Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in the

Lower Clapton Clapton is a district of east London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and ori ...

area of the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park.

Hackney Downs Park

The Downs open space was originally common land, preserved from the 1860s as parkland as a result of pressure by the Commons Preservation Society. At , the park is one of the larger open spaces wholly within the London Borough of Hackney. It has a play area, basketball courts, football pitches and a bowling green. Occupying, as it does, a fairly central place in Hackney, the park used to be the yearly venue for the popular Hackney Show, but this event — which helped to give a sense of community and identity to an often-troubled borough — has been discontinued in recent times as a cost-cutting measure, as have the regular

Fireworks Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration list of minor secular observances#November, observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and firewor ...

shows. The park was given a

Green Flag award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

in July 2008.''Hackney Today'' 188 21 July 2008

Neighbourhood

The ‘Hackney Downs’ neighbourhood can be described as the western part of

; the area to the west of Cricketfield Road and east of the railway line. The streets north and south of the park are dominated by social housing (such as the Nightingale Estate) – these areas were largely rebuilt during the 1930s and 1960s.

Education

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

was also located here. The site has been redeveloped as the

Mossbourne Community Academy Mossbourne Community Academy, or MCA, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status, located near Hackney Downs off the A104 road (England), A104 road, in the Lower Clapton a ...

Governance

''Hackney Downs'' is currently a ward name, the represented area of three councillors, of Hackney Council up for election every 4 years.

Transport and locale

The two London Overground stations are ''

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...

'' on the North London line and Hackney Downs on the Lea Valley Lines to Liverpool Street.

References

External links

Mossbourne Community Academy

''Blasts From The Past''
(LBH film of demolition of the tower blocks on the north side of the Downs). {{Authority control Districts of the London Borough of Hackney Areas of London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hackney Common land in London Clapton, London