7. Illustrations
The collections are an amalgamation of the former authorities with the addition of new collections since 1965. Collections were formerly catalogued by topographical section (street etc) and by subject (which includes special buildings, portraits etc) and includes references to all forms a single image may take (painting, drawing, photograph, slide etc). Only views of or concerning the area of the London Borough of Hackney are collected, though some of the visual material in the archive collections may concern other areas, for example the River Lea near Three Mills in the records of J & W Nicholson, gin distillers, and the sites of Bryant and May factories in Britain and abroad (for both of which see section 22).
There are about 21,000 items in the visual collection (excluding deposited and official holding of visual material). No systematic photographic survey is maintained, though copy prints from the Hackney Society's Buildings at Risk Survey of the early 1890s and copies of special surveys from the Planning and Development directorate have been received.
Hackney on Disk, a unique database, provides access to digitised copy images via subject and key word search, and also by using digitised Ordnance Survey maps to allow an area search by using a mouse on the map to define an area. The project is a partnership between HAD, Information Sciences and the National Trust’s Sutton House. The first two phases were funded respectively by Save and Prosper and the British Library. Phase III was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Hackney on Disk can be consulted on a local network at HAD. It is estimated that about 12,000 images will be on the system at the end of Phase III in December 1998; the balance of the collection can be consulted by using the manual card catalogue.
8. Maps
The earliest detailed maps of the Hackney area (apart from a small map of southern Shoreditch of 1559) date from 1745. In that year a map of Shoreditch was made by Peter Chassereau under instruction from the Vestry. Rocque's survey of 1745 provides the earliest map of Hackney and Stoke Newington, though the best early maps for those areas are respectively the survey by W H Ashpital, revised by James Edmeston in 1831, and a survey by C Miller of Stoke Newington of 1846. There are tithe maps of Hackney (1843 - three maps and awards covering Hackney, South Hackney and West Hackney) and Stoke Newington (1848).
HAD also holds many estate maps and sale plans of smaller areas and these, together with all the printed maps in the collection are indexed through the Map Index, arranged by area (Middlesex, London and area, London (City), Hackney, Stoke Newington, Shoreditch and LB Hackney) and within these divisions by date of the map or plan.
Ordnance Survey coverage begins with the 'Skeleton' plan series of 1848 (with later revisions) showing roads only, and produced to help local authorities with planning drains and sewers. HAD holds sheets in the 25" and 60" series for Hackney and Stoke Newington.
Thereafter coverage is as follows:
Edition c1870: 25" whole of Hackney. 60" gaps (few Shoreditch and Clapton area)
Edition c1894-6: 6" whole of Hackney. 25" whole of Hackney.
60": whole of Hackney.
Edition of 1907-21 (Partial revision by Land Registry) 60": few (northern and central Hackney and most of Shoreditch)
Edition of 1915 25" whole of Hackney
Edition of 1936 25" whole of Hackney
Edition of 1934-38 (Partial revision by LCC) 60" gaps (some of Stoke Newington, most of Hackney, very few Shoreditch)
Editions from 1945 onwards 50". Whole borough (though individual revision sheets may be missing)
Geological maps of 1935 6" whole of Hackney.
The Department has published the Chassereau map of Shoreditch, the 1831 map of Hackney and the 1846 map of Stoke Newington; and Alan Godfrey Maps, in conjunction with the Department, have published many of the 25" series for the Borough from 1870, 1894-6 and 1915 editions. Four sheets for the 60" series, covering the southern part of Shoreditch, central Hackney and Homerton, have also been published. Full details are given in the current list of publications on sale.
For details of copying see Section 28.
9. Audio visual items
There is a small collection of 43 films not forming part of deposited or official records, the earliest of which is a short film of the Hoxton and Shoreditch area shot in 1920 (VHS video copy available for consultation).Videos include copies of HAD film and original material. Films and videos are listed ; the majority of films have been copied on to video and can be consulted by pre-booking the video monitor.
The Department was active in the area of oral history from the 1980s, though at the time of compilation of this Guide active recording had ceased. Listening cassettes have been made of 21 tapes that are concerned in part with some aspect of conflict. There are a total of forty tapes, which are briefly described in a card catalogue giving name of subject, date and place of birth, main subjects of the tape(s), date of recording, place and time of interview and transcription details. Where transcripts exist, they have been catalogued as pamphlets in the local history library.
Tape work has been with local residents and is concerned with living and working in the Hackney area prior to 1945.
There is also a copy of a BBC radio programme of 1952, Postmark UK with interviews with local people.
Access to tapes is by appointment and arrangements can be made to listen to cassette on head phones. There is no automatic access to reel to reel tapes for conservation reasons.
10. Special collections
10.1 John Dawson Library
A collection built up by an exciseman who live in Hoxton, and donated to St
Leonard's Church, Shoreditch, in 1765. Includes books and atlases.
Full bibliography, catalogue and life by T Brown: John Dawson, His Life and
Library. Thesis for Fellowship of the Library Association, 1972.
For documents see Section 23 DAW
10.2 Theatre bills and posters
Material is included in the local history library and catalogued as part of the local history collections. There are microfilm copies of some of the posters. The following is a summary of material held in the local history library. See also Business & Industry for records of the Hackney Empire.
Alexandra Theatre, Stoke Newington. Posters and programmes 1897-1935 (few only)
Britannia Theatre, Hoxton. Theatre posters c1840-74 (M), 1901-2. Programmes 1874-1914. Cuttings 1792-1895
City of London Theatre. Theatre posters 1837-60 (M and original)
Dalston Theatre. Programmes 1898-1912 (few)
Grecian Theatre. Shoreditch. Theatre posters 1834-76 (original and M), programmes 1879-82. Cuttings 1826-84
Hackney Empire. Theatre posters 1909-40 (few only). Programmes 1924-39, 1945-56
London Music Hall, Shoreditch. Five posters 1904-32
National Standard Theatre, Shoreditch (later the Olympia). Theatre posters and programmes c1830s-1913 (M and original) also cuttings 1836-87
Varieties Theatre, Shoreditch. Posters 1870-73, c1903 (M)
There are also holdings on other places of local entertainment.
10.3 Local Authors
Local authors are selectively collected when works are presented to the Department; there is no longer an active collection policy due to lack of space and local history staff. In the past large collections of works by local authors have been built up, notably by Stoke Newington on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Daniel Defoe and Isaac Watts the hymn writer. A substantial collection of sermons & religious writings from the Tyssen Library has been catalogued as a special project funded by the British Library and the entries incorporated into the ADLIB computer catalogue.
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Page updated: 9 Oct 2007