Kingsland | >Re-PHOTO

Walking Around Kingsland Road

Walking Around Kingsland Road. This is the final part of my walk on 3rd Augest 1988. The previous post on this is More From the Balls Pond Road.

Tottenham Rd area , Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-64-Edit_2400 — *Tottenham Rd area , Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-64*

My walk continued south of the Balls Pond Road. I think this workshop was in Bentley Road, a short street which connects both the Balls Pond Road and Kingsland Road to Tottenham Road in an area which was then dominated by light industry, most of which has now disappeared. This building had the large notice above its doorway with the message ‘WANTED – EXPERIENCED SKIRTS’ which rather amused me.

Public Washing Baths, Englefield Rd, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-53-Edit_2400 — *Public Washing Baths, Englefield Rd, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-53*

The Public Washing Baths on Englefield Road were opened in 1932, long after the first public baths in London which opened in 1847. It remained in its original use until the 1960s, a vital facility as many individuals and families lived in rooms and houses without access to more than a washbasin or kitchen sink and without running hot water, and would come to take a bath (slipper bath) here, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday when they were off work. The baths were cheap and popular, with over 60,000 baths being taken there a year.

When I photographed them the sing outside read ‘ENGLEFIELD LAUNDRETTE’ and gave its opening hours but I think it was no longer in use. Shortly after this it became a centre for the Vietnamese Boat People in the borough, run by the An Viet Foundation until 2017 and in 2019 received a grant from the London Mayor to fund a new kitchen for its continuing use as a Chinese and Filipino community centre. I’m unsure of its current status.

Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-55-Edit_2400 — *Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-55*

Kingsland Road was obviously a very piecemeal development with each plot here having a different buidling height, though they were all built to the same front line.

Metropolitan Hospital, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-56-Edit_2400 — *Metropolitan Hospital, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-56*

The Metropolitan Hospital was built here in 1886, but had been founded by Joseph Fry, the son of the more famous Elizabeth, in Stepney 50 years earlier. It moved to several sites and was planning for a new building in Bsihopsgate Street when the site was needed for an extension to Liverpool St Station and the Station Hotel, and this site further north outside the City was found.

The hospital treated outpatients and had beds for 160. It had been set up as a free hospital but failed to attract sufficient funds and and removed the ‘free’ from its name. But the income from subscribers was still not enough to keep all of its beds in use. In 1948 it became a part of the NHS and was finally closed in 1977. Since I made this picture it has been refurbished for residential use and has lost the ‘HOSPITAL’ from its frontage and is now Metropolitan House.

London Dog Centre, Kingsland Rd, Middleton Rd, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-41-Edit_2400 — London Dog Centre, Kingsland Rd, Middleton Rd, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-41

To the left of the London Dog Centre is a narrow and winding street, Glebe Road, which runs along to beside the railway line and then straight beside it to industrial and commercial premises built back to back with those on Kingsland Road, going all the way north to Richmond Road. One of these units presumably sold carpets.

The London Dog Centre claims to have good quality puppies usually avaialable and also carries a large sign for the next shop along, Waynes Removals who offered free estimates for D. H. S. S. & Cash, as well as selling cookers. It looks as if Wayne (or Mr Waynes?) has left a few random pieces of furniture on the pavement including some some of shelf unit in front of the LDC.

Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-44-Edit_2400 — *Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-44*

Finally at the end of my walk I went up and down the Kingsland Waste, in front of the shops

Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-31-Edit_2400 — *Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-31*

The Waste began in the middle of the nineteenth century when the land owner allowed people to trade alongside the road without charge and developed into a long and packed area of stalls selling secondhand goods, often of dubious utility, all the way from Middleton Road up to Forest Road, around a quarter of a mile to the north.

Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-32-Edit_2400 — *Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-32*

Back in 1988 there were still many stalls on Saturdays, but over a rather shorter length, and some of the shops also spilt over onto the pavement. But on weekdays there were only a few traders. The market got smaller over the years, and Hackney council eventually refused to renew the licences for the remaining traders in 2015, saying it generated too much waste. But there was a local outcry and they were forced to reopen it a year or two later.

Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-22-Edit_2400 — *Kingsland Waste, Kingsland Rd, Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney, 1988 88-8e-22*

My walk ended here on the Kingsland Road. I spent most of the rest of August in Paris – you can see the black and white pictures in Around Paris 1988 – and it was only 25 days later on 28th August that I was able to go for a walk in London again. More from that at a later date.

More From the Balls Pond Road

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, 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.

Back to the Canal

I hadn’t meant to take pictures of the Regent’s Canal on June 1st, but I found myself in Dalston with an hour or two to spare before I wanted to be in Cavendish Square. It was around lunchtime thought the canal towpath would be a pleasant place to sit down and eat my sandwiches in the sun.

It was a Saturday and the towpath was quite busy with both walkers and cyclists and I walked around a little before finding a well placed unoccupied place to sit, taking a few pictures as I did so. Things have changed pretty drastically since I first walked and photographed along here almost 40 years ago.

I’d chosen a good place to sit too, with some shade, as the sun was rather hot, but also with an interesting view of the canal and of the people and boats passing, and I paused in my lunch several times to pick up my camera and make another exposure – there are six pictures on line all taken from within a few feet from my seat – including the one immediately above.

After finishing my lunch I still had time to walk a little further east along the towpath, rather hoping that I might chance across a convenient local pub for a quick drink, but I was out of luck in Haggerston and had to make do with water from the bottle in my bag.

The area north of the canal here always used to seem one of the more remote parts of London, one I saw from the train coming in from Dalston Junction to Broad Street, a largely elevated stretch of line with no stations (those at Haggerston and Shoreditch were closed in 1940. ) But now parts of that line have been reopened as part of the London Overground, and I was able to catch a train from the new Haggerston station to Highbury and Islington and the Victoria Line.

Most of these images would benefit from cropping to a more panoramic format, which I usually do. You can see more at Canal Panoramas.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

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