Berris Conolly’s Hackney

History of Hackney

For my birthday this year I was given a Hackney photography book from the wonderful local selection at Pages of Hackney. It was my first introduction to Berris Conolly‘s photos of the area and I loved them.

So I wanted to share them. Berris lived in Maury Rd, N16 from 1981 to 1988, he left commercial work to do documentary landscape and turned to what was around him. This has left a legacy of great photos of the area from a very different time, here are a sample, enjoy!


Broadway Market 1985


London Orphan Asylum 1987


River Lea 1986


Clissold Park 1986


Middleton Road 1985


Stoke Newington Church Street 1986


Kynaston Road 1986


Linscott Road 1986


Hackney Stadium 1987

You can see more of Berris’ photos on his website

You can buy photo prints here

Or Find out about his books here

12 Comments

  1. What a great present 🙂

    It amazes me how much Hackney has changed in the last 20 odd years, and makes me wonder how it will change moving forward.

  2. Great pics, but that orphan asylum one: is that the building that’s now part of Clapton Girls’ School? If so, where the hell is everything else around it?

    And if not, where is it, I wonder?

  3. @MartinMcCallion I was thinking something similar, but I’m sure it is there. Maybe the fog is playing tricks

  4. @MartinMcCallion it makes more sense if you see this photo of the same subject http://www.berrisconolly.com/photo_607682.html

  5. @ewebber: Yeah, I saw that after I commented. I guess even if the school wasn’t there, or there wasn’t so much of it, at least some of the houses in the streets behind would be there. But as you say, they’re hidden in the fog.

  6. I took about six 6×7 frames on that day (low early morning sun) and yes, the mist is hiding everything beyond about 150 metres. Here’s a drawing of the asylum from 1828, before cameras were invented!
    http://www.londonancestor.com/views/vb-orphan.htm

  7. It certainly was a pretty grand building at one point

  8. I would love to have seen Clapton 100 years ago. Does anyone have a DeLorean?

  9. Dear Emily and Alex.
    I do have somewhere some photos which I took inside the old Childrens Orphan Asylum (Congress Hall) 1n the late 1960’s, when it housed the Salvation Army Museum (which is now housed in their headquarters in Central London). I will try and find them and send scans to you. Also I still have several old 1951/52 Beanos and Dandys which I found in the cellar of the main hall after it had been demolished around 1974ish. I also remember seeing in there at this time, hundreds of un-issued WW2 childrens gas masks and also hundreds of pairs of new, childrens solid leather, shoes. All this stuff would have been cleared and dumped in some landfill site somewhere.
    Ken Jacobs

  10. Great shot of Hackney Stadium with the Track Shop on the left and the Supporters Club Hut next to the camper van; I’m suprised I am not in the photo!

  11. If you haven’t already seen this, @alexpink is doing a great project with Berris Conolly revisiting these photos http://hackneyrevisited.yeahhackney.com/

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