My friend was having a birthday party. Such things right now worry me quite a lot. How do I balance my worries of being around other people with my desire to celebrate with a dear friend? It would be outside in a pub garden, I was assured, but still I hesitated. For one thing (and in a major way) she lives in an area that’s recording the second highest rates of infection in the borough. All the guidance says that this population needs to stay away from others. How foolhardy would I be to say yes? How awful would I feel if I said no? I compromised by saying I’d be happy to drop by for an hour as long as it was outside and then I determined not to get too close to anyone.
One way I’m able to soothe the fear and worry is think about how I can make the best of an outing. Invariably, this means taking photographs and thinking ahead to what I might be able to do while out – maximising the effort. I’m not sure if this is sound thinking but it will do. For me, at least.
Bus route pink, Walking route yellow
Part of my compromise with myself was to walk through Chatsworth Sunday market to see how it was faring right now. I do love the street, and the market can be colourful and interesting. There’s a little deli that might have something interesting to take home with me, too.
The bus sped along Homerton High Street without stopping in at the hospital. I’d forgotten about the construction on Homerton Row. This just meant more walking to retrace the route to go up Chatsworth Road. Not so bad. It was a lovely day and that helped.
The market was underway, smaller than usual. Most disappointingly, like most other East End markets, the food stalls and trucks have taken over. There’s little else going on. I love looking at the food offers but it’s honestly feeling a little tedious by now. Perhaps if the quality were to improve or the prices were to go lower (I’m happy with small dishes to compensate for this) I’d feel better. It’s like the let down feeling when someone you’ve discovered some time ago goes mainstream and loses it appeal as it changes or sometimes degrades. Or perhaps I’m just a snob.
Posher flats at Homerton High Street. Just across the road is a broken down and boarded-up housing estate (next)Boarded upChatsworth Road barricading in placeApproaching the market on Chatsworth Road
A note about Percy Ingles Bakers. A sad one. The bakery was founded in East London in 1954, by Percy Ingle. His grandsons were running it until they announced they were closing up. I grew up with this bakery, on the Roman Road at the top of the market. As a child, there was nothing better than the luridly pink iced buns, the chocolate cornflake cakes, the lovely slabs of bread pudding, and the many hot meat and other pies I so often grabbed more recently when hungry for a quick lunch while out. It turns out that the very first Percy Ingles bakery was on Clarence Road! There hasn’t been one there for a long time but there was one at the top of the Narrow Way, close to Clarence Road. The store on Chatsworth Road shows its rebranding to just Ingles, its new colours making it look more modern and stylish. In the end, it didn’t matter. Covid-19 was the final straw.
A pretty fancy but doomed Percy Ingles
Food food food at Chatsworth Road Market
L’Epicerie, a nice little deli, especially lovely at ChristmasA sight I’d never see in Toronto! Take Away cocktailsA lone plant stall amongst the food offerings. Not much colour today
On a day when I thought staying home and resting might be a good idea I instead found myself saying yes to going up to ‘the big Sainsburys’ in Dalston. It was an excuse to take a couple of photos for my aunt of a converted synagogue nearby and also keep my promise to myself to take some photos in Ridley Road Market.
First off, the synagogue. It’s hidden behind Montague Road. Montague Road Beth Hamedrash began 1902 and closed between 1980 and 1985. I’ve often thought about living in that top floor with the patio balcony.
There are many repurposed and demolished synagogues around. It amazes me how many there must have been at one point. My research tells me that around 1880 there were about 5,000 Jews in Hackney and Dalston. The richer Jews tended to move further north to Stamford Hill, Highbury, and Stoke Newington. By the end of the early 1900s there was a large population of the ‘better class of Jewish working man.’ The Jews of Whitechapel chose Dalston or Canonbury as their ‘first steps upwards.’ In the early 1950s Hackney was assumed to have the densest Jewish population in the country, and the two estates on Amhurst Road alone contained 1,500 to 2,000 working-class Jews, while half of the boys at Hackney Downs school were Jewish. Many of these families prospered and moved along and less than a third of the school’s boys were Jewish by 1972, replaced by newer Afro-Caribbean immigrants. My closest synagogue is about a kilometre away today. The Montague Road Beth Hamedrash would have been a two-minute walk, with others to choose from not much further.Â
I always think about how I could live in one of these little houses built between two larger onesAnother view of St Marks Church on my way to Ridley Road
Straight up to St Mark’s Rise and turn left and the bottom of Ridley Road market is straight ahead. I wasn’t keen to go into, with all the restrictions. There are barriers on either side too and that’s a bit daunting, since I often want to leave to get out to the shops along the road. Instead I walked along the west side of the market, taking in the sights of the mostly Afro-Caribbean storefronts.
The shops are mostly just shallow sheds along the road, each with its chaotic assortment of goods. There’s fish, meat, fabrics, vegetables and fruit, and household goods.
I’m not the first to say that there’s not enough Ridley Road history. Geographically, it links Dalston Lane to Kingsland Road but there’s really nothing much said about the street until the mid 1800s. The main street of Dalston, Kingsland Road, was completely commercial by 1849, properties being sold off by the Tyssen family, and the tram arriving in 1872. In 1930 The Kingsland Road market was in Ridley Road, and was among the best known in London. Other records show that the market existed since the 1880s. This period features in most of the then-modern Hackney, with so many houses that I’ve photographed having this decade engraved on the facade. Ridley Road at the end of the 1880s had about 20 stalls and has played an important part in Hackney’s history. Before the pandemic is had over 150 stalls. Once a Jewish market, it is now mainly Afro-Caribbean and Turkish.
Restricted entrance to the stalls area of Ridley Road Market. Normally, stalls would come right down the end down either side of the roadThe fabric store at the bottom of the market has seen better days. I’ve shopped in there, hoping the mountain of fabrics wouldn’t engulf meA jumble of dry goods and shoesRandom Afro-Caribbean goodsOne of many butchersClothing in the central marketStalls are spaced apart and there are fewer than there once wereObligatory burger and hot dog stand. On the whole they are very poor qualityLots of plantainNear the top of Ridley Road, with Kingsland High Street and the new buildings aheadNew normal spacing means the stalls are sparseI reached the top of the market and stallholders were starting to leave
It’s hard to show the atmosphere of Ridley Road so I took a couple of videos to try to show it. This is pandemic time so it doesn’t bustle as it used to.
I’ll confess to not liking to shop on Ridley Road, and I’ll often avoid walking along it. While it’s interesting, it crosses the line of interesting into too scruffy. That’s saying a lot coming from me. I don’t see the sense of pride I think there should be there. The shops stay the same, often look dirty, are usually quite smelly…have I sold you yet? However, there’s a lot of colour and vibrancy once you get past the assault on your senses. And you’ll find the odd favourite stall – the egg stall, and the one where we buy herbs aren’t there right now but we went regularly.
With so many newcomers in the area demanding more modern, luxurious surroundings, and with the increase in new building, Ridley Road is threatened. New residents aren’t shopping here, the poorer shoppers are being squeezed out of the area by rising prices, and the stallholders are having trouble meeting the rents and rates along with the decrease in traffic. The pandemic has has meant fewer stalls, so restricted foot traffic and revenue. While I am not a big Ridley Road fan, I’d be sad to see it totally cleaned up and overhauled, if not razed. No matter what, Ridley Road has served this community very well for almost a century and a half and I don’t know what Dalston would be without it.
We wanted to walk around Whitechapel again. The area is very dense and has some heavy contrasts. Here I’ll give a warning: There are many, many photos and I did this walk two weeks ago. I no longer remember where each part belongs or what I was thinking about when I took the photos. I may have to juggle things about but I know I won’t get it completely right.
What matters, though, is that our walk took us through the older areas of Spitalfields, through some parts of Whitechapel that my grandparents – and even my parents – would have a hard time believing, and into some areas where the stark, modern lines struck a strong contrast with the old, sometimes converted, warehouses and factories.
To me, it was a typical Whitechapel adventure, where anything was possible, where the past and present cooperate and compete, and where the future can only be imagined. There’s a little bit of history, but not too much or my brain will hurt, and as much everyday thinking as I can muster along the way.
A wildly inaccurate map of where we walkedWe hadn’t taken the Overground since lockdown. The new trains were operating, the carriages were quiet and masks weren’t always apparent. It’s less than ten minutes from Hackney Downs to Liverpool Street Station
Keeping a safe distance and staying where you need to be, at Liverpool Street StationIt’s rare to see Liverpool Street Station so quiet on a weekdayVenturing into Spitalfields. The building sign says 1682. It’s Ottolenghi at Artillery Passage and it had been closed temporarily for weeks
From Middlesex Street, the old and the new. Middlesex Street is the main road for Petticoat LaneI didn’t photograph street art on this walk.This is an oldie but goodie
Toynbee Hall, built in 1886 to serve the poor of London’s East EndThe Old Streets of Tenter Ground. Built by the Flemish weavers, the Huguenots who fled Belgium in the 17th century. Here, newly woven cloth was stretched taut to flatten on an open field. When the Huguenots left, housing was developed in 1829 and the Dutch Jews (The Chut) moved into the area
The Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor, Brune Street, (5662 -1902)London County Council Holland estate built between 1927–1936.Houses where some of my ancestors lived are now finally gone. They were appallingly decrepit for years, a real eyesore. Now they’re gone, I feel quite sad
Finally, we got to Whitechapel High Street, at Aldgate East Station. The scenery changes dramatically.
I’ve been reading other people’s blogs, You know, the ones everybody reads…and I’ve been surprised at how many public-facing people, even celebrities, are confessing to feeling desperate or depressed. I like this pouring out of souls. It’s not just that I feel less alone and hopeless, but that I feel a connection with myself.
I’ve been blogging quite a bit lately, after a fairly long silence. I think it’s because of this connection with myself and my environment. It’s because I felt that, rather than feel imprisoned, I would reach outwards to what is achievable, and then inwards to what I can bring to it. I told Krish last week that I spent one to two hours going on walks to find local things, but that blogging about it afterwards took three or four hours. It enhances my experience. He asked me if this meant that I needed to walk in order to do my blog. I think he was getting at me walking more. No, it’s not that. It is what it is. I can blog about anything. The walking is a means to an end and, as an agoraphobic, that’s important. Walking for the sake of walking is more difficult. The goal of photographing, researching onsite and off, writing later – all of these motivate me. And lately, lethargy and inertia are always threatening to pull me in.
Researching isn’t easy for me. I am impatient. I gather the facts and they overwhelm me. What to choose, what to leave out, and essentially for me, how to write it so that it’s friendly and easily understood. It’d be easy to not bother embroidering my writing about things, places, and people without any background information. Going on guided tours has taught me that knowing a little can enhance. Sitting on my couch right now, thinking about this house, I’d love to know who lived here before, who lived here first – who were they, what were they like, why were they here, what did they do, who was the first…? Krish says that doesn’t matter to him. I’m not sure he means it.
So I have a few blogs in hand. There are bits and pieces of things. There are photos that were left over, areas that weren’t quite completed, photos that belong to little walks that aren’t worth a whole blog. Then there are things around the flat that would be good to talk about. Add all of these to my To Do lists and there’s plenty to keep me occupied, if not delighted.
So here’s a start – Well Street.
It doesn’t look very far but it takes a while to get to Well StreetThe route along Well Street starting at the top right. The Street is a long meandering one but we took a back road this time
On the day we went to Fassett Square and the German Hospital, we took a bus on Graham Road over to Well Street. Originally we were going just to Lidl for some oil and chocolate but Krish decided – unsurprisingly, that he couldn’t resist some cod bites at Well Street Fish and Chips.
On Graham Road on the way to Well Street
Well Street is a meandering road with one end at Morning Lane and the other on Mare Street – a good curve. We started at the point where it turns down into a small high street towards Morning Lane.
Well Street is in South Hackney, just  4.2 miles (6.8 km) northeast of Trafalgar Square (the recognised milestone of London when marking distance). There are records from the 1400s but nothing about a well, although the words like Water and Shore feature even today. Well Street also had a moated ‘Pilgrim’s House.’ There was a small settlement at first, and with a poorer population from the 1700s. By 1831 the whole of Well Street had houses and was quite prosperous, wth shopping and light industry including rope-making, boot-making, and leather working. A cinema arrived in 1913, the South Hackney Picture Palace, and by 1932 there were two housing estate, with two more following after WW2. Well Street has had many prominent residents and characters – Celia Fiennes the traveller and diarist in the 18th century (yes, she is an ancestor of Ralph Fiennes), and Jack Cohen the founder of Tesco who started off trading in Well Street Market. Continue reading “Odds and ends and reflections on blogging – Well Street”
Remember my agoraphobia? Well, I did yesterday. Going out is difficult some days but I try to keep in mind that not going out is just as difficult since it leads to not wanting to go out. And then your body develops all sorts of nasty anxiety symptoms anticipating or attempting it, which results in not wanting to do it again. It’s a vicious cycle. Most of the time I go by the 50-50 rule. If it’s just as likely I’ll have a positive outing as it is that I’ll have an negative one, I will go with the 50% positive option. Why not?
That’s what Thursday was like. For one thing it was a little stormy inside the flat, and for another it was the sixth anniversary of my dad’s death. I was feeling down but out I went – going with the 50% positive rule.
My plan was to look around Clarence Road, a major site for the riots in 2011, and then loop into Clapton Square, out again to get a few groceries and home. This is a short excursion and I didn’t do terribly but, well, see for yourself.
And yay, there are some curved streets. I just didn’t get to explore them all.
The first curved street is my ownThe Pembury Tavern, now open with social distancing! The Five Points Brewery (a local independent) runs it these days but it’s been here since 1866Walking along Dalston Lane towards Clarence Road. Pembury Estate is on the leftLeft Clarence Road, Right The Narrow Way (Mare Street). Straight ahead Lower Clapton RoadSpokes or Brookes?In the blog above, Brooke’s is mentioned. Still researching about this. At ground level, the proof it was here. The blog shows a photo of a pretty crazy looking building
Before I left the flat I decided to do a bit of research into Clarence Road and was surprised to find very little online. What I did find was many records of the riots and reports of stabbings. This was all I could find: Back Lane (a forerunner of Clarence Road), a short cut from Church Street to the heart of Clapton village by the pond. As a back lane, it doesn’t merit much mention. It’s still a nice shortcut and one I tend to forget – the cut-throughs and short cuts from Upper and Lower Clapton Road, if I can just remember which turning to take.
There are some interesting things along Clarence Road, though. It borders Pembury Estate and is often quite lively (pre-pandemic) with a record store, corner shops, a few cafes, and not quite yet trendy.
It’s well worth remembering the riots now. Sitting in our flat just a very short walk away, we were unaware how much havoc and damage was happening on Clarence Road. Once it was cleared and the shops and homes recovered, the street seemed to take a turn for the better. People wanted to support each other, to clean up, to move on, to show the world they were not hooligans.
This may have been part of Stoke’s Arcade. It’s now the Pacific Social Club, a ragtag coffee shopLooking back along Clarence Road towards Mare StreetI was alone so didn’t go down Clarence Mews. There are many architect and artisan studios down here though. I’ve visited them on Open DaysSiva’s Shop. Vandalised during the riots, local community support brought it backI’m not sure if it is a First but Clarence Road’s Black Cat is a 100% vegan and cooperatively run space and it’s been there for as long as I can rememberQuite likely once a pub but it features heavily in the riots video linked above. Clarence Place leads through to Clarence SquareOpposite side of Clarence Road – The very large Pembury Estate
Exterior and Interior Uchi Japanese restaurant, a touch of posh on Clarence Road. Pricey!By far my most favourite house in Hackney. I love this house. It’s a benchmark home opposite Rowhill StreetRowhill Street is a lovely curved road. Today I couldn’t make it down there. Another timeAnother coveted home. Hard to say what was once here
It was much warmer out than I’d anticipated. I’d caved and bought a bottle of water but the sun was full and there was little shade. I don’t do well in the heat. I was determined to go over to Clapton Square and take photos of the notable houses but my resolve was flagging.
I did my best and it really wasn’t good enough but here goes.
Terraced houses – nos. 1-7 Clarence PlaceNumber 8 Clarence Place is thought to have been a coachhouse for number 20 Clapton SquareNumber 20 Clapton Square – very grand, and distinguished by pilasters above its stuccoed ground floorTypical Clapton Square terracesI love the narrowness of Clapton Passage, which leads through to Lower Clapton Road. Today I had to photograph it from afar
Clapton Square is a quiet, grand area in this eclectic neighbourhood. It was laid out in 1816 in the fields of the manor of Hackney. Two sides of the square are lined with tall, partly stone-dressed, classical, Georgian terraced houses. The central gardens have a finely restored drinking fountain donated in 1894. But confession, I have never gone in. There are always far too many drunken people laying about in there so I need to find another brave soul to go in with. Apparently, the wall and iron railings are original – with apologies for no close-ups this time.
Gardens in Clapton Square, the second largest square in HackneyInside the gardens of Clapton SquareI couldn’t see the numbers on the other side of the square
Sadly, by this time I was starting to feel unwell. I’d drank most of my water, but I was now feeling very nauseated and concerned about getting home. My carefully planned house by house exploration was evaporating and I needed instead to find some shade and another cold drink.
I wandered out of Clapton Square, with St John of Hackney directly across from me. A quick visit to the Sainsbury Local and some cool, quiet air. On my way to the bus I went past Flynn’s pub and thought about the heavy contrasts I’d seen on my walk.
15 gins! At Flynn’s
A little PS from Wikipedia. Seems I wasn’t the only one that fancies living or spending time in Clapton Square:
19th century Jewish writer Grace Aguilar lived in the Square. Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) visited, around 1905, his friend Theodore Rothstein who resided in the square.
Clarence Place
Resident and eminent scientist Joseph Priestley, a fellow of the Royal Society wrote:
On the whole I spent my life more happily at Hackney than I had ever done before
He lived at the house (demolished in 1880) on the corner of the Passage and Lower Clapton Road, in the 1790s. A mob had hounded him out of his house and laboratory in Birmingham who opposed his support for the French Revolution. He was invited to come to Hackney to take up the post of Unitarian Minister at the Old Gravel Pit Chapel where he had many friends amongst the Hackney Dissenters. A plaque marks the site of his house above the existing corner building in Lower Clapton Road. He emigrated to America in 1794 fearing a repeat of his family’s persecution.
In a cottage behind Priestley’s house, in the closing years of the 18th century, lived a Huguenot widow, Louisa Perina Courtauld, a designer of gold plate who married a silversmith. Their son, Samuel Courtauld (junior), founded the Courtauld dynasty of silk and artificial fibre manufacturers and a descendant founded the Courtauld Institute now in Somerset House.
5 Clapton Square – home of Thomas Briggs, chief clerk of Robarts, Curtis Bank, Britain’s first railway murder victim on 9 July 1864 (Mr Briggs Hat, Kate ​Colquhoun, ISBN 9780349123592 2011) (​“On 9 July 1864, businessman Thomas Briggs walked into carriage 69 on the 9.45 Hackney-bound train. A few minutes later, two bank clerks entered the carriage – but as they sat down, one of them noticed blood pooled in the seat cushions and smeared on the walls. But there was no sign of Thomas Briggs.”) You’ll have to read the book for the rest.
