Hoxton Square
Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Formerly 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. In the summer, the central grassed is extremely popular.
The south side of the square is home to the White Cube art gallery, known for representing a number of the movement of Young British Artists.
Hoxton Square was laid out by Samuel Blewitt and Robert Hackshaw, who leased the land from the Austen family in 1683.[1] It is thought to be one of the oldest squares in London.
At an Old Bailey trial on 27 February 1734 John Humphries, Plasterer, was indicted at the Old Bailey for “stealing 200 hundredweight of lead, fixt to the Freehold of Robert Hackshaw, in Hoxton Square, Feb. 16”, found guilty and sentenced to transportation.”
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]
The Christian theologian John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphian movement, was born in Hoxton Square in 1805,[3] and in 1810 the square was home to Peter Durand, who filed the first English patent for the process of tinning food.
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.
Today, Hoxton Square serves as an area to relax, housing art galleries, restaurants, bars and pubs, and is home to Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium.
[edit] References
- ^ Survey of London 1922 ed Bird Vol 8 page 74
- ^ 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.
- ^ Biographical Notes from Thomas' Elpis Israel
Coordinates: 51°31′40″N 0°04′53″W / 51.5277°N 0.08125°W
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