HACKNEY

Hackney is situated about 3 miles northeast of Whitechapel on the west bank of the river Lea and was originally in the County of Middlesex. For many centuries this was a green and pleasant land with views stretching for miles. The village was long and scattered along the road which runs from Mile End to Stamford Hill. Midway along this road was the village centre with its parish church.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, villages in close proximity to London began to grow in importance as places where nobility and rich merchants could build their homes. In the 17th and 18th centuries Hackney was regarded as a healthy and agreeable environment and gained a reputation with its pleasure gardens.

The parish church of St. John at Hackney was built in 1792-7 by James Spiller in the shape of a Greek cross to hold 4,000 people. This replaced the old church of St. Augustine whose 16th tower still stands to the south.

At the beginning of the 19th century it was still quite rural, with central and northern Hackney mainly occupied with nursery gardening but industries growing to the south and east. Clothing, boot and shoe making and furniture being the main occupations. Over the next century the population swelled to over 200,000 and with the exception of a few parks all the rural areas had disappeared under bricks and mortar.

In 1965 Hackney joined with Shoreditch and Stoke Newington to form the London Borough of Hackney.

Greenwood's Maps 1827:

Hackney and surrounding area [255 Kbytes].

Church Records:

• St. John at Hackney, Lower Clapton Rd
  Baptisms 1556-1952, Marriages 1590-1968, Burials 1593-1933 : LMA
  Baptisms 1952- date, Mariages 1968- date : Not deposited
• City of London Union Chapel, Homerton
  Baptisms 1884-1886
• Eastern Fever Hospital
  Baptisms 1888-1938
• Christ Church, Gore Rd
  Baptisms 1872-1953, Marriages 1872-1953 : LMA
• St. Augustine, Victoria Park
  Baptisms 1868-1945, Marriages 1868-1945 : LMA
• St. Barnabas, Shacklewell, West Hackney
  Baptisms 1890-1921, Marriages 1929-1954 : LMA
  
• St. James the Great, Lower Clapton Rd
  Baptisms 1841-1962, Marriages 1864-1972 : LMA
• St. John of Jerusalem, Lauriston Rd
  Baptisms 1826-1957, Marriages 1831-1986, Burials 1831-1924 : LMA
  
• St. Luke, Homerton Terrace
  Baptisms 1872-1968, Marriages 1874-1944 : LMA
  Baptisms 1968- date, Marriages 1944- date : Not deposited
• St. Martin's Mission Church, Ada St
  Baptisms 1907-1932 : LMA
• St. Mary of Eaton, Hackney Wick
  Baptisms 1881-1964, Marriages 1893-1964 : LMA
• St. Michael and All Angels, Lansdowne Drive
  Baptisms 1865-1930, Marriages 1865-1965 : LMA
  Baptisms 1930- date, Marriages 1965- date : Not deposited
• St. Paul's Mission
  See West Hackney Church
• St. Peter, Northchurch Terrace, De Beauvoir Town
  Baptisms 1842-1938, Marriages 1863-1969 : LMA
  Baptisms 1938- date, Marriages 1969- date : Not deposited
• Metropolitan Hospital, Hackney
  Baptisms 1909-1915
• West Hackney Church & St. Paul's Mission, Stoke Newington Road
  Baptisms 1824-1933, Marriages 1824-1959, Burials 1824-1888 : LMA
• St. John the Baptist (Roman Catholic), Mare St
  Baptisms 1856- date, Marriages 1856- date : Not deposited
• Harbour Light Free Methodist Chapel, Goldsmiths Row
  Baptisms 1897-1944 : LMA
• Independent Chapel, Well St
  Baptisms 1837 : PRO
• Old Gravel Pit Meeting House (Independent)
  Baptisms 1802-1837 : PRO
• Pleasant Place Chapel (Wesleyan Methodist)
  Baptisms 1818-1837 : PRO
• Presbyterian Chapel, Mare St
  Burials 1812-1837 : PRO
• St. Thomas Square Chapel (Presbyterian), Mare St
  Baptisms 1765-1837, Burials 1787-1876 : PRO
  Baptisms 1814-1898, Marriages 1838-1848 : HAD
• Wesleyan Chapel, Cassland Rd
  Marriages 1900-1940 : LMA
• Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Hackney Wick
  Marriages 1909-1935 : LMA