Hackney Wick was a highly industrialised area around the canal and the railway line, with its best known products including Clarnico Mints, still available but made elsewhere. Petrol was first given its name here (by a company called 'Carless' - actually Carless Capel & Leonard) whose trademark later became generic. Berger started making paints around here in 1780, the world's first synthetic plastic, Parkesine, was made here and there were chemical works including several pioneers of the suynthetic dye industry. Dry cleaning in this country started here too. Other factories made pies and processed foods, jam and much more besides, including Lesney's Matchbox toys from 1947 to 1983.
Eton College began a mission to the area around 1880 (apparently following a visit of the Virgin Mary to Eton College Chapel) choosing the area as one of the most deprived in London. As well as building a church, St Mary of Eton with St Augustine and its mission buildings, men from Eton also founded various sporting activities, including a sports club and rowing. Around 1900, old Etonian Major Arthur Villiers, a director of Barings Bank bought an area of land to be used in perpetuity as allotments, a bequest that was to be sadly ended in 2007 when the holders were evicted to make way for the London 2012 Olympics (links including to more recent pictures here.)
In this section I also include Carpenters Road which leads to Hackney Wick from Stratford, Waterden Rd in Hackney Wick, and other land to the north of Carpenters Rd, including the Eastway Cycle Circuit and Freightliner terminal.
1980-92 Black & White index
1980s: colour
2000 on: colour
All photographs on this site are
© 1980-2010 Peter Marshall.