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For many people, and not only those of the 'monstrous carbuncle' school,
urban architecture means delicate Queen Anne facades, elegant Georgian town houses and
Victorian Gothic mansions. 'Modern' architecture is often seen as brutal, insensitive and
lacking in social and aesthetic values. The twentieth century, however, has produced many
fine, innovative buildings which enhance the built environment and improve the quality of
urban life, and nowhere more so than in Hackney. The growth in local government
municipalism in the 1930s and the depredations of the Second World War particularly
encouraged renewal of the borough's landscape and innovation in building structure and
design.
In an absorbing and informative new book Twentieth-century Buildings in Hackney, Elizabeth
Robinson selects fifty modern buildings in the borough and describes their design, history
and architectural merit. The book is well-researched and illustrated with historical and
contemporary black and white photographs and building drawings, and to flick through the
pages is to experience a mixture of nostalgia for days long gone and respect for the
imagination and vision of these pioneering architects. The book well conveys the spirit of
optimism and sense of public duty possessed by these people, although some would argue
that a distancing from reality occurred when designing the council tower blocks of the
1960s.
The subjects covered range from grand projects such as the Hackney Empire, Manor House
tube and the Geffrye Museum Extension, to the more obscure achievements of the reinforced
concrete Canal Bridge over the Regent's Canal in Hoxton and the LCC Electric Substation in
Shoreditch.
 The author does not ignore Stoke Newington, and discusses
Woodberry Down, the Town Hall, Stamford Hill Estate and the nearly completed Clissold
Sports Centre, amongst other buildings of local interest.
Although it may help the general reader to have a passing acquaintanceship with building
and architectural terms, nonetheless the text is fascinating and revealing, not only for
its insights into construction details but also for its social observations and coverage
of local history generally.
Well-produced, and extremely good value at £9.99, the book is a welcome addition to the
burgeoning literature on Hackney and Stoke Newington.
Twentieth-century Buildings of Hackney, Elizabeth Robinson, The Hackney Society,
£9.99. Available by post from The Hackney Society, 21 Stanford Terrace, London N16 7LH
(send cheque for £11.50 to include p&p)
Shopping: The Way it Was
Stoke Newington shops are a mixed bunch, ranging from the strangely exotic
to the familiarly practical. Leonora Collins, a long-time resident, remembers what they
were like in the 1930s.
There were three main shops for clothes and haberdashery. Stephens, at the corner of
Northwold Road and the High Street, was rather superior and outlasted the others. On the
opposite side of the High Street were Atkinsons and Ormonds, very similar stuffy shops
with no attempts at smart window dressing. They were rather dark and smelt of damp wool
and damp people. However, Sharps, almost opposite Garnham Street, sold embroidery
materials and knick-knacks. It was light and inviting.
It seems almost incredible that Marks and Spencer (opposite the bookshop and above the
cash-and-carry on the High Street) and whose name can still be seen high on a wall, was
dingy and cheap and called 'the Penny Bazaar' by older people. Next to Stephens, just into
Cazenove Road, was Lewis and Burrows, the chemist, which had fascinating wooden drawers
with old labels and great carboys of coloured liquid as well as the usual cures and
cosmetics.
Shops that still survive are Rosa's, the underwear shop at the end of Church Street, where
the original Rosa upholstered local ladies, and the Egg Stores, then the only
delicatessen, at the beginning of Stamford Hill.
Between Cazenove Road and the railway station, Vale's the stationers sold expensive
writing materials, tasteful greetings cards and 'gift books' slim suede volumes of essays
and verse. They would order books (sulkily) and engraved writing paper (smilingly). The
Vales two small sad sisters and a tall sad brother didn't even like well-behaved children.
After Windus Road there were three important shops: Achille Serre, the cleaners, who
delivered in smart cardboard boxes (and where the manageress was the local gossip), the
Dainty Shop, in spite of its name a rather go-ahead toy shop (the first in the area with
yo-yos and Monopoly) and Le Chalet Suisse, a wonderful cake shop.
Stamford Hill Broadway, up from Boots, (which, much expanded, is still there) was very
smart. There were two 'exclusive' shops for ladies clothes. One, Jeromes, vanished but the
other, M. Joseph, was a social rendezvous for the many N16 wives with some money and much
time. The windows showed a hat or two while the shop was as full of grey velvet and gilt
as a drawing room. The clothes were reassuringly highly priced. Nearby was Feldman and
Inwald for accessories, bags, cigarette cases, gloves and the rest.
These shops were typical of N16 as a pre-war suburb. There were many others. Shopping as a
hobby isn't just a modern phenomenon.
In the next issue, Leonora Collins writes about local cinemas during the same period.
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