philanthropist. He was also a key figure in the Royal African Company, which was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Biography Early li ...

. A second almshouse was founded in 1857 in memory of South Hackney's first rector,

Henry Handley Norris Henry Handley Norris (1771–1850) was an English clergyman and theologian. He was the clerical leader of the High Church grouping later known as the Hackney Phalanx, that grew up around him and his friend Joshua Watson. Life The son of Henry Hand ...

(1771–1850). Norris was a leading member of the

Hackney Phalanx Hackney Phalanx was a group of high-church Tory defenders of Anglican orthodoxy prominent for around 25 years from . They consisted of both clergy and laymen, and filled many of the higher posts of the Church of England of the time. The Phalanx, ...

, a group of early nineteenth-century Anglican High Churchmen. His portrait hangs in the parish church. South Hackney originally had a chapel of ease in Well Street, but became an independent parish in 1825, with the parish church of St John of Jerusalem erected in 1848 near Well Street Common.

Geography

Demographics

Demographic data is produced by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

for the Victoria ward. In the 2011 census, the population for the Victoria ward was 13,231, with 6344 males and 6887 females. The most common ethnic group was White British in the Victoria ward, measured as 55.8%, followed by Black or Black British (24.1%) and Asian or British Asian (9.5%). The remaining percentage was made up of mixed-race and other unspecified ethnic groups.

Education

Transport

Whilst there are no

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, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

stations within the district, it is surrounded by stations in neighbouring districts - London Fields station lies to the West, Homerton station to the North, and Hackney Wick station to the East of

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station is

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

to the South. South Hackney has good bus connections, having six daytime routes and two nighttime routes. Daytime routes in South Hackney includes routes 26, 30,

277 __NOTOC__ Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...

, 388, 425, 488 and nighttime routes include routes N26 and N277.

References

{{LB Hackney Districts of the London Borough of Hackney Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Areas of London