Festival Videos

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From Hackney, With Love: An Intimate History of Regeneration, Gentrification and Belonging is an insider exploration of the dramatic social, cultural and economic transformation of one of the most iconic places in Britain – Richard’s home, the London Borough of Hackney.

Squatting, culture and politics in Hackney in the 1980s, Chas Loft, Gail Thibert, David Insurrection, Heather Redheader talk about their experiences of squatting.

Watch more — expand each category below to view a list of videos available to watch on YouTube

Architecture & Buildings

Watch videos on topics related to historic buildings, estates, churches, preservation, design, regeneration

The past, present and future of the Hackney Society's work on the borough's built heritage at risk

The Hackney Society has been active in calling for the retention and reuse of historic buildings and other structures in the borough since it was founded in 1967.

Meaning from Mannerism: Understanding Allen’s Estate and Gardens, Stoke Newington

To celebrate 150 years since the completion of Allen's Estate and Gardens, Stoke Newington this talk by Darren aims to answer a question - Can a study of Allen’s Estate and Gardens demonstrate there was a Mannerist Revival in the Victorian era that has since been overlooked?

A history of the Hackney Design Awards - celebrating the borough's best loved buildings

Matt Payne works for the Conservation, Urban Design & Sustainability Team at Hackney Council and will be delving into the archives of the Hackney Design Awards to celebrate some of the borough's best loved buildings, which have either won or been shortlisted since 2004.

Plans in the Dark: Stoke Newington’s Unbuilt Deep Shelter and the Politics of Protection

In 1939, Stoke Newington commissioned a leading consulting engineer to design a deep level air raid shelter beneath the borough.

How Lower Clapton Grew Up: A Story Told by Its Homes

In 1939, Stoke Newington commissioned a leading consulting engineer to design a deep level air raid shelter beneath the borough.

The Dudley Monument of St Mary’s Old Church

The Dudley Monument of St Mary’s Old Church: exploring Elizabethan Stoke Newington through an iconic memorial stone.

Faith Buildings in Hackney talk

Urban landscapes are shaped by faith: faith buildings act as landmarks both geographically and in collective cultural consciousness.

Innovation on Historic Grounds: The Transformation of Here East and the Journey of the Olympic Park

We are taken on a journey through our transformation from the former International Press and Broadcast Centre of the London 2012 Olympics to today’s thriving tech and innovation campus.

Local History

Watch videos on topics related to general Hackney history, neighbourhoods, everyday life, streets, shops

River Lea

The Lee Valley Park was the brainchild of a famous Hackney mayor, Lou Sherman, whose aim was to restore the neglected open spaces of the Lee Valley for public use.

Life on the Lea

Judith explains the long and impactful history of the River Lea from Viking raiders, through its industrial heritage and the legacy of the Olympics, with interviews from many who call it home.

Every House in Hackney Has a Story. What’s Yours?

Inspired by David Olusoga’s A House Through Time, Jessica Crowe went searching for the secrets hidden within the walls of her London Fields home.

250 Years of Shops and Trades in Hackney’s Historic High Street

Carolyn Clark's talk traces the history of Central Hackney’s historic shopping street from Georgian times to the 1970s.

Look up, look down: Spotting local history everywhere

Our surroundings are filled with relics and remnants of the past, often hidden in plain sight. As we go about our daily lives, we rarely take the time to look up or down, missing the fascinating traces of history embedded in our environment.

Hackney Council at 60

Tony talks about Hackney in the 60 years since it was created as one of today's London boroughs in 1965. He considers the borough's extraordinary contemporary history, including both the high and low points.

Life Under Lockdown: On Mehetabel Road and Isabella Road in Hackney 2020

Writer and photographer, Eithne Nightingale, and her neighbours discuss Life Under Lockdown: On Mehetabel Road and Isabella Road in Hackney 2020 with Hackney resident and professor of historical geography at Queen Mary University of London, Alastair Owens.

Stoke Newington at War: Hidden Stories of Resistance and Survival

Tony Rich, Independent Research Historian and Psychogeographer, delves into the remarkable story of how Stoke Newington braced itself against the dangers of the Second World War through its civil defence and air raid precautions (ARP).

Hackney: Echoes Through Time - A photographic journey over fifty years

Drawing on his unique archive of photographs taken fifty years ago, Neil reveals more unseen images in parallel with those he has taken over the past two years.

Healthcare in Hackney

As Hackney became more populated in the nineteenth century there were more opportunities for infectious diseases to spread.

Shrubland Road TRA and the Closed Pubs of Hackney

Peter Jarvis from Shrubland Tenants and Residents Association on using archive research to create local events and publications.

Hackney Downs: The Worst School in England?

Tim Dowley, historian and former pupil of Hackney Downs, author of Defying the Holocaust, outlines some of the highs and lows in the story of this extraordinary school – the ‘Jewish Eton’– whose pupils included Harold Pinter and Leon Kossoff.

1930s Stoke Newington – Rediscovering a Decade of Profound Change

This talk explores the considerable transformation of the former Borough of Stoke Newington during the 1930s.

Politics & Social Change

Watch videos on topics related to suffragettes, strikes, housing, slavery, protest, activism

Not a thing was moving”: the 1926 General Strike in Hackney and beyond

In May 1926 two million workers joined the only official General Strike Britain has ever seen, in support of miners facing drastic wage cuts.

Strike Songs Sing-along

We topped off the Archives day with a right old knees-up led by Peter Jarvis from Shrubland Road TRA and Eric Segal whose grandfather was involved in the strike.

A Quiet Roar — Untold stories of the Women of Sutton House

History is most often recorded as a long list of men and their deeds, with only passing mention of their wives.

Hackney’s Squatters, punks and ravers

From Punk squats to free parties and raves, an alternative history to Hackney’s anarchist communities making a lot of noise in Thatcher’s wastelands.

May Scott’s Hoxton Hall

May Scott’s Hoxton Hall: Intersectional rootedness, social change, and community care at the Hall that May built. It’s 1959 and the slim figure of May Scott travels the short distance from her flat at Arnold Circus to Hoxton Hall.

When the spirit of Judah Maccabee hovered over Whitechapel

In 1917, during WW1, after much lobbying, the British government agreed to the raising of a specifically Jewish unit to fight in the Army against the Ottomans in present day Israel.

Rock against Racism in Victoria Park

1978. 100,000 music fans walked seven miles from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park. To protest against the National Front.

Radicals and Loyalists: Hackney in a Revolutionary City, 1789-1815

The outbreak of the French Revolution in the summer of 1789 was at first broadly welcomed in London, especially among the many radicals and dissenters of Stoke Newington and Hackney.

The Angry Brigade – Anarchy In N16

If you’ve ever turned to walk down Amhurst Road from Stoke Newington Road, you’ll have unwittingly passed the HQ of one of Britain’s most infamous cases of political violence.

Hackney and the East India Company

There were a number of links between the Company, founded in 1600 and Hackney, then a small country village.

1907 - Revolutionaries in London

Award-winning novelist Stephen May discusses the background to the fascinating blend of fact and fiction behind his book Sell Us The Rope. This describes the weeks Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg spent in Hackney in 1907.

Bloody-minded Hackney Heroes

Hackney Heroes recalls the contribution by Hackney campaigners who fought to preserve some of the places we value most including De Beauvoir Town, Hackney Empire, Sutton House and Walthamstow Marshes.

When “the Irish Question” came to 1880s Hackney

Breda Corish explains how the late nineteenth-century debate about self-government for Ireland played out not just in the corridors of Westminster but also on the streets of Hackney. At the forefront of the Liberal campaign for Home Rule was South Hackney’s Irish-born MP Charles Russell - political ally and legal defender of “the Uncrowned King of Ireland” Charles Stewart Parnell.

Squat the Lot

Squatting, culture and politics in Hackney in the 1980s, Chas Loft, Gail Thibert, David Insurrection, Heather Redheader talk about their experiences of squatting.

London's most sensational shoot-out: the Siege of Sidney Street

Andrew Whitehead, author of 'A Devilish Kind of Courage: Anarchists, Aliens and the Siege of Sidney Street', reveals the story of the most sensational shoot-out in London's history.

Votes for women! Individual suffrage stories from Hackney

Hackney had its share of militant suffragettes, working alongside those who kept away from arson and breaking windows. The research for the Women from Hackney’s History project has uncovered their stories.

From Hackney With Love: Regeneration, Gentrification and Belonging

Communities & Identity

Watch videos on topics related to migration, black history, LGBTQ+, faith communities, women's history, youth

Well Settled: Archiving Vietnamese histories in Hackney

Named after a Vietnamese phrase meaning ‘well settled’, the An Việt Foundation was established by Mr. Vũ Khánh Thành in Hackney in 1981.

Up the Youth Club

Youth clubs have been an important part of Hackney life for over a hundred years. Now, youth clubs are back on the national and local agenda.

Borders, Boats and Boarding Houses: Hidden histories of Sylheti lascars in Hackney

From Sylhet to Spitalfields is an account of the long historical roots of the Bangladeshi community in east London.

Stitching Lives, Making Place: Turkish and Kurdish Women and the Making of Hackney since the 1980s

Since the 1980s, Turkish and Kurdish women have played a vital yet often overlooked role in shaping Hackney’s economy, streets, and community life.

Capturing Hackney’s LGBTQ+ history

While researching Hackney’s history names have emerged - Sue will present these (some from centuries past) and start the conversation about capturing what the (audience/attendees) know.

Hackney's Working Class Suffragettes

In January 1914, working-class women in East London were told they were no longer welcome in the militant suffragette organisation, the Women’s Social and Political Union.

1851 Census: Who were the Irish in Hackney & Stoke Newington?

A talk by Breda Corish as part of Hackney History Festival in May 2025. The census of 1851 was the first to record place of birth, marital status and occupation for people living in Britain.

Day-Mer Centre Open Evening

We hear from Taylan Sahbaz from Day-Mer, Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre who will give an introduction to Hackney's Kurdish, Turkish, and Turkish Cypriot Communities.

The hidden histories of girls who lived at the Female Refuge

In 1817 a girl called Ann Tyrell arrived at the Refuge for the Destitute in Hackney. Journalist and writer Katharine Quarmby talks about the real Hackney history behind her novel, The Low Road.

Child Migrant Voices

The Film Passing Tides tells Linh Vu's journey from Vietnam in Hackney in 1970s and an interview between Linh and Eithne Nightingale (researcher and author).

The Salvation Army in Hackney

The Salvation Army is a church and charity founded in east London in the 1860s. From the 1880s onwards many of its most significant London locations were in Hackney, from the evangelical Clapton Congress Hall to the Mothers' Hospital.

People

Watch videos on topics related to individual biographies and notable Hackney residents

Anna Letitia Barbauld, née Aikin, 1743-1825

Anna Letitia Barbauld, née Aikin, 1743-1825 lived in Stoke Newington Church Street from 1802 until her death in 1825 and you can see her tomb in Stoke Newington Churchyard.

Sir James Drax of Hackney - Slave plantation owners in Hackney and the City

The Drax family are unique as they still own the colonial sugar plantation in Barbados where their ancestors enslaved people for over 200 years.

The lost world of Dudley Ryder

An immersive, illustrated talk on a forgotten Hackney diarist who is easily as gripping as Samuel Pepys, with a costumed actor performing readings, evoking in rich, vivid detail the lost world of 18th-century Hackney, and exploring how — over the last couple of decades, with the relentless march of gentrification — the Hackney villages have come full-circle.

A Fortunate Man: John Berger in Hackney

John Berger (1926 – 2017) was one of Europe’s most important post-war writers and intellectuals, admired across the world.

Hackney Heroes 2

After Hackney Heroes 1, last year, Laurie Elks continues his exploration of the bloody minded heroes who stood up for what they believed in and made Hackney a better place.

Women from Hackney History Volume 2

Volume two of Women from Hackney’s History features 115 women with strong links to Hackney. Their names emerged as research carried on after the publication of volume one in 2021.

Local Jewish war hero of SOE

A talk about Lionel Lee, a little known local Jewish war hero who served in Special Operations Executive, was highly decorated and sadly betrayed and then murdered at Gross Rosen death camp in 1944.

Dr Jelley - The Threepenny Doctor

Henry Percy Jelley, born in Totnes, Devon opened a surgery at High Street, Homerton for patients unable to afford other doctors. Riding his horse from one slum street to another, he soon became a local hero, popularly known as 'The Threepenny Doctor'.

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Watch videos on topics related to theatre, film, music, literature, design, artists, performance

Hoxton Hall and the 70s arts and theatre movements from May Scott to Terry Goodfellow

David Sulkin OBE, chair of the Hoxton Hall board of trustees, will talk about his time at the Hall from the 1970s looking at how the Hoxton Hall archive helps uncover and preserve this legacy as well as exploring some of his own contributions to it.

John Berger in Hackney The origins of the Writers & Readers Publishing Co-operative

John Berger, one of Europe’s most influential post-war writers and intellectuals was born at 1 Filey Avenue, Stoke Newington on 5 November 1926.

Lights, Camera, Location - Hackney on Film

When (if) we think of British cinema and where its films were made, it is perhaps most likely that various studios - Elstree, Pinewood, Shepperton etc. - come to mind.

History of The Premises Studio

An introduction to the legendary Premises Studios - an East LDN institution and a cafe that has been part of London’s working music infrastructure for decades.

The life and work of poster designer, Abram Games

Raised in Hackney, Abram Games was one of 20th century Britain’s most innovative and important graphic designers. With a career spanning sixty years, he produced some of Britain’s most enduring images which are now a fascinating record of social history.

A History of Hackney in Sound and Vision

A celebration of 100 years in Hackney through music, film and still images. Hackney Community Orchestra is an accomplished local music group which plays music of many styles and traditions.

Tales from Hackney’s Memory Palaces

Since films first flickered on London screens in 1896 Hackney has been home to more than 60 cinemas ranging from grand architectural marvels to neighbourhood fleapits.

Ridley Road market in drawings

From Larry the oldest stallholder to Jacky the parrot, Ridley Road was Lucinda Rogers’s inspiration and studio for two months in 2017 as she created a portrait of its traders and stalls in a series of large documentary drawings made on the spot.

One Girl Began - a fictional feminst history of Hackney

Kate Murray-Browne was born in London and worked in publishing for ten years before becoming a writer.

Feminist Re-Imaginings at the Rio, 1980-2025!

This illustrated talk shares research conducted in the Rio’s archive, excavating a feminist history of women’s film and video programming.

Dalston Peace Mural

Local historian, Laurie Elks chairs a panel discussion with Roland Walker and Alan May: two of the figures in the Dalston Peace Mural. Roland is the son of Ray & Anna Walker.

A Portrait of Hackney 2005-2025: Sean Pollock in Conversation with Petra Roberts

Documentary and portrait photographer Sean Pollock launches and discusses his new book, A Portrait of Hackney 2005 -2025.

Post screening discussion of The Estate l Andrea Luka Zimmerman & A Palace for Us l Tom Hunter

Two Hackney based directors discuss their films depicting Hackney life over time in the Haggerston and Woodbury Down Estates, and answer questions from the audience at Castle Cinema.

'Under the Cranes' - with Director Q&A

Shot entirely on location in Hackney, this film-poem offers a lyrical, painterly defence of the everyday and a celebration of this dynamic and culturally diverse East London borough, even as it poses questions about the process of regeneration.

The Wollstonecraft Live! Experience

Anna shows us an original copy of Mary Wollstonecraft's iconic text A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and find out how local theatre and tells us how film company Fragments & Monuments brought Wollstonecraft's legacy to life.

Hoxton Entertains in the 1860s

In 1863, Hoxton Hall joined The Britannia Theatre in becoming a notable venue in Hoxton's nineteenth century entertainments' industry.

Gainsborough Studios: Hackney’s Little Hollywood

Between 1920 and 1949, on the site of an old power station between the Regent’s Canal and Shoreditch Park, more than 170 films were made in what was then one of Britain’s most famous film studios.

Heritage & Collections

Watch videos on topics related to archives, exhibitions, museums, heritage projects

Hackney Mosaic Project

The mosaic project creates large mosaics in and around Hackney with a diverse group of volunteers.

Nature & Environment

Watch videos on topics related to geology, rivers, marshes, birds, parks

Making a happy family: birdkeeping in Hackney and East London

In their crystal jars, beetles kick and plunge. Set before a tall window, rests a glass case carefully planted with ferns that swoop and curl against the light.

"Down with the Fences!" – the long struggle for London’s open spaces

For hundreds of years London has been growing ever larger, its boundaries spreading from the confines of the medieval city and swallowing up once rural villages such as Hackney, covering London’s countryside with housing.

Celebrating 40 years of Hackney City Farm

Chris Pounds and volunteer team members mark the Farm’s 40th anniversary.

The Mercenary River

Nick Higham tells the story of London’s water from the Tudor era to the 20th century. It’s a tale of remarkable technological, scientific and organisational breakthroughs, but also one of greed and complacency, high finance and low politics.

Walks

Watch videos on topics related to guided walks

Pie ‘n’ Mash & Prefabs

Norman Jacobs, who was born and brought up in a prefab on Millfields, will take you on a guided tour of Lower Clapton.

Squatting, a walking tour of central Hackney

Tom Hunter, who squatted in Central Hackney from the mid 80’s until the end of the 90’s, will take you on a guided tour of his old homes and theatres of fun and entertainment.

Hackney Tudor Tales: A guided walk through Dalston

Our stroll from Stoke Newington Road to Kingslands High Road was filled with fascinating tales and intriguing characters, reminiscent of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Tours & Open Days

Watch videos on topics related to building tours, open buildings, boat trips, bike rides

Aziziye Mosque

A guided tour of the Aziziye Mosque in Stoke Newington, which was originally built in 1913-1914 as the Apollo Picture House, designed with a distinct mock-oriental style.

Tours of 195 Mare Street

We visited 195 Mare Street, one of Hackney’s oldest buildings as part of Hackney History Festival in May 2026.

Georgian Church Tour

A chance to see inside this Grade II*-listed building in Stamford Hill, Hackney, with exceptional Arts and Crafts stained glass windows and the former headquarters of a late-Victorian Christian cult.

History Cycle - A bike tour of Hackney

The Pickwick Bicycle Club, founded in Hackney in 1870, is the world’s oldest cycling association. The ride will start outside its original base, 75 Downs Road, E5 8DS, on the northeast corner of Hackney Downs, before traversing the borough, with stops at Clapton Pond, Sutton House, St Augustine’s Tower, the Rio Cinema and other historic landmarks.

195 Mare Street Guided Tours (2025)

195 Mare Street is one of Hackney’s oldest buildings. Built in 1697, the house has an incredible history. On this tour we and hear the stories of rich merchants, a venal Tory MP, women prisoners and working men.

Castle Cinema Guided Tour

The Castle Cinema was originally opened as an electric theatre in 1913, making it one of London’s original picture houses. It was reopened as a cinema, crowdfunded by locals, in 2017 and has been in operation ever since.

Hackney Town Hall Tour

Councillor Kennedy guides around the iconic Hackney Town Hall as part of Hackney History Festival.