Sunday, 3 June, 2018
It’s been a while since I’ve been to Chatsworth Road Market. It’s not one I go to very often since it’s a bit out of the way, is quite small, and is increasingly becoming one of those “food court markets.” Still, it’s a nice road and, besides, I had run out of peanut butter.
A few years ago, when visiting the One Change shopping area, I found a stall selling peanut butter from New Zealand. I wasn’t keen to try the sample I was offered but, after being promised there was no sugar, I did try it. It’s amazingly good. The flavour is perfect, the level of roast works really well, and there’s no sugar or palm oil or anything other than peanuts (and salt in some versions). I sound like an ad but there’s no going back now. Anyway, it’s Pic’s – I sound like an ad!
Chatsworth Road Market is in Homerton (originally Humberton) east of Upper Clapton. Homerton used to be a very rundown area and it’s probably still one of the least desirable parts of Hackney. I’ve seen photos of Homerton High Street at the beginning of the 1900s and it was a bustling shopping area then. Now there’s not much going on at all.
I took the bus to Homerton Hospital. This is our local hospital and serves a large community. I was shocked some years ago to hear that there are 5,000 births there every year – this is as many as my big city hospital, Women’s College, in Toronto. More about the hospital another day, when I have to visit, but for now – it’s a sprawling low-rise hospital across several buildings and annexes. I’ve been treated very well there.
At the end of the road before I head up to the peanut butter and the market, is Brooksby’s Walk. I can’t find out who Brooksby was so the search continues. Right at the junction is Chat’s Palace, which has been an arts centre and music venue for thirty years. It’s housed in the impressive former Homerton Library.
The peanut butter is in a Spar supermarket. Spar is a huge chain in Europe but here in the UK it’s pretty minor. It’s a high-end market with lots of independent branded groups. Here in Hackney it tends to bring in a lot of local businesses too – bakeries, florists, and food that’s ready to go.
The Castle Cinema is a recent (yet old) addition to Brooksby’s Walk. It was originally the Castle Electric Theatre, built in 1913 opened on 8th September 1913 as an independent single-screen cinema., seating less than 700. It became a bingo hall, then a warehouse, then a snooker hall. And it got pretty run down in there. Then a few years ago Spar was opened and it seemed a shame to ignore the upstairs cinema. The cinema was actually restored and opened after a very successful Kickstarter project. Over 650 people raised 120% of the target! I’ve never been inside but I hear it’s gorgeous, including a very lovely original bar, with velvet, beads and some gorgeous bar lamps. I hear you can even eat dinner here. I’ll have to go to one of its movies one day to check it all out.
Meanwhile, the Spar isn’t too shabby either. You just have to get past some of the prices in here!
Peanut butter shopping accomplished, on to Chatsworth Road market, Chatsworth Road being an extension of Brooksby’s Walk.
Like most gentrifying high streets, Chatsworth Road originally had all older shops from about 1880, until one more modern one crept in less than a decade ago. And so it grows. Now there are many trendier craft boutiques, cafes and food shops – all independent and most thriving. These shops get the benefit of the Sunday market and most will have people inside them.
Bernstein’s Deli, where I once had matzo ball soup
Foolishly, I didn’t photograph any of the older shops for contrast.
There are a lot of residential streets going off from the high street. The prices are still more reasonable here than in other parts of Hackney but they’re climbing fast. Unlike most high streets in Britain, Chatsworth was built as part of a planned new neighbourhood. Originally a field path, the road was built from scratch in the 1870s and is wider than many.
The market used to be much longer, going all the way down to Chat’s Palace, Hackney’s biggest market with over 200 stalls in the 1930s. It was gone by the end of the 1980s but returned in 2010 and has been running weekly since June 2011. These days it covers just two short blocks. Today, there are a few craft stalls and then there’s food! I didn’t eat any but I did taste some delicious seafood curry.
