*all about “London Fields” – Hackney London E8

Earlier this week, the temperature rose a little bit and a glimmer of sun broke through the grey miserable clouds that seem to have engulfed London for so long this winter.

So – with a (metaphorical) spring in my step, my London Shoes decided to take advantage of improved weather and get out on-the-road to knock out another blog topic from the Smoke’s lesser known and more unusual history.

For this particular jaunt I had the pleasure of my long-time friend and recently retired mate ‘Pete’ for company.

The destination in question was Hackney-London E8, an area that holds a special place in my heart as I worked there for almost 12 years throughout the entire 1990’s and a couple of years into the noughties.

I say Hackney – but really, the subject matter in question is sort of halfway between Bethnal Green and the central Hackney – and it was Bethnal Green tube station that London Shoes alighted from – to then walk a mile or so, up the road to the intended destination.

So this article is all about an delightful little spot of East London greenery known as “London Fields”!!!!

“London Fields” is a 31 acre park located in the London Borough of Hackney–London-E8.

Official records show the Park existed as far back as the 13^th Century – and that it’s been referred to as ‘London Fields’ since the mid-16^th Century.

In the 1200’s it was recorded as being ‘pastureland’ known as ‘Cambridge Heath’ (Cambridge Heath Road now connects Bethnal Green with Hackney).

It was common ground, and London Fields was used by farmers to pasture their livestock before taking them off to Smithfield Meat Market, because the park was one of the last official livestock grazing sites before entering the City of London.

By the late 19th Century, parts of the park were sold off to accommodate Victorian housing developments.

In WW2 London Fields was home to anti-aircraft guns – and some of the tarmac that was laid out for them to stand on, is still visible under the grass.

Hackney and its surrounding area was heavily bombed during the WW2 Blitz as was most of the east end of London, and the houses that were situated at the northern and eastern ends of London Fields, copped it the worst – and many were completely destroyed.

However – fortunately, quite a few of the magnificent original Georgian and Victorian  houses are still in situ around the perimeter of the park.

London Fields has a famous cricket pitch that’s marked out in the summer months. Apparently, a document exists in Hackney Library, that evidence cricket being played in the park as far back as 1802!!

London Fields also has its very own heated 50m “Lido”.

The Lido first opened in 1932 and remained open until the commencement of WW2 – when it was shut down, but it reopened again in 1951, to coincide with the Festival of Britain that London hosted that year.

Sadly, the London Fields Lido went the same way as a lot of the outdoor swimming pools that used to be scattered across Inner London in those days – in that it slowly drifted into disrepair due to lack of care and attention and council funds to keep it up to speck. In 1988 the London Fields Lido was permanently closed.

However, a group of locals fought passionately to save their pool – but it was a long fight that took many years of campaigning and action – but they achieved their goal in the end, and the London Fields Lido re-opened in 2007.

It became an instant hit and very quickly built up a good reputation and following of regular users.

Today, the London Fields Lido is still a massive success – not just in the Hackney area – but throughout the whole of East London. It is open daily throughout the year from 6:30am to 9pm – and even has its own floodlights.

As well as its Lido, London Fields has tennis courts/a 5-a-side football & basketball court/a couple of outdoor table tennis tables/a mini gym type area/a café/and of course, children’s play areas.

London Fields is also the starting point of the annual ‘Dunwich Dynamo’ – a 112 mile cycling event from London to Dunwich in Suffolk.

The ride starts late afternoon from London Fields and then weaves throughout the night from the busy streets of London and on to the quiet lanes of Suffolk.

Another noticeable fact about London Fields is that it is full of sturdy old ‘London Plane’ trees.

The ‘London Plane’ tree is believed to be a cross between an American Sycamore and some sort of Oriental tree. It was first identified in London way back as far as the 1700’s – probably originating from seeds brought back and planted from the New World.

​In the late 1800’s a deliberate full scale planting programme of it, took place across London – and that’s why the London Plane is such a common tree throughout London’s streets and parks.

The London Plane tree is ideal for the ‘Smoke’ as its large leaves are good for the air quality and for providing shade – and it also has strong resistance to pollution, means the London Plane tree can adapt and grown anywhere throughout Inner London……especially at London Fields, where there are hundreds of ‘em.

So – having spent an enjoyable couple of hours exploring London Fields, me and my mate Pete (my accomplice for the day) fancied a little liquid refreshment and a packet of pork scratching – and so we headed off to the famous “Cat & Mutton” pub situated at the very top of a famous old Hackney street called ‘Broadway Market’ – directly opposite the southern entrance to London Fields.

Now – back in my day when I worked in Hackney during the 1990’s,  Broadway Market was a proper run-down old street, frequented by squatters and other dubious types – certainly not the sort of street to hang around in for too long.

However, today it’s a sort of ‘Gentrified Heaven’ full of independent shops – cafes – street food – arts/crafts galleries – very ‘hip’ indeed – all ginger beards and no socks…..far removed from its previous ‘life’.

Records show that there’s been an Inn/Tavern on the site of the ‘Cat & Mutton’ site since the late 1600’s – and the current building dates back to 1729.

In past centuries it was a popular watering hole for farmers and drovers transporting their livestock to Smithfield Meat Market – as London Fields was one of the last grazing posts before entering the City.

Also – the pub is alleged to be the inspiration behind the tv soap EastEnders ‘Queen Vic’ pub

Me and my mate Pete enjoyed a ‘cheeky’ cold Guinness and a bag of crisps in the unique relaxing surroundings of the ‘Cat & Mutton’ but at £18 a round, I have to say, I won’t be rushing back there any time soon…….as I said to the barman ‘at least Dick Turpin wore a mask’ !!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little article and that my photos help bring ‘London Fields’ alive a little bit for you.

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Below is the entire gallery of photos taken to support this ‘London Fields’ blog