Saturday 16 May 2026

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. Instead, they created the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS) which fought for votes for all women. Inspired by traditions of working-class militancy, they organised mass protests and created a People’s Army to combat police violence. Whilst the organisation’s work in Bow and Poplar are best known, this talk will uncover the extraordinary women and dramatic campaigns they waged in Hackney. Katherine Connelly, a biographer of the ELFS’s charismatic leader Sylvia Pankhurst, will trace the way these militant working-class suffragettes responded to the global upheavals of war and revolution, as well as the ways their radical democratic vision changed Hackney.

Old shop signs occasionally resurface when modern fascias are removed, revealing the names of long-forgotten businesses and their proprietors, and offering a fleeting glimpse into the past before being concealed once more or discarded. Some remain strikingly intact, others are heavily worn, yet all evoke a sense of unexpected discovery. Their appearance can be fleeting, sometimes lasting only minutes before removal or being covered again, making the chance to see them in situ largely a matter of luck and timing. These signs showcase the artistry of traditional signwriters and preserve the identities of businesses that once played a vital role in Stoke Newington’s commercial life. This talk explores examples uncovered in recent years across Stoke Newington, highlighting not only the range of signage styles but also the dramatic stories behind some that were rescued just in time.

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. The latest iteration of this work has been the Buildings at Risk Group (BARG for short), established in late 2023. Despite the gentrification Hackney has experienced in the past decade or more, and the increased investment in its built environment this has entailed, it remains the London borough with the second highest number of entries in Historic England's annual Heritage at Risk Register. The first 18 months of BARG have been largely dedicated to understanding what is a complex landscape of different types of at-risk heritage assets, stakeholders, and planning policies. This talk will cover the Hackney Society's 50+ years of activity in this sphere, the lessons learnt by BARG over the past year and a half, and the practical projects it is undertaking to improve recognition and understanding of some of the most vulnerable elements Hackney's historic built environment.

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. The latest iteration of this work has been the Buildings at Risk Group (BARG for short), established in late 2023. Despite the gentrification Hackney has experienced in the past decade or more, and the increased investment in its built environment this has entailed, it remains the London borough with the second highest number of entries in Historic England's annual Heritage at Risk Register. The first 18 months of BARG have been largely dedicated to understanding what is a complex landscape of different types of at-risk heritage assets, stakeholders, and planning policies. This talk will cover the Hackney Society's 50+ years of activity in this sphere, the lessons learnt by BARG over the past year and a half, and the practical projects it is undertaking to improve recognition and understanding of some of the most vulnerable elements Hackney's historic built environment.

In 1939, Stoke Newington commissioned a leading consulting engineer to design a deep level air raid shelter beneath the borough. The scheme was technically credible, carefully costed, and capable of protecting tens of thousands of civilians. Yet it was never built.

This talk explores why. Drawing on newly uncovered engineering reports, borough records, and wartime civil defence debates, Tony Rich reconstructs Stoke Newington’s unbuilt deep shelter and sets it within a wider national pattern. He shows how decisions about protection were shaped not only by engineering or cost, but by deeper assumptions about civilian behaviour, work, and what kinds of safety the state was willing to promise.

Moving from Stoke Newington to Finsbury, the London deep level shelters, and comparable schemes in other British cities, the talk argues that wartime protection was deliberately limited and unevenly distributed. Deep shelters were resisted whenever they implied a civic right to safety, and accepted only where they could be tightly managed or justified by infrastructure and production. Plans in the Dark reveals how wartime London was shaped not just by what was built, but by what was planned, refused, and quietly set aside.

From Sylhet to Spitalfields is an account of the long historical roots of the Bangladeshi community in east London. Though the Bengali squatters movement was mainly based in Tower Hamlets, there was considerable spillover into the edges of Hackney. The squatters movement claimed entitlement and belonging based on what was seen to be the community's long contribution to the country. Hackney has a long history of settling Sylheti sailors, known as lascars - dating back to the 19th century. What is curious is that even then we had competing conversations about boats, borders and belonging. This talk highlights the squatters movement in east London and the way that feelings of belonging and entitlement have always been at the heart of how we try to understand who we are and who we want to be.

Not many people are aware of the rocks beneath their feet. Much of London is underlain by London Clay and we will discuss the past environment of when it was laid down about 50 million years ago, where it can (or cannot) be seen now, and how it became important for providing the world’s first Underground system. Did you know that Hackney has its own gravel named after it? This is because it was first described from Hackney. It was laid down in a very different environment, overlain by Brickearth in places. We will also look at the deep geology and how the chalk below Hackney has provided water for centuries. Surface water has also been important and we will refer to the Lea, providing the eastern border, and discuss the Hackney Brook that flows into it. Was there ever any Jurassic under Hackney? We will examine the evidence.

Two hundred years ago, Lower Clapton was basically countryside — fields stretching out south of Lea Bridge Road. Fast-forward to 1900 and things were changing fast. Charles Booth even mapped the area in his famous poverty maps, showing how private housing was spreading as London grew, especially down the slope towards the River Lea. After the Second World War came big waves of social housing, reshaping the neighbourhood once again. And in recent decades, Lower Clapton has changed yet again. As London bounced back economically, gentrification rolled east — from Islington to Stoke Newington, Dalston, and into Hackney — bringing new opportunities, rising prices, and plenty of debate. This story is told by Dave Hill, former Guardian London commentator and the voice behind On London, a website and twice-weekly newsletter about the city. He’s also the author of a highly praised book on how the Lower Lea Valley became the Olympic Park — and he’s called Lower Clapton home since 1992.

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. For this performance, the orchestra has collaborated with film-makers and archivists to select a range of visual materials from Hackney’s past. These are being matched with appropriate music which the orchestra will perform live alongside the footage. The result will be a unique and vibrant illustration of some of the cultural life and history of Hackney over the last hundred years.