England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hackney St John

The Parish

The parish of Hackney lies in the extreme east of Middlesex, indeed it forms part of the ancient border with neighbouring Essex. Prior to 1825 St John was Hackney's only parish, due to population growth Hackney eventually became 4 parishes. Hackney is located about 2 miles northeast of the city of London and prior to the middle of the 19th century was a distinguishable settlement distinct from the burgeoning City. Pepys in his writing described going to Hackney for its fresh air and in 1720 it was again praised for its "healthy air". Defoe describes the area as consisting of 12 distinct hamlets, the legacy still remains in its confusing road layout. Even by the end of this transcription period half of the parish was still grassland today it is part of inner London, a maze of small properties and businesses. The original centre of Hackney, by the church, lies just north of the Stratford to Camden rail line and west of both the busy A12 and the course of the River Lea which forms the county border with Essex. Today Hackney is an indistinguishable part of Metropolitan Greater London, a centre for social housing but increasingly gentrified as neglected areas are re-colonised by those seeking cheaper accommodation within the city area. The Lea drains the parish southwards to the nearby Thames and thence to the North Sea. Hackney is sited at around 15 metres above the sea, in the Lea valley and on rising ground from that of the Thames local heights reach scarcely more than 30 metres. The original parish acreage exceeded 3,200 acres and the population it supported grew from little more than that of a small market town to around 30,000 parishioners by the close of this transcription period. Hackney is not, however, specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St John's church sits just northeast of Hackney Central rail station and is usually accessed from Lower Clapton Road where it stands behind an semicircular area of gardens with a one-way system directing traffic past it "show front". Like all central London churches it is recommended to visit using public transport. The church was built between 1791 and 1794, an unusual time period for churches in England. The church is certainly unusual in design too, being shaped in plan as a Greek Cross. The church is large as befits its community, Pevsner uses the term "vast" to emphasise that sizing. The tower facing north is also unconventional, and in sunny conditions a difficult photographic subject. The design of tower, it is fair to say, stunned Pevsner who described it as "most unconventional in shape". The remainder of the church presents rather staid oblongs to the world. As you leave Hackney Central station, the old tower of St Augustine's leads the way to the site by skirting the bus station, whilst the church has a distinctly urban setting the churchyard gardens do dispense a sense of quiet to the site despite the traffic raging all around.