Hand-woven roundel unveiled at Hackney Downs station to mark new Weaver line

The Weaver Line roundel at Hackney Downs station. Photograph: TfL. Free to use by partners of the Local Democracy Reporting Service

A hand-woven roundel has been unveiled at a Hackney railway station to mark one of the London Overground’s new line names.

The artwork went up at Hackney Downs station, which lies on the newly-named Weaver line.

The roundel’s individual pieces were created in two free sessions at Chingford Community Hub in September, with each participant given a piece of the sign to weave.

Artist Dalia James then wove each piece together to create the roundel, which is now located above a set of stairs leading up to the station’s platforms.

Trish Ashton, TfL (right) and Dalia James, creator (centre) with members of the community who helped create the Weaver roundel. Photograph: TfL. Free to use by partners of the Local Democracy Reporting Service

According to Transport for London (TfL), the Weaver line name “celebrates the historical significance of weaving and textile industries and communities along this line, in areas like Spitalfields Market, Bethnal Green and Hackney”.

The other five line names, announced by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan last year, are Liberty, Lioness, Mildmay, Suffragette and Windrush.

Ms James said: “Having been born and raised in east London, I was delighted to have been commissioned by TfL to create a woven tapestry of the new London Overground Weaver line’s iconic roundel.

“There is such a great sense of community in London, and being able to run two workshops whereby Londoners could be part of the commission makes this project one that I will be forever proud of.”

Trish Ashton, TfL’s director of rail and sponsored services, said: “The London Overground Weaver line honours the rich history and vibrant spirit of the community in east London.

“The new London Overground line names are not only helping customers to navigate the network with greater ease but are a great way to celebrate people who have made a positive impact on communities the London Overground serves.

“We hope that customers using Hackney Downs station will take a minute to look up to take in the new roundel when they next visit the station, and we’d like to thank everyone who helped create it.”

Weaver line roundel above the stairway at Hackney Downs station. Photograph: TfL. Free to use by partners of the Local Democracy Reporting Service

The community weaving is just one activity TfL have organised over recent months to mark the new line names.

One of these was a competition inviting Londoners to submit poems and illustrations inspired by the names.

Open to Londoners across all ages, the winners have now been selected, and their work will be displayed at Hackney Central station from the end of January.

TfL’s Mind the Gap podcast has a series dedicated to the line names, and six self-guided walks were also developed with community-based walking app Go Jauntly to tie in with each of them.