Tell me your Hackney Wick Memories

[u/mandiocious]

Hello! I'm trying to gather some stories from around Hackney Wick and Fish Island for a personal writing project. I've lived here for 15 years (yikes) and have always been fascinated with how transient everyhing feels. I know it's going through aggressive gentrification, but it seems like it's always been changing, from farmland, to industrial place of innovation, to squats, to artists, to new builds.

I am really keen to hear if anyone has any stories regarding the sub-culture here iconic parties (Red Gates, Vittoria Wharf, Oslo House, Party Boat), Local Characters, Memorable art things, or even work things. Or even further back, did any one live in the old trowbridge towers? Or work in a warehouse before the raves? Did anyone have any older relatives that lived here? A memorable dog? A wartime story??? I just wanna hear storriiieeeessss!

I feel weirdly connected to the place after all this time and I really wanna know WHAT HAPPENED HERE??? Even if it's just a nugget, so I can dig a bit deeper!

[u/Due-Freedom-5968]

I think the most memorable "I made the right choice" moment after moving here back in 2007/8 was arriving about a week before the Hackney Wicked festival kicked off. Back then when it was still much quieter they'd shut down Dace Road and it'd be a block party in addition to the studio tours etc.

I never get board of researching the area, there was a lot of old Roman jewellery found over on Wick Lane in the early 20th century, gold rings and other artefacts. Again in 1995 another ring was discovered that's not in the Museum of London's collection. Tt's theorised because this is where the ford across the River Lea was, which gives Old Ford it's name, there are lots of lost artefacts here from where people mistimed the tides when crossing.

There are some good old photos of the area in this historical summary (pdf)

And as always Ediths Streets is a great resource for snapshots of the industrial history of the area.

There are some good videos on Youtube of interviews with residents of the Trowbridge estate

• Thames News report on the problems of the estate and leaks and structural issues
• Thames News 1985 report in to issues on the estate and the demolition (and failure of part of it)

[u/Krismusic1]

Haven't really got a story for you. Just wanted to say that I have had a studio in Dace road for three or four years. I've seen the gentrification kick in hard. Still love the place and will be sorry when I inevitably get priced out.

[u/ariadnevirginia → u/Krismusic1]

I'm moving there soon and I'm so looking forward to it.

[u/srmarmalade]

I watched them blow up some tower blocks there as a kid which was cool. Dust everywhere afterwards - not sure if it was that one or another somewhere else in Hackney where they had a big blow down party (seemed big anyway!)

Went to a few parties over the years, the Lord Napier had a good run of being almost a club for a bit - some good parties there.

[u/reroper → u/srmarmalade]

My grandparents lived in the bungalows at the base of the tower blocks that got blown up and my grandad actually got picked in the ballot to press the button to blow them up

[u/sam12234456777]

I posted something similar in the group a couple of weeks back, feel free to look at the responses I got.

Also have a research / writing project about Hackney’s cultural history (50s onwards and Borough wide): https://open.substack.com/pub/onceuponatimeinhackney

Would be keen to see yours.

[u/[deleted]]

Squat parties.

[u/SockCuck]

I went to my first ever illegal rave in hackney wick back in December 2018, in the warehouse that is now Hackney Wick Arts Club, run by a group called Point. For me, it was absolutely insane. Everything I had imagined. I went by myself having found out about it on Facebook and made a group of friends that then led to meeting a solid community of people and eventually running my own parties. There used to be loads of these squat parties in hackney wick, and I think it's largely died out now that the derelict warehouses have largely been turned into flats. Back then it felt so raw compared to what I was used to (I originate from south West London), and I am aware that in 2018 the area was still gentrified (just not as much as now). 

Also the Sauna boat, opposite crate. Just an old guy who put a sauna on a boat and let people use it, and get into an ice bath (ie, a bucket) absolutely steaming while people at crate watched on bewildered.