Visit Hackney Marshes Places

Welcome to Visit Hackney Marshes Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Hackney Marshes

  

Hackney Marshes Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Hackney Marshes

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Hackney Marshes history

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The marsh

The River itself was always an important waterway, being navigable to Hertfordshire; the Marsh was formed by the periodic flooding of the river, and so formed useful pasture, but could not be occupied permanently. Before the 10th century, the estuary of the river came as far as Hackney Wick, crossed at Old Ford. Marsh Road, the continuation of Homerton High Street, led to the marshes, and thence to Temple Mills. The Romans appear to have built a significant stone causeway across the marshes here; a periodical, the Ambulator of 1774, noted there have been discovered within the last few years the remains of a great causeway of stone, which, by the Roman coins found there, would appear to have been one of the famous highways made by the Romans The river forms a natural boundary, so in 527 AD it formed the boundary between the Saxon kingdoms of Essex and Middlesex. In the 9th century, it formed a part of the Danelaw boundary and reputedly, King Alfred stranded an invading Viking fleet here in 895 AD. This was achieved by draining the river where it met the River Thames, but the increased drainage affected river navigability, until it was restored in the 17th century. By medieval times, both sides had become counties in England, and attempts were made to control the flow of water through the marshes. Mills were established including the Knights Templar mill at Temple Mills. Much of the marsh was ‘owned’ by the Templars and used for pasture. When the Templars were abolished, the land passed to the Knights Hospitaller, and thence to the Crown during the Reformation, when monastic lands were seized. At this time, much of the land was associated with the Hackney village of Lower Homerton and with the large manor house at Hackney Wick. Around 1770, the river was straightened by the construction of the Hackney Cut, now forming the western extent of the marsh. The natural watercourse passes to the east over the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir, just below Lea Bridge Road. A nature reserve occupies the former Middlesex Filter beds on the island between the two watercourses. By 1795, the former Templar mills were being used for preparing lead (submerged in urine, and heated by decaying cow dung, the lead was converted to lead oxide, and then finely ground to form a pigment for white, yellow and red lead paint). A new watermill was established on the Crown land of the marshes by Prince Rupert for an improved method of boring guns, however the secret died with him in 1682 and the enterprise collapsed. At the end of the 19th century Hackney suffered from increased demand for building land, both for housing and to extend the factories in Homerton. The marshes had always suffered periodic flooding from the Lea but with the introduction of mains sewerage a flood relief sewer was constructed beneath the marshes. Most common and Lammas lands were then preserved by an Act of Parliament and passed to the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works, but the marsh remained excluded from the MBW scheme because many of the lammas rights were still exercised, predominantly grazing. This was a period of increasing arguments between landowners and groups, such as the Eton Manor Mission, who were trying to use the marsh for recreation. The 337 acres (1.36 km) of marshes were finally preserved by the London County Council in 1890, by purchasing the rights and landowners’ interests for £75,000. They opened to the public in 1893 by the Chairman of the LCC, Sir John Hutton and were formally dedicated in 1894. The LCC undertook further flood prevention, straightening some of the bends in the River by introducing four ‘cuts’, the old channels being retained to form islands. There were few houses on the marshes, but a notable exception was the White House Inn, by a bridge on the old road to Leyton. Originally built as part of a Lea fishery scheme, the pub is now long gone but a bridge remains, rebuilt to supply anti-aircraft batteries during World War II. In the Marshes towards Hackney Wick were low public houses, the haunt of highwaymen and their Dulcineas. Dick Turpin was a constant guest at the “White House,” or “Tyler’s Ferry,” near Joe Sowter’s cock-pit at Temple Mills; and few police-officers were bold enough to approach the spot. Small areas of the marsh have been taken for housing and sports fields and others added. 35.5 acres (144,000 m) were taken in 1915 to build the ‘National Projectile Factory’; after World War I, in 1922 this site was used to create the Mabley Green recreation ground. A further 22.5 acres (91,000 m) were taken in 1937 for the building of the Kingsmead Estate. The Lesney die cast model factory was built on the Homerton side of the Lee Navigation in the 1940s, having success for many years with their Matchbox brand. The factory was a major local employer and closed in 1990.

Sport

In 1881, men from Homerton College, then still in the London area, founded the Glyn Cricket Club. Members of the cricket club then decided to form a football section to keep fit during the winter months. The most famous use of Hackney Marshes is for Sunday league football, with 88 full-size football pitches marked out.

London Olympics 2012

The Olympic Park lies south of the A12, on industrial land around the former Hackney Stadium. The Olympic plans included upgrading this watercourse and improving public access. The natural course of the River Lea forms the borough boundary with Waltham Forest and Newham.

You can visit Hackney Marshes places with Walkfo Hackney Marshes to hear history at Hackney Marshes’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Hackney Marshes has 368 places to visit in our interactive Hackney Marshes map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Hackney Marshes, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Hackney Marshes places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Hackney Marshes & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 368 audio facts unique to Hackney Marshes places in an interactive Hackney Marshes map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Hackney Marshes Places Map
368 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Hackney Marshes historic spots	Hackney Marshes tourist destinations	Hackney Marshes plaques	Hackney Marshes geographic features
Walkfo Hackney Marshes tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Hackney Marshes

  

Best Hackney Marshes places to visit

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Hackney Marshes has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Hackney Marshes’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Hackney Marshes’s information audio spots:

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is part of the London Borough of Hackney. It is 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Charing Cross. The historic core of the area retains the distinct London village character.

Dalston Synagogue The Dalston Synagogue was a Jewish place of worship in the London Borough of Islington, North London, from about 1885 to 1970 . Jews fleeing the pogroms of the Russian Empire established a congregation in the neighbourhood by 1876 . The Victorian Gothic building was erected in Poets Road in 1885 .

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick lies 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northeast of Charing Cross. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes also described as being part of Hackney.

Bushwood, Leytonstone Bushwood is an area in the north of Leytonstone in East London. The area is popular for its proximity to Wanstead Flats and Wanstead Park. It has many tree-lined streets with Victorian and Edwardian houses.

East Village, London East Village is a housing development in Stratford, East London that was designed and constructed as the Olympic Village of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The area was formerly contaminated waste land and industrial buildings to the north of Stratford town centre.

St Francis of Assisi Church, Stratford St Francis of Assisi Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Stratford, London. It was founded from a mission that started in 1770. The Franciscan Order of Friars Minor arrived in 1873 and built a friary next door to the church in 1876.

Visit Hackney Marshes plaques