A Hackney Childhood

Peace, one and all…

Following on from a recent post of Aaminah’s, I found a few photographs of the London of my youth on Flickr.  And so, I wanted to share them with the wider world.  (I took most of these photos from Alan Denney’s excellent Flickr collection; the picture of Mandeville Primary School comes from Sarflondondunc).

I grew up on Clapton Park Estate, Hackney, London, during the 70s and 80s.  The first photo is of the old tower blocks on Clapton Park Estate.  I used to live in the second one.  They were blown up in the 90s and replaced by houses.  I have many fond memories of playing in the sheds at the bottom, and in the car parks on my roller skates, etc. 

I went to Mandeville Primary School, a short distance from my home.  I think my name is still engraved on the wall there; I won an award way back in 1983!  If my memory serves me correctly, it was the first school in the area to appoint a black headmaster.  I suspect it may have been the first in London.  Mr. Griffiths was a kind but firm man, who originally hailed from Ghana, who was passionate in his defence of his pupils.

The next school I went to was Hackney Downs School.  Although it was an ordinary inner-cty comprehensive by the time I went there, it started life as an old fashioned grammar school.  It was closed down in the early 90s – allegedly for being the worst in Britain.  Upon reflection, there seem to have been other, more political agendas at work.  At any rate, my memories of the school were almost entirely positive.  The teachers were generally very committed and came from a very diverse range of backgrounds: unusually perhaps, one of the senior teachers was a Rastafarian (Mr Vance), and in general it was seen (especially by the Education Authority) as a hotbed of left-wing activism (which it was).  Here’s a picture of the school, taken shortly before it was demolised (to make way for a smart new City Academy: Mossbourne Community Academy)

Here’s the old science block.  I remember playing football there between lessons.

Hackney Marshes – with the tower blocks in the distance – a now long since vanished skyline!  Hackney Marshes is said to contain the largest concentration of football (soccer) pitches in Europe!  I have no way of knowing if that’s true, but I do have many funny memories of watching the football on sunday mornings (with the constant stream of colourful language, and the copious supply of alcohol)!

Hackney Town Hall – with the Unemployment figures hanging over the front, a favourite slogan of 80s Labour councils in London.

A bowls match on Hackney Downs, very close to my secondary school.  It all looks very relaxed – but, from my memories of the park at this time, this was probably an isolated outbreak of calm!

Hackney Downs Festival in the mid-80s.  I remember such occasions with fondness.

Hackney at its best!  This comes from somewhere near Dalston Lane (again, not far from my old school)

Stamford Hill in the 80s.  This area had (and still has) a very large Orthodox Jewish community.  It lies halfway between my old home in Hackney and my grandparents home in Tottenham.  I have many pleasant memories of walking past this shop on my way to catch the bus hom.

The East End Pie ‘n’ Mash Shop – a disappearing London tradition (Pie and Mash Club; BBC information with a recipe); .  Pie ‘n’ Mash shops catered to the working class people of East London, offering mince pies, mashed potato and liquor (a parsley source) – tasty food at a cheap price.  Jellied eels were another delicacy on offer (yuck)!  Here’s a photo of a pie ‘n’ mash shop still in operation in Walthamstow Market (check out the Victorian decor: courtesy of Essexjan).

I plan to add some more text soon, insha Allah.

Related post: Images of Clapton and Hackney

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman