Hoxton Square

Hoxton Square garden in the summer

Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Laid out in 1683, it is thought to be one of the oldest squares in London. At one time home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district. Since the year 2000 the square's buildings, largely of Victorian vintage, have become host to a variety of bars, restaurants and clubs.

History

Hoxton Square was laid out by Samuel Blewitt and Robert Hackshaw, who leased the land from the Austen family in 1683.[1]

Hoxton and Charles Squares, as well as being fashionable neighbourhoods, were centres of non-conformist sects. From 1699 to 1729 an Academy, offering a wide curriculum and also allowing "free enquiry" by its students, was situated in the square. Samuel Pike, who lived in a house in the square, offered theological teaching from 1750. Samuel Morton Savage opened his Hoxton Square Academy there. The Academy closed in 1785.[2]

Culture

The former White Cube art gallery.

At one time home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district. Since the year 2000 the square's buildings, largely of Victorian vintage, have become host to a variety of bars, restaurants and clubs. The square contains art galleries, restaurants, bars and pubs, and is home to Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium. The south side of the square was home to the White Cube art gallery until 2012, known for representing a number of the movement of Young British Artists.

Notable people

The Christian theologian John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphian movement, was born at Hoxton Square in 1805,[3] and in 1810 the square was home to Peter Durand, who filed the first English patent for the tinning of food.

One of Hoxton Square's 18th-century residents, the Reverend John Newton,[4] composed the popular hymn "Amazing Grace". The parish church of St John's Hoxton is nearby, where one of Prince George of Cambridge's ancestors was married in the mid-19th century.

James Parkinson (1755–1824), the physician and author of An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, the subject of which is now known as Parkinson's disease, was in practice at 1 Hoxton Square, which is commemorated with a blue plaque on the site.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Survey of London 1922 ed Bird Vol 8 page 74
  2. ↑ Private Education from the Sixteenth Century: Developments from the 16th to the early 19th century. From A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969), pp. 241-55. Date accessed: 20 April 2007.
  3. ↑ Biographical Notes from Thomas' Elpis Israel
  4. ↑ www.johnnewton.org

Coordinates: 51°31′40″N 0°04′53″W / 51.5277°N 0.08125°W / 51.5277; -0.08125

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