Hackney’s name apparently comes from the Anglo-Saxon for ” kill with a sword or axe”, presumably as in “to hack”. The church tower was built by the Knights Templar in the 14th century. In the 19th century, much of Hackney was market gardens or nurseries. By the 20th century, the whole area had been developed as residential housing for London’s growing population. Housing estates have replaced a lot of the original Georgian and Victorian houses. Dick Turpin used to drink at a the White House public house next to Hackney Marsh. Hackney Marsh was also the site of a victory by Alfred the Great over the Danes – he diverted the river Lea so their ships ran aground. Although most of Hackney’s original open spaces disappeared under new streets and housing, the marsh land was bought for the public in 1893.

The centre of Hackney is around Hackney Central and Hackney Downs stations. There are Georgian terraced houses in Clapton Square, Clarence Place and Clapton Passage. Sutton Place is the centre of a conservation area with Georgian houses. A former Art Deco factory in Lower Clapton Road has been converted into flats and is now called the Strand building. Converted commercial buildings rub shoulders with council estates. East Central is a new block of flats in Mare St.

Victoria Park off Mare Street to the east contains the most desirable housing. The Crown Estate owns most of the properties in the area. The best streets are to the east of Well Street Common and include Lauriston Road, Meynell Road and Meynell Crescent, and the roads connecting. These contain large Victorian terraced houses and also some 1930s houses. Cassland Crescent contains a terrace of Georgian houses. The large houses in Gore Road overlook Victoria Park and are the most sought after, but there are smaller Victorian houses in Fremont Street and Warneford Street which are part of a conservation area. There are mansion blocks from the Victorian era in King Edward’s Road. To the west of Mare Street is London Fields. Lansdowne Drive and streets crossing it contain large Victorian terraced properties. Other desirable streets include Mapledene Road and Lavender Road. Schools and warehouses have been converted into flats. On the east, there are council properties as well as flat conversions.

Dalton lies to the west of London Fields. There are large Victorian terraced properties to be found in Sandringham Road Montague Road and Colvestone Crescent. South of Dalston Lane, other Victorian properties can be found in Middleton Road, and there have also been a lot of recent house developments in the area. Albion Square is an attractive Georgian garden square.

Clapton is to the north and east of Hackney and also contains many terraces of Victorian and Edwardian houses, as well as council estates. Just south of Lea Bridge Road there are Victorian terraces of family sized houses, to be found in streets such as Thistlethwaite, Thornby and Newick Roads. There have been many conversions of commercial buildings as well as new buildings of houses and flats. Clapton Terrace is a surviving street of Georgian terraced houses overlooking Clapton Common.