Re-igniting former glories in E5

Street party in Trehurst Road earlier this year

It once housed Henry VIII and Samuel Pepys, but Clapton hasn’t always had the best of reputations. Sandwiched between Stoke Newington and central Hackney, the area garnered quite a rough reputation when a series of attacks in the early 2000s led to the nickname ‘murder mile’ being given to Upper Clapton Road.

In recent years, however, the E5 postcode has slowly been transformed into one of the most desirable areas of Hackney, gathering in the exodus from Shoreditch and London Fields as it drastically improved its local services.

With a mixture of large Georgian houses, charming terraced Victorian properties and new upmarket developments along the River Lea, Clapton has a lot to offer both young professionals and families of all sizes, and although house prices are soaring, they are still significantly lower than many other Hackney neighbourhoods.

Clapton is less oppressively urban than its surrounding areas, and is abound with green spaces, from the River Lea itself, with its cyclist and jogger friendly towpaths, to the 40-acre Springfield Park, which includes tennis courts, a cricket pitch, a duck pond, a café and an historic bandstand to boot.

The huge Hackney Marshes border Clapton to the east, stretching all the way to the Olympic Park, while Hackney Downs is a short walk for those living more centrally.

Johnny Rotten may not have thought much of Brook House, the Clapton school he attended, but some local schools have been getting excellent results in recent years, with families moving to the neighbourhood just so that they can be in the right catchment area.

The Clapton Girls’ Academy on Laura Place, which only received its ‘academy’ status a couple of years back, has been steadily improving, with ‘outstanding’ Ofsted reports becoming commonplace. The much-lauded Mossbourne Academy, often used as a paradigm for inner city schools, is the former stomping ground of Sir Michael Wilshaw, now Chief Inspector of Schools, and although its ethos may not cater to all tastes, the results speak for themselves.

For the younger ones, the Daubeney Primary School has been doing well academically, and the nearby Kingsmead is another Ofsted ‘Outstanding School’. Options for the really little ones include the Rooftop Nursery in Ottaway Street, and affordable private child-care is readily available throughout E5.

Transport links to central London are ever improving. National Rail services from Clapton, Rectory Road and Hackney Downs stations all make it to Liverpool Street in ten minutes or under, while the London Overground stations just outside E5, such as Homerton and Hackney Central, provide a speedy route to places such as Stratford, Highbury and even as far as Richmond. Cycling is on the increase all over Hackney, but Clapton’s proximity to the River Lea means many a journey can be made in a safer and more serene environment.

Other local highlights include top-rate leisure facilities in Hackney Marshes and at the Kings Hall Centre on Lower Clapton Road. The Chatsworth Road market, which runs every Sunday, is full of independent stalls which have become local favourites, from homemade Greek food to retro jewellery.

A couple of months ago, a blue plaque was unveiled at the birth home of Harold Pinter, who lived a street away from Clapton Pond. But the esteemed playwright has only set the scene – the best of E5, one senses, is yet to come.

9 Comments

  1. skeptik on Tuesday 4 December 2012 at 19:39

    I’m sorry – is this a Foxton’s blurb or a news article?



  2. The Great Smell Of Brute on Thursday 6 December 2012 at 13:21

    Shh, the Chablis-swilling New Labour drones will try to annexe E5 for Stoke Newington!



  3. Laura on Thursday 6 December 2012 at 15:00

    “the best of E5, one senses, is yet to come.” Meaning housing prices rising so much local crunchies will have to move away and clear the way for the city hipsters and offshore ghost companies? Oh yeah, I feel it already when I pay my rent. Totally agree with comment 1. I had to say goodbye to Hoxton, then Dalston, now Clapton… See you in Tottenham



  4. The Great Smell Of Brute on Thursday 6 December 2012 at 16:06

    In Tottenham, no one can hear you scream…



  5. Andy on Monday 10 December 2012 at 14:29

    I have lived and worked in Clapton since 1999. I always felt it was underrated, love Springfield Park, the marshes. I love my neighbourhood, but let’s remember Hackney has been a dumping ground for the disposessed and poor. This has meant a mettling pot of cultures, which is very special. But Hackney and other Inner City areas were left to rot for almost a century. Now the class mix of Clapton etc is shifting to the hipsters. The days of large scale influxes of new foreign immigrants is over at least here, Hackney will become less deverse.
    If you crave edgey, you will have to leave Hackney and find it elsewhere. Otherwise get used to sharing Clapton with this new influx.



  6. Martin on Sunday 13 January 2013 at 18:25

    We bought our flat in Clapton in 1997, at the time it was relatively easy to buy (and cheap) as it had a reputation for violence etc. Upper Clapton hasn’t really changed much, although Sodo Pizza is a welcome addition, the stretch of road from the roundabout has always been a bit ‘down at heel’ . I do shop in the turkish shops near the station but there isn’t really anywhere else I have a need to go to. Amazingly the area is still chain free – even KFC and Macdonalds have not yet arrived. I can’t imagine Starbucks or any of the coffee chains coming either.

    Chatsworth Sunday market is an improvement, as are the various new places on Chatsworth Road that have opened in the last 5 years or so. The Deli, Venetia’s , Shanes, Cakey Muto, Creperie and the strange juice bar.

    Then you have the Clapton Hart which replaced the former Chimes and Palace night clubs. Suddenly hipsters do have a place to go! I’m 47 and do like the pub (for the excellent choice of ales mainly, and the friendly staff)



  7. Andy on Sunday 3 March 2013 at 13:28

    Martin super timing… yeah back then it was really about a place like Clapton being affordable, but also in the thick of it. No one truly thought the Murder Mile was up and coming. I moved here cos I taught here. Now we have the over flow from Stokey, Dalston, Shoreditch, Hoxton, HC, basically the rest of Hackney. Upper Clapton is the cheapest bit left, and has the River lea, Marshes, Millfields Park and Springfield Park.
    The real clincher will be the Crossrail 2 project, a station in Hackney Central would shorten travel times for Clapton residents. A station in Clapton would be a game changer, or at least a tunnel under Clapton Station to leave the option open.



  8. Benjamin on Sunday 3 March 2013 at 17:08

    Well, whether you regard it as good or bad, change on Lower Clapton Road is building up steam – the next couple of months will see a new coffee shop open next door to Blue Tit hairdressers, and the Windsor Castle is being turned into a gastropub by a collaboration of the people behind the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, Birthdays in Dalston, the Spurstowe Arms and Royal Oak in Columbia Rd.



  9. Benjamin on Sunday 3 March 2013 at 17:12

    …not to mention the Three Sisters being converted into a “pub / pizza place / cafe” named The Star by Hackney Downs;
    https://www.facebook.com/starbyhackneydowns



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