THE MONOLITHS
contemporary public art
in Haggerston
Haggerston has lots of things to see and do. The beautiful Regent’s Canal. Quaint Haggerston Church. Pretty Albion Square. Stonebridge Park with its climbing snake.
South of the canal, you’ll find beautiful Haggerston Park, with a city farm, farm shop and cafe.
Along Kingsland Road, if it's new to you, you will find many wonderful restaurants. It is the HQ of London's Vietnamese community so it's a great place to get pho.
A bit further afield, west of Kingsland Rd, you will find Hoxton Street with its Saturday Street Market. Almost unchanged since Victorian times!
The small area of Haggerston, generally considered to be the area between Haggerston and Hoxton Overground stations (on the Windrush “Ginger Line”) has played host to an interesting range of participatory public art in recent years. From some of Banksy’s earliest London street artworks to the permanent commissioned stone carvings by Bobbie Fennick, the art history of Haggerston is rich and dynamic.
The eyecatching cupola of the Haggerston Baths on Whiston Rd is an icon of the area. The Baths opened in 1904 under public bath architect Alfred Cross (1858-1932). The original bath house had slipper baths, a washhouse and a pool. At the time, few Haggerston homes had bathrooms.The Baths are listed buildings that have been closed for over 30 years.
From art installations to the tranquillity of Hackney City Farm, the small area of Haggerston offers many surprises.
The little neighbourhood of Haggerston is first recorded in the Domesday Book a survey of all England in 1086 commissioned by King William I (William the Conqueror). The district was named as Hergotestane, a word possibly of Viking origin, and it is identified as an outlying hamlet of Shoreditch. On John Rocque’s 1745 map of London, the village is called Agostone. By the 19th century it had become Haggerstone.
(There is no evidence that there is any relationship between this London area and the tiny hamlet of Haggerston on the Scottish border)
By Victorian times, Haggerston had become urbanised and industrial, with factories and workers’ cottages lining the canal. Large gas works were built on the south side of the canal, but these were bombed during WWII. Part of the site was redeveloped in the 1950’s as Haggerston Park, one of the loveliest small parks in London.
Haggerston, like adjacent Hoxton, was traditionally part of Shoreditch, which is a very historic area just outside the walls of the old City of London. In Tudor times, Shoreditch was home to many theatres and inns, and William Shakespeare was based here on Curtain Road until the building of the original Globe Theatre in 1599. Shoreditch’s reputation as a place of entertainment continued through the 19th and 20th centuries, with many theatres including the famous Britannia Theatre in Hoxton (1841–1900) and plenty of nightlife especially around Old St.
But Haggerston itself has always been largely residential, and while today you can find many enticing cafés in the area, it is still rather quiet and pleasant.
for more info on Haggerston history see:
Highlights of Haggerston from the Hackney Society
