A colour photograph of a busy community event in a field, with a number of stalls in the foreground. The photo is focussed on one stall with a large green banner reading "Pyramid Arts Development" supervised by two men of African heritage. The stall is selling records and cassette tapes.

Pyramid Arts Development

20th century Hackney, African and Caribbean Hackney, Late 20th century, Music, Roots, Rhythms & Records

As part of our ongoing series ‘Roots, Rhythms and Records’ celebrating the impact of Hackney’s African and Caribbean communities on music in … Read more

Sepia photograph, three women in bathing costumes sitting on the beach, an example of someone from East London on a seaside holiday.

Hackney-On-Sea

20th century Hackney, Early 20th century Hackney, Women

In the 1800s, the introduction of the railway and cheap paddle steamer services from London to nearby coastal towns made … Read more

Watercolour illustration of two South Asian men working in a yard

Shoreditch Lascars

19th century Hackney, Asian Hackney, Chinese, South Asian

Discover stories of Chinese and Indian sailors (often called lascars) serving the East India Company between 1797 and 1802 who found themselves living in east London’s Shoreditch

Belgian Refugees in Hackney 1914-1919

Early 20th century Hackney, First World War, Refugees

The German invasion of Belgium in 1914 resulted in the largest arrival of refugees in British history, as people fled … Read more

A man and women standing outside a house, with four women wearing sarees standing behind them

‘The Ayahs and Amahs’ Home’ in Hackney

Asian Hackney, Ayahs and Amahs, Early 20th century Hackney, Victorian Hackney, Women

Discover the hidden stories of ayahs and amahs, South and South East Asian women, who cared for British children and lived in Hackney.

B&W image of two children playing in an adventure playground on a slide.

Adventure Playgrounds in Hackney

20th century Hackney, Campaigning and Activism, Childhood

Since the 1950s, Hackney’s adventure playgrounds have been important spaces for generations of local children, where they can play freely … Read more

3 Edwardian portrait banners with temperance slogans: "Abstain for the children's' sake" "Pledged to resist our county's greatest foe" "Water is best"

The Temperance Movement in Hackney

Early 20th century Hackney, Victorian Hackney

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the terrible living and working conditions experienced by East London’s poor led many … Read more