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Homerton

Coordinates:51°33′08″N0°02′49″W/ 51.55212°N 0.04704°W/51.55212; -0.04704
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For the Cambridge college which was founded here, seeHomerton College, Cambridge.

Homerton
Chat's Palace has been an important local arts centre and music venue for 40 years. It is housed in the former Homerton Library, the new one is close by.
Homerton is located in Greater London
Homerton
Homerton
Location withinGreater London
OS grid referenceTQ355855
•Charing Cross4.5 mi (7.2 km)SW
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtE9/E5
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°33′08″N0°02′49″W/ 51.55212°N 0.04704°W/51.55212; -0.04704

Homerton(/ˈhɒmərtən/HOM-ər-tən) is an area inLondon,England,in theLondon Borough of Hackney.It is bordered to the west byHackney Central,to the north byLower Clapton,in the east byHackney Wick,Leytonand bySouth Hackneyto the south. In 2019, it had a population of 14,658 people.[1]In terms of ethnicity it was 43.9% White, 33.0% Black, 10.9% Asian and 7.8% Mixed.[1]It covered an area of 0.830 sq kilometres.HomertonwardonHackney Borough Counciliscurrently representedby threeLabourcouncillors.[2]There are fiftylisted buildingslocated within the boundaries of the ward.[3]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

Archaeological excavations at Link Street exposed a building dating to the 11th or 12th century suggesting that Homerton existed before it was first recorded in 1343.[4]The hamlet of Homerton (Humberton or Hummerton, named for the farm of a woman named Hunburh) developed for about a half-mile along the road on the north side of the now buried and lostHackney Brook,within the vale formed by the brook. This led from the hamlet ofClopton,passing near thechurch of St Augustineat Hackney, then across the marshes and the crossing points of both theRiver Lea,and its tributary, Hackney Brook. By 1605 Homerton was the most populous part of theParish of Hackney,becoming a separate parish in 1846.[5]

Medieval Homerton[edit]

In medieval times, Homerton, like much of Hackney, was predominantly rural and arable crops were grown, together with fruit and vegetables for theCity of Londonmarkets. The majority of the land was given over to pasture for sheep and cattle, and milk and cheese were also supplied to the city. Small kitchen gardens ran at the back of the houses along the road, with large fields behind. Domestic brewing was common (there are records of brewing performed atSutton Houseand the Tan House). Many unsavoury activities (banned in the city) were also undertaken, such astanningandfulling- the cleaning of felt cloth using urine.

Tudor wealth[edit]

Sutton House,the oldest house in Hackney. (September 2005)

Homerton became a desirable suburb of London in theTudor period,with many estates and grand houses being formed from the former Templar lands (Knights Templarof St. John of Jerusalem). The village was divided between Upper and Lower Homerton, with the later extending towards the marshes and the house atHackney Wick.Upper Homerton was divided from the village of Hackney by the width of the rectory manor's Church Field, and a path led to the churchyard. In 1538, this estate, including other fields lying along the brook, passed to the Tudor diplomatSir Ralph Sadler.Around 1560 part of this estate came into the ownership ofThomas Sutton,a resident of the Tan House (adjacent toSutton House). This land formed part of his endowment of theHospital of King James in Charterhouse,who continued to own the property until the 20th century, buildingSutton Placebetween 1790 and 1806.[5]

The marshes[edit]

Main article:Hackney Marshes

Marsh Road, from Homerton High Street, led to, and across the marshes, towards the Templar owned water-powered corn mill atTemple Mills.Prone to flooding, the marshes were primarily used for grazing. ARomanstone causeway was discovered in the 1770s.[6]

By 1795 the former Templar mills were being used for preparing lead. Sheets of lead were placed in clay pots and submerged in urine, then heated by decaying cow dung. The process converted the lead to lead oxide, and it was then finely ground to form a pigment for white, yellow and redlead paint.A new watermill was established on the marshes byPrince Rupertfor an improved method of boring guns; however, the secret died with him in 1682, and the enterprise collapsed.[7]

Religion and education[edit]

Sutton Place,Grade II listedterrace 1790–1806 in Homerton. (November 2005)

In the 18th century the availability of land, large houses and tolerance todissentersmade Homerton a popular place to found institutions. The educational ones were commonly known asDissenting Academies.The Kings Head Society moved to a large house here in 1768, formingHomerton Collegefor the education of Calvinist ministers with between 12 and 20 students. Religious education moved to the newUniversity College Londonin 1826, but Homerton College remained here as a teacher training college until 1896 when it moved toCambridge,eventually becoming a full college of theUniversity of Cambridgein 2010. Students from Homerton college were principal in forming, in 1881, both the Glynn Cricket Club and Clapton Orient - which becameLeyton Orient F.C.on its move to Leyton. The buildings of the college were rebuilt and expanded several times, but eventually lost to bomb damage inWorld War II.

Richard Price

South of the Brook, by Money Lane,[8]theUnitarianGravel Pit Meeting Housewas built between 1715 and 1716. This was the result of an acrimonious split in the congregation of the Lower Clapton meeting. Notablenonconformistministers preached at the Old Gravel Pit. The moral and political philosopherRichard Price,[9]known for his support of theAmerican Revolution,became morning preacher in 1770, while continuing his afternoon sermons atNewington Green Chapel,on the green where he lived. Those who attended his sermons in Homerton included American politicians such asJohn Adams,who later became the secondpresident of the United States,and his wifeAbigail.On the 101st anniversary of theGlorious Revolution,he preached a sermon atOld Jewry meeting houseentitled "A Discourse on the Love of Our Country",thus igniting a so-called" pamphlet war "known as theRevolution Controversy,furiously debating the issues raised by theFrench Revolution.Burke's rebuttal "Reflections on the Revolution in France"attacked Price, whose friendsThomas PaineandMary Wollstonecraftleapt into the fray to defend their mentor. The reputation of Price for speaking without fear of the government on these political and philosophical matters drew huge crowds to his sermons, which were published and sold aspamphlets(i.e. publications easily printed and circulated). Another eminent minister was the formidablepolymath,Joseph Priestley,discoverer of oxygen. Whenhis support of dissentled to theriots named after him,he fledBirminghamand headed for London; he was appointed minister here in 1793. Today aBlue Plaquemarks the site of the Gravel Pit Meeting House in Ram Place and a brown plaque marks the site of the Priestley's house at 113 Lower Clapton Road (on the corner of Clapton Passage).[10]Priestley said of his time here, "On the whole I spent my life more happily at Hackney than I had ever done before". The meeting house is now used as a factory.

Victorian era[edit]

A map showing the Homerton ward of Hackney Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

A spur connecting theNorth London RailwayatDalstontoStratford,forming a part of theEastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway,opened in 1847 for the carriage of coal. This resulted inHackney Brookbeing placed in a culvert and the loss of the extensive watercress fields to the south of Homerton High Street. Its later development as a passenger line led to the redevelopment in the 1880s of the mediaeval core of the village on Homerton High Street[11]withVictoriandwellings and public houses, and speculative building on the lands either side of Homerton High Street. In 1868Homerton Station opened.

The parish church ofSt Barnabason Homerton High Street, designed by Hackney-bornArthur Ashpitel,was built between 1843 and 1852, ofKentish ragstone,with a grant from theIncorporated Church Building Societyand its endowment and vicarage funded byJoshua Watson.[12][13]Described byNikolaus Pevsneras "interesting as an effort to copy local character", it is built in theperpendicular styleand wasGrade II listedin 1975.[12][13]Having been damaged bybombing during 1944,it was restored afterWorld War Twoand rededicated in 1958.[12]At the time of the church's construction, the area was described as being inhabited by a "very poor class oflabourers& those who trust to precarious employment ".[12]

The church ofSt Luke,Chatham Place, consecrated in 1872, is situated in the south of the Homerton area.[14][15]It was designed by Arthur Shean Newman andArthur Billingin agothic revivalstyle, and isGrade II listed.[15]Construction of theGrade II listedred brick church ofSt Paul,Lower Homerton on Glyn Road, was completed in 1891.[16]It was designed in combination ofArts and CraftsandEarly Englishstyles, by Henry Cowell Boyes, the architect of theWorshipful Company of Grocers,which also operated aschool in the area,with its foundation stone being laid by the livery company's Master.[13][16]It was declared redundant, first being used by theCelestial Church of Christbefore being taken over by aSeventh-Day Adventistcongregation in 2006.[16][17]TheRoman Catholicchurch of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Kenworthy Road, designed byC.A. Bucklerand inspired by the churches ofSta Maria in DominicaandSanti Nereo e Achillowas completed in 1883, and rebuilt after damage inWorld War Two.[18][19]

In the early 1890s, the author ofGlimpses of Ancient Hackneywrote: "Few who traverse Homerton today will fail to note thesqualid povertyof many of its inhabitants, the mean tumble-down dwellings, for which we have to thank the jerry-builders, who doubtless will pass the odium on to the ground landlords ".[20]

By the 1860s, London fell prey to epidemics of fever. The 200 bed Eastern Fever Hospital was founded in September 1870 by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to prevent contagion. There were six wards for typhus, two each for scarlet fever and enteric patients. Two smaller wards were reserved for 'special cases'. The buildings were almost entirely demolished in 1982[21]and the site became the core of the modernHomerton University Hospital,which opened in 1986.[22][23]This replaced the old Hackney Hospital which (in turn) had been formed from the Hackney Union Workhouse. These buildings are now used by the Hackney Mental Health Trust.[24]

Industry and housing[edit]

The church of St Paul, Lower Homerton, built 1890-91

The coming of the railways and the building of the fever hospital drove many of the wealthier residents away. The tightly packed Victorian streets provided homes for the clerks and employees of the new purpose-built factories (like Berger Paints) being built in the area. From 1937 onwards, theLondon County Councilbuilt mass housing, sweeping away the worst of the slums, but also eliminating many older buildings containing shops on Homerton High Street, effectively destroying it as a commercial area. TheLesneydie cast model factory was built in the 1940s on the Homerton side of the Lee Navigation, just north of Homerton Road, producing for many years theirMatchboxbrand. The factory closed in 1990 and was demolished in 2010.[citation needed]

The oldest surviving residential building in Hackney isSutton Houseon Homerton High Street. It was built in 1535 and is owned and run by theNational Trust.

In modern times[edit]

Hackney Hospital, August 2005.Marc Bolan(born, Mark Feld), andAnthony Newleywere both born here.

1970sglam rocksingerMarc Bolanand actorRay Winstone[25]were born in Hackney Hospital, on Homerton High Street. The hospital, originally built in 1841 as the Hackney Unionworkhouse,finally closed in 1995. The old hospital was refurbished in 2006 and reopened to serve the mental health trust.

Homerton's links with popular music continued with the arrival ofToe Rag Studios,relocated fromShoreditchto theLower Clapton/Homerton border, aneight-trackrecording studio which uses reclaimed 1960s analogue equipment, where theWhite Stripes' acclaimed 2003 albumElephantwas produced. More recently,[when?]Sound Savers studios was also established in Homerton, and Gun Factory Studios relocated to the area fromStoke Newington.UK drillartistUnknown Tis from Homerton.[citation needed]

Homerton University Hospital main entrance. (February 2006)

Homerton is also home to Chats Palace arts centre, named after the nearby Chatsworth Road. Chats Palace has presented and encouraged a wide variety of music, comedy, theatre, photography, carnival, disability arts, dance and transgressive performance, includingClifford Jarvis,Tom Hunter,Miniscule of Sound,Red Saunders,Asian Dub FoundationandGraeae Theatre Company.[citation needed]The building itself was originally established as aCarnegie library,built in 1912–13 for the betterment of the people of theEast End.[26]The council closed the library in 1976 but members of the local community reclaimed the building.[27]In October 2014, historic pub theChesham Armson Mehetabel Road became Hackney's firstAsset of Community Value.[28]

Homerton is home to theCastle Cinema,which re-opened following a successfulKickstartercampaign raised £57,000 to support its renovation in 2016.[29]

Education[edit]

For further details of education in Homerton, seeList of schools in the London Borough of Hackney.

Secondary schools located in the area includeCardinal Pole Catholic Schooland theCity Academy, Hackney.

Transport[edit]

Rail[edit]

Homerton is served byLondon OvergroundatHomerton railway station,with westbound trains toRichmondandClapham JunctionviaDalston Junction,and eastbound trains toStratford.The original station was opened on 1 October 1868. Services ceased on 15 May 1944 with a substitute bus service provided until official closure on 23 April 1945. Other than a partial section of wall to the north of the bridge over Barnabas Road, the original 1868 station has been demolished. Although of reduced size, the original station building would have been similar to buildings remaining at Hackney Central and Camden Road. The present basic station was opened on 13 May 1985.[30]

Buses[edit]

Homerton is served by a large number ofLondon Busesroutes26,30,236, 242, 276, 308, 388,394,425 and 488 as well as the W15. Homerton is also served by the London night bus network by route N26 and N242.

References and notes[edit]

  1. ^ab"Homerton (Ward, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
  2. ^"Council election results | Hackney Council".hackney.gov.uk.Retrieved15 May2022.
  3. ^"Listed Buildings in Homerton Ward, Hackney".britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.Retrieved15 May2022.
  4. ^MoLASArchived12 March 2007 at theWayback Machine(TQ 3534 8504 summary of archaeological investigation at Link St) accessed: 20 October 2006
  5. ^abHackney: Homerton and Hackney Wick,A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 51-59accessed: 14 January 2008
  6. ^The northern suburbs: Haggerston and Hackney,Old and New London: Volume 5 (1878), pp. 505-524accessed: 14 January 2008
  7. ^Granger's Biographical History, vol. ii. p. 407. 4to. edit. Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 559
  8. ^Money Lane is the modern Morning Lane
  9. ^A Fast Sermon- Richard Price to the Old Gravel Pit Meeting - 21 February 1781 accessed 4 June 2009.
  10. ^"Hackney - Archives and local history | Joseph Priestley".hackney.gov.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2012.Retrieved31 July2016.
  11. ^pictures in the Hackney Archive
  12. ^abcd"CHURCH OF ST BARNABAS, Non Civil Parish - 1226794 | Historic England".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved14 May2022.
  13. ^abcLondon 4: North.Bridget Cherry, Nikolaus Pevsner. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2002. p. 484.ISBN0-300-09653-4.OCLC719418475.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ^commissioners, Ecclesiastical (1875).Appendix to the twenty-sixth (twenty-seventh, thirty-fifth-forty-seventh) report.p. 8.
  15. ^ab"CHURCH OF ST LUKE, Non Civil Parish - 1235557 | Historic England".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved14 May2022.
  16. ^abc"FORMER CHURCH OF ST PAUL, Non Civil Parish - 1226406 | Historic England".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved14 May2022.
  17. ^National Archives."Saint Paul, Homerton: Glyn Road, Hackney".
  18. ^zoothorn (17 November 2013)."Immaculate Heart of Mary & St Dominic, Kenworthy Road, Homerton (Roman Catholic)".London Churches in photographs.Retrieved4 September2022.
  19. ^Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1 January 2002).London: North.Yale University Press. p. 484.ISBN978-0-300-09653-8.
  20. ^Clarke, F. R. (1893).Glimpses of Ancient Hackney and Stoke Newington: Being a Reprint of a Series of Articles Appearing in the Hackney Mercury, from April 23rd, 1892, to November 25th, 1893. With an Appendix Dealing with the Conversion of a Portion of Hackney Churchyards Into Open Space.A.T. Roberts, son & Company. p. 129.
  21. ^History of the Eastern Hospital(at Archive in London and the M25) accessed: 20 October 2006
  22. ^"Hospitals".Derelict London.
  23. ^Chambers, Veronika & Fred; Higgins, Rob (15 August 2014).Hospitals of London.Amberley Publishing Limited.ISBN978-1-4456-3827-0.
  24. ^History of Hackney Hospital and the Union Workhouse(at Archive in London and the M25) accessed: 20 October 2006
  25. ^Ray Winston Biographyaccessed 10 May 2007.
  26. ^"OLD LIBRARY BUILDING, Non Civil Parish - 1235655 | Historic England".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved14 May2022.
  27. ^Chats Palaceofficial website
  28. ^"An Asset of Community Value saved from illegal development - The Chesham Arms Public Inquiry".An Asset of Community Value saved from illegal development - The Chesham Arms Public Inquiry.Retrieved19 January2021.
  29. ^Powell, Tom (26 February 2017)."Abandoned cinema reopens 60 years after showing last film".Evening Standard.Retrieved8 July2023.
  30. ^Forgotten Stations of Greater Londonby J.Connor and B.HalfordISBN0-947699-17-1

External links[edit]

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