Homerton
Encyclopedia
Homerton is a place 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.
, within the vale formed by the brook. This led from the hamlet of Clopton
, passing near the church of St Augustine
at Hackney, then across the marshes and the crossing points of both the River Lea, and its tributary, Hackney Brook. By 1605 Homerton was the most populous part of the Parish of Hackney
, becoming a separate parish in 1846.
markets. The majority of land was given over to pasture for sheep and cattle, and milk and cheese was also supplied to the City. Small kitchen gardens ran at the back of the houses along the road, with large fields behind. Domestic brewing was common (there are records of brewing performed at Sutton House and the Tan House). Many unsavoury activities (banned in the City) were also undertaken, such as tanning
and fulling
- the cleaning of felt cloth using urine.
Homerton became a desirable suburb of London in the Tudor period
, with many estates and grand houses being formed from the former Templar lands (Knights Templar
of St. John of Jerusalem). The village was divided between Upper and Lower Homerton, with the later extending towards the marshes and the house at Hackney Wick
. Upper Homerton was divided from the village of Hackney by the width of the rectory manor's Church Field, and a path led to the churchyard. In 1538, this estate, including other fields lying along the brook, passed to the Tudor diplomat Sir Ralph Sadler. Around 1560 part of this estate came into the ownership of Thomas Sutton
, a resident of the Tan House (adjacent to Sutton House). This land formed part of his endowment of the Hospital of King James in Charterhouse
, who continued to own the property until the 20th century, building Sutton Place between 1790 and 1806.
. Prone to flooding, the marshes were primarily used for grazing. A Roman stone causeway was discovered in the 1770s.
By 1795 the former Templar mills were being used for preparing lead. Sheets of lead were placed in clay pots and submerged in urine, then heated by decaying cow dung. The process converted the lead to lead oxide, and it was then finely ground to form a pigment for white, yellow and red lead paint
. A new watermill was established on the marshes by Prince Rupert for an improved method of boring guns, however the secret died with him in 1682 and the enterprise collapsed.
In the 18th century the availability of land, large houses and tolerance to dissenters made Homerton a popular place to found institutions. The educational ones were commonly known as Dissenting Academies
. The Kings Head Society moved to a large house here in 1768, forming Homerton College
for the education of Calvinist ministers with between 12-20 students. Religious education moved to the new University College London
in 1826, but Homerton College remained here as a teacher training college until 1896, when it moved to Cambridge
, eventually becoming a full college of the University of Cambridge
offering nearly all subjects from 2002. Students from Homerton college were principal in forming, in 1881, both the Glynn Cricket Club and Clapton Orient - which became Leyton Orient F.C.
on its move to Leyton. The buildings of the College were rebuilt and expanded several times, but eventually lost to bomb damage in World War II
.
South of the Brook, by Money Lane, the Unitarian
Gravel Pit Meeting House was built between 1715-16. This was the result of an acrimonious split in the congregation of the Lower Clapton meeting. Notable nonconformist ministers preached at the Old Gravel Pit. The moral and political philosopher Richard Price
, known for his support of the American Revolution
, became morning preacher in 1770, while continuing his afternoon sermons at Newington Green Unitarian Church
, on the green where he lived. Those who attended his sermons in Homerton included American politicians such as John Adams
, who later became the second president of the United States
, and his wife Abigail
. On the 101st anniversary of the Glorious Revolution
, he preached a sermon at Old Jewry
meeting house entitled "A Discourse on the Love of our Country", thus igniting a so-called "pamphlet war" known as the Revolution Controversy
, furiously debating the issues raised by the French Revolution
. Burke
's rebuttal "Reflections on the Revolution in France
" attacked Price, whose friends Thomas Paine
and Mary Wollstonecraft
leapt into the fray to defend their mentor. The reputation of Price for speaking without fear of the government on these political and philosophical matters drew huge crowds to his sermons, which were published and sold as pamphlets
(i.e. publications easily printed and circulated). Another eminent minister was the formidable polymath
, Joseph Priestley
, discoverer of oxygen. When his support of dissent
led to the riots named after him
, he fled Birmingham
and headed for London; he was appointed minister here in 1793. Today a Blue Plaque
marks the site of the Gravel Pit Metting House in Ram Place and a brown plaque marks the site of the Priestley's house at 113 Lower Clapton Road (on the corner of Clapton Passage). Priestley said of his time here, "On the whole I spent my life more happily at Hackney than I had ever done before". The meeting house is now used as a factory.
at Dalston
to Stratford
, forming a part of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway
, opened in 1847 for the carriage of coal. This resulted in Hackney Brook
being placed in a culvert and the loss of the extensive watercress fields to the south of Homerton High Street. Its later development as a passenger line led to the redevelopment in the 1880s of the medieval core of the village on Homerton High Street with Victorian
dwellings and public houses, and speculative building on the lands either side of Homerton High Street. In 1868 Homerton Station opened
.
By the 1860s, London fell prey to epidemics of fever. The 200 bed Eastern Fever Hospital was founded in September 1870 by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to prevent contagion. There were six wards for typhus, two each for scarlet fever and enteric patients. Two smaller wards were reserved for 'special cases'. The buildings were demolished in 1982 and the site became the core of the modern Homerton University Hospital
. This replaced the old Hackney Hospital which (in turn) had been formed from the Hackney Union Workhouse. These buildings are now used by the Hackney Mental Health Trust.
built mass housing, sweeping away the worst of the slums, but also eliminating many older buildings containing shops on Homerton High Street, effectively destroying it as a commercial area. The Lesney
die cast model factory was built in the 1940s on the Homerton side of the Lee Navigation, just north of Homerton Road, producing for many years their Matchbox
brand. The factory closed in 1990, and was demolished in 2010.
The oldest surviving residential building in Hackney is Sutton House on Homerton High Street. It was built in 1535 and is owned and run by the National Trust
.
Seventies glam rock
singer Marc Bolan
and actor Ray Winstone
were born in Hackney Hospital, on Homerton High Street. The hospital, originally built in 1841 as the Hackney Union workhouse
, finally closed in 1995, its poor reputation contrasting with that of the new Homerton University Hospital
which opened in 1987 on a site nearby. The old hospital has now been refurbished (2006) and reopened to serve the Mental Health Trust.
Homerton's links with popular music continued with the arrival of Toerag, an eight track recording studio which uses reclaimed 1960s analogue equipment, where notably the White Stripes' acclaimed 2003 album Elephant
was produced. Babyshambles
frontman and ex-Libertine
, Pete Doherty
has reputedly given his address as Homerton, but it has been confirmed that he is receiving treatment, as an outpatient at Homerton University Hospital for addiction.
Homerton is also home to Chats Palace arts centre, named after the nearby Chatsworth Road. Chats Palace has presented and encouraged a wide variety of music, comedy, theatre, photography, carnival, disability arts, dance and transgressive performance, including Clifford Jarvis
, Tom Hunter
, Miniscule of Sound
, Red Saunders
, Asian Dub Foundation
and Graeae Theatre Company
. It also hosts an array of classes for all abilities and age ranges, and has been an accessible and affordable space for local people to celebrate their important occasions or present their projects. The building itself was originally established as a Carnegie library
for the betterment of the people of the East End
. The Council closed the library in 1977 but the building was reclaimed by members of the local community.
Although this has been, in recent years, a rather depressed area of Hackney, itself a poor borough, Homerton's prospects are brightening. The arrival of the Channel Link at nearby Stratford
, coupled with the London Summer Olympics
, which will take place nearby in 2012, may well spell a revival in its fortunes.
Homerton is served by the Homerton University Hospital
, an NHS foundation trust hospital.
are Hackney Central
and Homerton
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central
Hackney Central
Hackney Central is the central district of the London Borough of Hackney in London, England. It comprises the area roughly surrounding, and extending north from Mare Street. It is situated north east of Charing Cross...
, to the north by Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
, in the east by Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick is an area straddling the boundary between the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It is an inner-city development situated 5 miles northeast of Charing Cross...
, Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
and by South Hackney
South Hackney
South Hackney is a district in the London Borough of Hackney situated north east of Charing Cross.It is immediately north of Victoria Park and the area centred on Victoria Park Road and Lauriston Road...
to the south.
Origins
Archeological excavations at Link Street exposed a building dating to the 11th or 12th century suggesting that Homerton existed before it was first recorded in 1343. The hamlet of Homerton (Humberton or Hummerton, named for the farm of a woman named Hunburh) developed for about a half-mile along the road on the north side of the now buried and lost Hackney BrookHackney Brook
The Hackney Brook is one of the subterranean rivers of London. It crossed the northern parts of the current London boroughs of Hackney and Islington, emptying into the River Lea at Hackney Wick, with its source in Holloway.- Course of the River :...
, within the vale formed by the brook. This led from the hamlet of Clopton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
, passing near the church of St Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
at Hackney, then across the marshes and the crossing points of both the River Lea, and its tributary, Hackney Brook. By 1605 Homerton was the most populous part of the Parish of Hackney
Hackney (parish)
Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th century parish church dedicated to St Augustine . The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be...
, becoming a separate parish in 1846.
Medieval Homerton
In medieval times, Homerton, like much of Hackney, was predominantly rural and arable crops were grown, together with fruit and vegetables for the City of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
markets. The majority of land was given over to pasture for sheep and cattle, and milk and cheese was also supplied to the City. Small kitchen gardens ran at the back of the houses along the road, with large fields behind. Domestic brewing was common (there are records of brewing performed at Sutton House and the Tan House). Many unsavoury activities (banned in the City) were also undertaken, such as tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
and fulling
Fulling
Fulling or tucking or walking is a step in woolen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The worker who does the job is a fuller, tucker, or walker...
- the cleaning of felt cloth using urine.
Tudor wealth
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
, with many estates and grand houses being formed from the former Templar lands (Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
of St. John of Jerusalem). The village was divided between Upper and Lower Homerton, with the later extending towards the marshes and the house at Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick is an area straddling the boundary between the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It is an inner-city development situated 5 miles northeast of Charing Cross...
. Upper Homerton was divided from the village of Hackney by the width of the rectory manor's Church Field, and a path led to the churchyard. In 1538, this estate, including other fields lying along the brook, passed to the Tudor diplomat Sir Ralph Sadler. Around 1560 part of this estate came into the ownership of Thomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton was an English civil servant and businessman as well as being the founder of Charterhouse School. He was the son of an official of the city of Lincoln, and was educated at Eton College and probably at Cambridge...
, a resident of the Tan House (adjacent to Sutton House). This land formed part of his endowment of the Hospital of King James in Charterhouse
London Charterhouse
The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Smithfield, London dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square. The Charterhouse began as a Carthusian priory, founded in 1371 and dissolved in 1537...
, who continued to own the property until the 20th century, building Sutton Place between 1790 and 1806.
The marshes
Marsh Road, from Homerton High Street, led to, and across the marshes, towards the Templar owned water powered corn mill at Temple MillsTemple Mills
Temple Mills is a northerly part of Stratford, south of Leyton, located within the London borough of Newham in east LondonToday, Temple Mills is surrounded at present by former railway tracks and works belonging to the Great Eastern Railway...
. Prone to flooding, the marshes were primarily used for grazing. A Roman stone causeway was discovered in the 1770s.
By 1795 the former Templar mills were being used for preparing lead. Sheets of lead were placed in clay pots and submerged in urine, then heated by decaying cow dung. The process converted the lead to lead oxide, and it was then finely ground to form a pigment for white, yellow and red lead paint
Lead paint
Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead, a heavy metal, that is used as pigment, with lead chromate and lead carbonate being the most common. Lead is also added to paint to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture that causes corrosion...
. A new watermill was established on the marshes by Prince Rupert for an improved method of boring guns, however the secret died with him in 1682 and the enterprise collapsed.
Religion and education
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
. The Kings Head Society moved to a large house here in 1768, forming Homerton College
Homerton College, Cambridge
Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.With around 1,200 students, Homerton has more students than any other Cambridge college, although less than half of these live in the college. The college has a long and complex history dating back to the...
for the education of Calvinist ministers with between 12-20 students. Religious education moved to the new University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1826, but Homerton College remained here as a teacher training college until 1896, when it moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, eventually becoming a full college of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
offering nearly all subjects from 2002. Students from Homerton college were principal in forming, in 1881, both the Glynn Cricket Club and Clapton Orient - which became Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
on its move to Leyton. The buildings of the College were rebuilt and expanded several times, but eventually lost to bomb damage in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Gravel Pit Meeting House was built between 1715-16. This was the result of an acrimonious split in the congregation of the Lower Clapton meeting. Notable nonconformist ministers preached at the Old Gravel Pit. The moral and political philosopher Richard Price
Richard Price
Richard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
, known for his support of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, became morning preacher in 1770, while continuing his afternoon sermons at Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church
Newington Green Unitarian Church in north London is one of England's oldest Unitarian churches. It has had strong ties to political radicalism for over 300 years, and is London's oldest Nonconformist place of worship still in use...
, on the green where he lived. Those who attended his sermons in Homerton included American politicians such as John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, who later became the second president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and his wife Abigail
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
. On the 101st anniversary of the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
, he preached a sermon at Old Jewry
Old Jewry
Old Jewry is the name of a street in the City of London, in Coleman Street Ward, linking Gresham Street with The Poultry.William the Conqueror encouraged Jews to come to England soon after the Norman Conquest; some settled in cities throughout his new domain, including in London. According to Rev....
meeting house entitled "A Discourse on the Love of our Country", thus igniting a so-called "pamphlet war" known as the Revolution Controversy
Revolution Controversy
The Revolution Controversy was a British debate over the French Revolution, lasting from 1789 through 1795. A pamphlet war began in earnest after the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France , which surprisingly supported the French aristocracy...
, furiously debating the issues raised by the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
's rebuttal "Reflections on the Revolution in France
Reflections on the Revolution in France
Reflections on the Revolution in France , by Edmund Burke, is one of the best-known intellectual attacks against the French Revolution...
" attacked Price, whose friends Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
and Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
leapt into the fray to defend their mentor. The reputation of Price for speaking without fear of the government on these political and philosophical matters drew huge crowds to his sermons, which were published and sold as pamphlets
Pamphleteer
A pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets. Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions on an issue, for example, in order to get people to vote for their favorite politician or to articulate a particular political ideology.A famous pamphleteer...
(i.e. publications easily printed and circulated). Another eminent minister was the formidable polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
, Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
, discoverer of oxygen. When his support of dissent
Joseph Priestley and Dissent
Joseph Priestley was a British natural philosopher, political theorist, clergyman, theologian, and educator...
led to the riots named after him
Priestley Riots
The Priestley Riots took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; the rioters' main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the politically and theologically controversial Joseph Priestley...
, he fled Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and headed for London; he was appointed minister here in 1793. Today a Blue Plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
marks the site of the Gravel Pit Metting House in Ram Place and a brown plaque marks the site of the Priestley's house at 113 Lower Clapton Road (on the corner of Clapton Passage). Priestley said of his time here, "On the whole I spent my life more happily at Hackney than I had ever done before". The meeting house is now used as a factory.
Victorian era
A spur connecting the North London RailwayNorth London Railway
The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...
at Dalston
Dalston
Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
to Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, forming a part of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway
Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway
The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in east London connected the Royal Docks with the Eastern Counties Railway . Authorised in 1844, it opened in 1846, and was absorbed by the ECR in 1847...
, opened in 1847 for the carriage of coal. This resulted in Hackney Brook
Hackney Brook
The Hackney Brook is one of the subterranean rivers of London. It crossed the northern parts of the current London boroughs of Hackney and Islington, emptying into the River Lea at Hackney Wick, with its source in Holloway.- Course of the River :...
being placed in a culvert and the loss of the extensive watercress fields to the south of Homerton High Street. Its later development as a passenger line led to the redevelopment in the 1880s of the medieval core of the village on Homerton High Street with Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
dwellings and public houses, and speculative building on the lands either side of Homerton High Street. In 1868 Homerton Station opened
Homerton railway station
Homerton railway station is in the London Borough of Hackney in east London. It is on the North London Line, and the station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground...
.
By the 1860s, London fell prey to epidemics of fever. The 200 bed Eastern Fever Hospital was founded in September 1870 by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to prevent contagion. There were six wards for typhus, two each for scarlet fever and enteric patients. Two smaller wards were reserved for 'special cases'. The buildings were demolished in 1982 and the site became the core of the modern Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital is an NHS-run University Hospital in Homerton, Hackney- East London.-Overview:The hospital is run by the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which was established on 1 April 2004 and is one among the first ten foundation trusts established in England...
. This replaced the old Hackney Hospital which (in turn) had been formed from the Hackney Union Workhouse. These buildings are now used by the Hackney Mental Health Trust.
Industry and housing
The coming of the railways and the building of the fever hospital drove many of the wealthier residents away. The tightly packed Victorian streets provided homes for the clerks and employees of the new purpose built factories (like Berger Paints) being built in the area. From 1937 onwards, the London County CouncilLondon County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
built mass housing, sweeping away the worst of the slums, but also eliminating many older buildings containing shops on Homerton High Street, effectively destroying it as a commercial area. The Lesney
Matchbox (toy company)
Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953 and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was so named as the original die-cast Matchbox toys were sold in boxes similar in style and size to those in which matches were sold...
die cast model factory was built in the 1940s on the Homerton side of the Lee Navigation, just north of Homerton Road, producing for many years their Matchbox
Matchbox (toy company)
Matchbox is a popular toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953 and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was so named as the original die-cast Matchbox toys were sold in boxes similar in style and size to those in which matches were sold...
brand. The factory closed in 1990, and was demolished in 2010.
The oldest surviving residential building in Hackney is Sutton House on Homerton High Street. It was built in 1535 and is owned and run by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
In modern times
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
singer Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
and actor Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
were born in Hackney Hospital, on Homerton High Street. The hospital, originally built in 1841 as the Hackney Union workhouse
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
, finally closed in 1995, its poor reputation contrasting with that of the new Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital is an NHS-run University Hospital in Homerton, Hackney- East London.-Overview:The hospital is run by the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which was established on 1 April 2004 and is one among the first ten foundation trusts established in England...
which opened in 1987 on a site nearby. The old hospital has now been refurbished (2006) and reopened to serve the Mental Health Trust.
Homerton's links with popular music continued with the arrival of Toerag, an eight track recording studio which uses reclaimed 1960s analogue equipment, where notably the White Stripes' acclaimed 2003 album Elephant
Elephant (album)
Elephant is the Grammy winning fourth album by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Released on April 1, 2003 on V2 Records, the album marks the band's major label debut...
was produced. Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
frontman and ex-Libertine
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
, Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
has reputedly given his address as Homerton, but it has been confirmed that he is receiving treatment, as an outpatient at Homerton University Hospital for addiction.
Clifford Jarvis
Clifford Jarvis was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer.After studying at Berklee in the 1950s he established himself in jazz between 1959 and 1966 by recording with Chet Baker, Randy Weston, Yusef Lateef, Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Jackie McLean, and Elmo Hope, and playing with Grant...
, Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion...
, Miniscule of Sound
Miniscule of Sound
The Miniscule of Sound opened in Hackney, London as the world's smallest nightclub in August 1998, in the changing booth of a disused outdoor swimming pool , as a parody of Ministry of Sound...
, Red Saunders
Red Saunders
Red Saunders was a British photographer and founder of Rock Against Racism. He has specialised in rock music photography. He is part of theatre group Complicite.-External links:* * http://www.reddogonline.eu/mcredman.htm...
, Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
and Graeae Theatre Company
Graeae Theatre Company
Graeae Theatre Company is a British organisation composed of artists and managers with physical and sensory disabilities. It was founded in 1980 by Nabil Shaban and Richard Tomlinson and named after the Graeae of Greek mythology...
. It also hosts an array of classes for all abilities and age ranges, and has been an accessible and affordable space for local people to celebrate their important occasions or present their projects. The building itself was originally established as a Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
for the betterment of the people of the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. The Council closed the library in 1977 but the building was reclaimed by members of the local community.
Although this has been, in recent years, a rather depressed area of Hackney, itself a poor borough, Homerton's prospects are brightening. The arrival of the Channel Link at nearby Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, coupled with the London Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, which will take place nearby in 2012, may well spell a revival in its fortunes.
Homerton is served by the Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital
Homerton University Hospital is an NHS-run University Hospital in Homerton, Hackney- East London.-Overview:The hospital is run by the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which was established on 1 April 2004 and is one among the first ten foundation trusts established in England...
, an NHS foundation trust hospital.
Education
Transport
The nearest London Overground stationsLondon Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
are Hackney Central
Hackney Central railway station
Hackney Central railway station is a railway station on the North London Line in an area of the London Borough of Hackney known as Hackney Central in east London. It is between and , in Travelcard Zone 2. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground.The station is a...
and Homerton
Homerton railway station
Homerton railway station is in the London Borough of Hackney in east London. It is on the North London Line, and the station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground...