Slightseeing: Hackney

47 Wilton Way - a sample of a pop-up building from the architecture section of the book

HACKNEY has a rich history and despite its less favourable recent image, was a genuine tourist destination in the 17th and 18th centuries, famed for its clean air and pleasure gardens.  The borough was once home to the world’s largest hot house that contained a tropical rainforest of ferns, palms and orchids, and it is well known that Pepys and Defoe were notable residents of the area.

My book, ‘Slightseeing Hackney: Urban glimpses and momentary distractions’ references Walter Benjamin. Writing in the thirties, Benjamin felt there was no urban gaze, only an urban glimpse. For him, the modern metropolis was visually distracting, consisting of moving and partially acknowledged images.

Hackney is indeed full of visual distractions, with a rich and varied history and stark contrasts: old and new, rich and poor. There are many layers to what constitutes the borough. I am fascinated by the wide range of building styles and odd architectural juxtapositions that can be found on almost every street.

Recently at The Building Exploratory I found a file marked “towerblocks”, compiled during Architecture Week a few years ago, which contains several photographs taken of demolitions, some from the Holly Street estate in Haggerston.
I trawled through more than 3,000 photographs in one session at Hackney Archives just before Christmas, where I discovered a curious series of photographs of the members of Hackney Pig Club.

One picture shows a woman with a beaming smile circa 1921, holding a dismembered pig’s head in each hand. Another image features a ghostly old man with wiry hair in a three-piece suit, alongside a young girl with a large broom cleaning out the pigsties. I am still researching odd and unusual facts about the area and I am particularly interested in talking to local historians or enthusiasts.

I have a notice board in the Pembury Tavern, which invites people to contribute their comments and facts about Hackney and I would like to thank those who have written on it so far.  If you would like to be interviewed   for a Hackney-themed radio show on Resonance FM, please email me at: Hackney_is@yahoo.co.uk

Katrina Mernagh is studying for an MA in Graphic Design at Middlesex University.