Posts Tagged ‘Elbe Footwear’

More From the Balls Pond Road

Saturday, March 26th, 2022

Balls Pond Road got its name from John Ball, the landlord of a pub next to the pond, in “about the middle of the 17th century … the Salutation House’ or ‘Boarded House’ ..famous for bull-baiting and other brutal sports and the pond for duck hunting.” The name Balls Pond Road was applied in 1865 to the whole length of the street which had been developed under various names.

Arundel Arms, Boleyn Rd, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-11-Edit_2400
Arundel Arms, Boleyn Rd, Stoke Newington, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-11-Edit_2400

One of the pubs featured in the Stoke Newington Lost Pubs Walk which states it was probably named after Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, a page at the court of King Henry VIII; the king had a hunting lodge at Newington Green in the 1500s which explains a number of local street names including Boleyn Road. Its pub sign featured the 14th Earl, Thomas Howard, but the figure in my picture is unlikely to have been one of the Earls.

Open by 1881 it was a Trumans pub, rebuilt around 1930 and closed around 2006 and was demolished and replace by a block of flats above ground floor commercial premises.

Elbe Footwear, Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-13-Edit_2400
Elbe Footwear, Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-13

This part of the Balls Pond Road still presents a similar appearance by Elbe Footwear has no been replaced by Isabella Mews, with a wide gated ground floor entrance. I suspect Elbe may have had owners whose names begin with L and B rather than any connection to a German river.

Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-16-Edit_2400
Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8d-16

A nicely restrained early 19th century two storey terrace at 65-79 Balls Pond Road, Grade II listed in 1975.

Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-01-Edit_2400
Balls Pond Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-01

The view from across the street shows its simplicity but for me is a less interesting picture.

Alfred Halpern Ltd, Balls Pond Rd, Dalston, Islington, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-02-Edit_2400
Alfred Halpern Ltd, Balls Pond Rd, Dalston, Islington, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-02

This building, also on the south side of the street and so in Hackney looks as if it was about to fall down, but has been refurbished. Alfred Halpern Ltd at 49, Balls Pond Rd according to their fading sign were Vacuum Formers & Importers was the former Maberly Chapel or Earlham Hall, built around 1820 as an Independent Chapel, with a later school from 1844, together Grade II listed. The listing text states it has ‘MABERLY CHAPEL’ in the triangular area at the top of the frontage, but in my photograph only the letters MAB ar recognisable, with much of the plaster peeling. It has now been removed.

Balls Pond Rd, Dalston, Islington, 1988 88-8e-61-Edit_2400
Balls Pond Rd, Dalston, Islington, 1988 88-8e-61

There was an impressive row of fridge-freezers and cookers in front to the shop and neighbouring billboard on the Balls Pond Road, as well as a long, well-spaced row of prints in the picture. If they were really the size on the advert it would have been worth buying a can of Esso Superlube+.

The CALOR GAS shop (were those gas fridges?) had become a dry cleaners before 2008, but the billboard site was still then emptry, but was filled with ground floor shops and residential above shortly after.

Tottenham Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-63-Edit_2400
Tottenham Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-63

This LCC temporary housing was still lived in on Tottenham Road, a long street parallel to the Balls Pond Road joining Southgate Road to Kingsland Road. There has since been extensive redevelopment in the area and and these temporary buildings have long gone and I can no longer find the building in the background.

The previous post on this walk is Canonbury, Green Lanes and Balls Pond Road. My walk around the area will continue in a future post.