Hackney Road
Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from Shoreditch Church to Cambridge Heath. It runs between the areas of Bethnal Green and Haggerston. For half of its course it forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
In recent years, Hackney Road has begun to experience the gentrification of nearby Columbia Road or Broadway Market. Despite this, a number of derelict buildings still remain, including the empty Children's Hospital. Completing the picture are striptease venues such as Browns and The Olde Axe (Clifton 2002), a bingo hall, fast-food outlets and building sites. However, there is a city farm, which brings a touch of the pastoral to this particularly urban area. Hackney City Farm is located at the junction of (intersection with) Goldsmith's Row on the northern (Hackney) side of the road. Next to the farm is Haggerston Park.
In 2008 a 178-room Days Hotel London Shoreditch opened at the junction with Pritchard's Road. This has since become the RE Hotel London Shoreditch.
Transport
Hackney Road is served by the 55, 48 and 26 buses. Cambridge Heath Railway Station is situated at the east end of Hackney Road, at the junction with Cambridge Heath Road. The west end of Hackney Road is served by London Overground services from Hoxton Station.
July 2005 bombings
On 21 July 2005 at 13:30 BST a small explosion occurred on the Number 26 bus travelling from Waterloo to Hackney Wick, on Hackney Road at the corner with Columbia Road. There were no fatalities in the explosion.
References
- Clifton, L. (2002) Baby Oil and Ice: Striptease in East London. The Do-Not Press Limited: London.
- Harrison, P. (1985) Inside the Inner City: Life Under the Cutting Edge. Penguin: Harmondsworth.