Loddiges of Hackney the largest hothouse in the world
By David Solman For one hundred years the most famous nursery garden in Europe stood near Mare Street close to today’s Town Hall. Here tropical plants grew and flowered for the first time outside their native rainforest. ‘I fancied myself in the Brazils’ wrote a visitor, in wonderment at the artificial tropical rainstorm inside the […]
St John at Hackney: The story of a Church
(out of print) David Mander A sturdy brown temple with a tower floating over it – or ‘the ugliest church in Christendom, save one’, St John-at-Hackney was consecrated in 1797 and has attracted praise and criticism ever since. This book traces the history of the present church, and the original St ]ohn’s church which it […]
The German Hospital South Shoreditch
(out of print, download only) A social and architectural history 1845-1987 Elizabeth McKellar The German Hospital is little known today in Hackney. It lies concealed behind high walls in the heart of Dalston. Glimpses may be had of it from the North London Line railway, suggesting a large country mansion surrounded by wooded grounds. Its […]
Lost Hackney (out of print)
By Elizabeth Robinson Hackney once possessed many fine buildings which have now disappeared, and many of them have been forgotten. This is an account of Hackney’s lost architectural heritage, recorded through a series of rich and evocative illustrations – photographs, engravings, maps and architectural drawings. The historical context of each building is described as well as […]
Buildings at Risk in Hackney
A report on decline and decay (1987) This is a report on the decline and decay of historic buildings in Hackney, based on a survey and research undertaken by the Hackney Society in 1986-87. The report is structured in terms of building types, using a cross-section of buildings as case studies.It examines the issues that […]
South Shoreditch
Historic and Industrial Buildings (out of print, download only) This survey, completed in 1986, covers the urban environment of South Shoreditch, where an extraordinarily rich survival of buildings of architectural and industrial archaeological interest is to be found. This forms a systematic recording of the buildings in South Shoreditch, with a historical account of the […]
Hackney Houses
Advice booklet for residents This is a guide to the houses of Hackney, exploring the different neighbourhoods and types of houses which make up the borough. The materials traditionally used in the construction of Hackney’s houses are described and the reasons for their use are explained. This guide gives information to residents on how to […]
The Victorian Villas of Hackney South Shoreditch
(out of print, download only) By Michael Hunter (1981) This book explores the growth of Victorian Hackney, from little more than a village in 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne, to a handsome suburb with well-built and spacious houses. The book explains how Hackney’s suburban development took place, who built the houses in the […]
From Tower to Tower Block
As the title suggests, this is a wide ranging look at the buildings of Hackney, a historical survey across the ages, from Gothic church to high rise flats, and revealing unique and idiosyncratic corners in between. The buildings are described in their context, explaining why they look how they do, in terms of the building […]