Top Boy is a Hackney story at heart, even though its fictional Summerhouse Estate has been assembled from real estates and streets across London. Behind the drugs, violence and rivalries, the series became an unusually sharp portrait of East London, its communities, inequalities, changing streets and the pressures created when an old neighbourhood becomes desirable…
Discover the lost history of 184 Mare Street, Hackney E8: from its origins as a Presbyterian chapel to the Empress cinema, Essoldo picture house and Top Rank bingo hall before its demolition
Discover the eerie history of a Martello Street house in London Fields where a murdered man was secretly buried beneath the cellar floor for seven years, and learn about the artist Andrew Aiken, his murals and his shocking confession
Dr Colin Franklin was one of Hackney’s pioneering black GPs, who built an extraordinary relationship with patients from his small practice in Lauriston Road and became a much-loved figure in the local community
Stik, Milo Tchais and Prozak’s street art collaboration, painted in Hackney Wick as the area braced for the 2012 Olympics.
Hackney Downs School was one of Lower Clapton’s defining educational institutions for over 120 years, with its history reflecting both the aspirations and the challenges of one of London’s fastest-changing boroughs.
History and future plans for Marian Court in Homerton, a post-war Hackney housing estate that stood for more than 60 years. Built to tackle London’s housing shortage after the Second World War, Marian Court reflected the changing priorities of social housing in Hackney and is now being replaced as part of a major redevelopment that…
Discover the story behind the giant shark sculptures at Hoxton Docks near Broadway Market, Hackney, and the unusual public art dispute that made them famous
The Cricketers pub was one of Lower Clapton’s most recognisable boozers and the building has survived closure, controversy and even the threat of demolition
Discover the history of The Four Aces Club at 12 Dalston Lane, E8 – the legendary Dalston venue that shaped reggae, lovers rock, jungle and rave culture in London from the 1960s to the 1990s.