Climbing Hackney’s Oldest Building

A lone tower stands just outside Hackney Central Station. Sure, it looks old and possibly historic, but not many people realise that it’s the oldest building in the borough! Time to have a closer look at Hackney’s church tower; St Augustine’s.

Formerly part of the church of St Augustine, that church was built in the late 13th Century. At this point Hackney was surrounded by fields, a welcome retreat from the noise and dirt of The City of London.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the church was extended. As well as architectural additions, seating was also increased so the church could cater for 1,000 by 1789. However, even this wasn’t enough for the swelling congregation.

In 1790 the Vestry got permission to demolish St Augustine rebuild a bigger church. St John-at-Hackney was finished in 1797. It stands a few minutes from St Augustine’s Tower and was designed by James Spiller.

Hackney Church Tower

St John-at-Hackney, Image from Wikipedia Commons

With a new church built, the former was unnecessary and destroyed. But, thankfully, not all of it…

The main reason for keeping the tower was that the original St John-at-Hackney didn’t have a one. One was only built in 1814 but it wasn’t strong enough to hold the bells. These were kept in  St Augustine’s tower until at the 1840s.

Clearly, they don’t make church towers like they used to. Cheerfully, this meant the survival of St Augustine’s Tower. Practically speaking it should’ve been destroyed with the rest of the building in the late 1790s.

In 1854 St John-at-Hackney was underpinned and the bells were moved. Happily though, the contractor now said that demolishing the old St Augustine’s Tower was too much like hard work. Literature from The Hackney Historic Buildings Trust says; “happily no one pressed him to fulfil his contract”.

Climbing Hackney Church Tower

But it gets even better…

If you’re happy squeezing up a cramped spiral staircase, Hackney’s Church Tower has plenty other wonders to unveil.

Hackney Church Tower

Including the clock room with an intact 16th or 17th century mechanism. The Curator of Horology from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich called it;

“an example of a relatively small group of English clocks, considered to date from the 1580s but continuing to be made in traditional design until the end of the 17th century.”

Hackney Church Tower

And then – after manoeuvring yourself through a small window of an entrance – you emerge blinking on the roof.

The View

The lone tower affords some great views back across The City of London.

Hackney Church Tower

It was pretty extraordinary to stand on these centuries-old stones and know that pretty much everything you see before you is newer than what’s beneath you!

St Augustine’s Tower is open for visiting every last Sunday of the month, typically in the afternoon (around 2pm-4.30pm).

More London Inspiration

  • Visit the Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum | Look Up London

    08 Aug Visit the Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum

    In Rotherhithe, you can descend into part of the Thames Tunnel, a ground-breaking slice of engineering history. Here you can step down into the world’s first tunnel dug under a navigable river, built between 1824-1843. Today it’s part of the Brunel Museum and until 15......

  • 06 Jun The 20 Best Small Museums in London

    London is home to an incredible selection of world-class museums but we’re also spoilt for choice with quirkier, small ones too. In no particular order, here is my selection of the 20 best small museums in London. How many have you visited?! 1. The Hunterian......

  • Hunterian Museum, London | Look Up London

    23 May Visit The Hunterian Museum

    The Hunterian Museum, one of London’s best niche museums, reopened last week. Sat within the Royal College of Surgeons on Lincoln’s Inn Fields, it charts the development of surgery and pursuit of medical knowledge through the centuries. If that sounds a bit dry, think again.......

  • Young V&A, Bethnal Green | Look Up London

    14 Mar History of the Young V&A, Bethnal Green

    The Young V&A (formerly the Museum of Childhood) in Bethnal Green isn’t just a fabulous museum, its building also has a fascinating history to tell. Travelling back 350 years or so, Bethnal Green was a popular suburb for London’s upper classes. There were some large......

  • Sambourne House | A Victorian Time Capsule

    11 Oct Sambourne House | A Victorian Time Capsule

    I was recently invited to a preview of Sambourne House, the family home of Linley Sambourne. You can find it at 18 Stafford Terrace and by stepping inside you enter a Victorian Time Capsule. Meet Linley Sambourne Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) was an illustrator and......

  • 28 Jun History of Eltham Palace | Greenwich’s Other Royal Palace

    Eltham Palace is a bit of a mad place, full to bursting with strange juxtapositions and quirky details. Here are some of my favourite discoveries from a recent visit...

No Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

BOOK NOW