The fifties in Hackney, and in London as a whole, was an upbeat time. Two big post war events in London were the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953. Both gave the impression of a city community successfully rebuilt and rejuvenated. It was a time of optimism and of looking forward to the future following the war, but also a time of orthodox values.
There was a great deal of building work to do after the war. In Hackney much demolition and rebuilding of bomb damaged areas took place, and later more still for social housing. Many architecturally interesting buildings were demolished, such as Brooke House, the oldest eastern side of De Beauvoir Square, St Thomas's Square and numerous churches. Large council estates were built on the sites cleared following bomb damage and slum clearance. Most of these were built by the London County Council, others by the Borough Council. In 1965 the parishes of Hackney, Stoke Newington and Shoreditch joined together to become the London Borough of Hackney as we know it today.
In the 1970s inner London as a whole experienced an industrial decline. In Hackney, as elsewhere, factories and people moved out and local centres of community were abandoned at night and run down by day. Council services declined, caretakers were removed from estates, improvements to the housing stock were not carried out and vandalism and neglect began to characterise the estates. In 1979, 32% of Hackney families were living in poverty.
From 1984 the population of London as a whole started to grow again, a reflection of an upturn in the economy. It was partly the high number of large council estates, but also the lack of residential squares and a tube system, which delayed the gentrification of Hackney in comparison to other areas such as Islington. Gentrification took off in the mid eighties particularly around Lower Clapton, London Fields, Victoria Park and De Beauvoir Town where the Georgian and Victorian villas and terraces provided prime sites for restoration. The number of conservation areas and the high percentage of green space in Hackney have added to its attraction. Two new parks were created in the post war era; Haggerston Park and Shoreditch Parks, both in the 1960s.
In between these pockets of gentrification were run-down estates such as Holly Street. Whilst there was some interaction in local shops and primary schools, the social divide was apparent in the appearance of 'mug a yuppie' graffiti. The problems of these 'hard to let' estates stemmed from design faults which led to structural problems such as condensation and leaking roofs but also social problems such as muggings, burglary and vandalism.
Inner London boroughs, such as Hackney, struggled further in the 1980s, in the wake of rate capping, the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 followed by the 'poll tax', and the devolution of education in 1990. The removal of the GLC left London, for the first time in over 130 years, without some centralised overseeing body. It was, until the introduction of the London Mayor's post and the Greater London Authority in 1999, the only major capital without some form of city-wide government and it resulted in an administrative headache for the 32 metropolitan boroughs and the City.
In the early 20th century Jews had been the largest immigrant group in Hackney but in the 1950s immigrants came mainly from the new Commonwealth, Turkey, Cyprus and also Pakistan. These residents have made their contribution to the landscape. For example the number of people originating in Turkey and the Indian subcontinent has resulted in the welcome addition of several mosques to the streetscape. The first in 1978 was the North London Mosque on Cazenove Road and the most recent in 1999 the Suleymaniye Mosque on Kingsland Road. Stamford Hill still has the largest orthodox Jewish community outside of Israel and New York. The diverse ethnic mix in Hackney has also resulted in a wide variety of shops and services.
In the upper Mare Street end of Hackney, the opening of Sutton House in 1994, the Technology and Learning Centre (incorporating Hackney Museum and the library) in 2002, Ocean music venue the same year and the refurbishment of the Hackney Empire are all signs of Hackney’s resurgence. South Hackney was at the forefront of 'Brit Art', which led to the areas' revival as a social quarter. There are now a proliferation of bars, clubs and restaurants in Shoreditch and Hoxton. This in turn has led to an upturn in the local economy and in property values. An emphasis on regeneration has seen marked improvements in many of the estates, for example Holly Street.
It remains to be seen whether plans for improvements in the transport system and other regeneration schemes will see the continued resurgence of Hackney.
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