London Borough of Hackney

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London Borough of Hackney
Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 349th 19.06 km²
ONS code	00AM
Admin HQ	Mare Street, Hackney
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 64th (of 354) 207,700 10,897 / km²
Ethnicity	59.4% White (44.1% British, 3.1% Irish, 12.2% non-British) 24.7% African-Caribbean 8.6% South Asian 4.2% Mixed Race 1.2% Chinese
Politics
Leadership	Mayor & Cabinet
Mayor	Jules Pipe
Executive	Labour
MPs	Diane Abbott Meg Hillier
London Assembly — Member	North East Jennette Arnold
Coat of Arms
Official website	http://www.hackney.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Hackney is a London Borough in the east end of London and part of inner London.

Unlike most other English local authorities, the Borough is governed by the directly-elected Mayor Jules Pipe, supported by his Cabinet and the ruling Labour Party Group of Councillors. The Council also has a Speaker currently Councillor Afolasade Bright, serving for one year as chair of the Council and fulfil the ceremonial duties of the first citizen of the Borough previously undertaken by the ceremonial Mayor of Hackney.

Contents 1 Borough of contrasts 2 History 3 Demographics of Hackney 4 Transport 4.1 North London Line 4.2 'one' West Anglia 5 Districts in Hackney 6 Cultural attractions and institutions in Hackney 7 Individuals associated with Hackney 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Borough of contrasts

The borough is known for being one of the poorest and most crime-affected London boroughs, although in actual fact Hackney Police and Council achieved the biggest drop in crime across the whole of London in the four years up to 2007 (28% reduction). Despite this perception it is a place of considerable contrasts. 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 centered 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 main commercial and retail centre of Hackney is known as Hackney Central to distinguish it from the rest of the borough. 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.

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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

There are 1,300 listed buildings in Hackney, including the iconic grade II* Hackney Empire 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.^[4]

[edit] History

The borough was formed in 1965 from the area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. Individual parts of the borough have a rich history. The Roman road, Ermine Street forms the western edge of the borough. In the Tudor period Hackney was 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.

London's first Tudor theatres were built in Shoreditch and the Gunpowder Plot was first discovered at nearby Hoxton. 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.

[edit] Demographics of Hackney

The 2001 census gives Hackney a population of 202,824.^[5]

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.

[edit] 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 and 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 at Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction. When complete, in June 2010, the line will be handed over to, the London Rail, arm of TfL, who will run services from Hackney to South London.

The Silverlink North London Line and the 'one' West Anglia pass through the borough with the following stations within its boundary:

.

[edit] North London Line

stations (west to east)

• Dalston Kingsland railway station
• Hackney Central railway station
• Homerton railway station
• Hackney Wick railway station

[edit] 'one' West Anglia

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

[edit] Districts in 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

[edit] 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)

[edit] Individuals associated with Hackney

Among those who were born in Hackney, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are:

• Grace Aguilar (writer)
• 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)
• Francis Beaufort (hydrographer, is buried in St John's Church Gardens)
• Steven Berkoff (playwright and actor, educated at Hackney Downs School)
• Tony Blair - (British Prime Minister, lived in London Fields in the early 1980s)
• Marc Bolan (musician - born in Homerton)
• 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 (Ivor Novello Award & BAFTA Award winning Producer/DJ- born in Stoke Newington)
• Pete Doherty (Musician)
• 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 Homerton)
• 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.
• 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)

• 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 X Factor - lived in Stamford Hill)
• Marie Lloyd (entertainer - was born in Hoxton and lived her later life in Hackney Central)
• George Loddiges (horticulturalist and scientist - lived in Hackney Central)
• Martine McCutcheon (actress and singer)
• Syrie Maugham (interior decorator)
• Bill Meyer (artist) (printmaker and artist)
• 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, 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)
• 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 Clapton)
• 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)
• Barbara Windsor (actress, born in Shoreditch)
• Ray Winstone (actor)
• Mary Wollstonecraft (reformer and writer, mother of Mary Shelley, born and lived early years in Hoxton)
• Siobhan Dowd (Author: lived for a short time in Marsworth House, Whiston Road, Haggerston 2000-2001)

[edit] References

1. ^ That list accessed: 29 October 2006
2. ^ Mayor's statement on desirability of Hackney accessed: 29 October 2006
3. ^ Land Registry House Price Index (2 Jan 2007) accessed 31 Jan 2007
4. ^ Hackney Society photographic survery accessed 23 Jan 2007
5. ^ Statistics for ethnicity[1], country of birth[2], and religion[3] are from the UK census.

[edit] External links

• Diane Abbott Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington
• Meg Hillier Labour MP for Hackney South & Shoreditch.
• Claud Moraes MEP
• 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)

Coordinates: 51°32′N 0°05′W