Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1789, replacing the nearby former 16th-century parish church dedicated to St Augustine. The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be strengthened; the bells were finally removed to the new St John's in 1854. See details of other, more modern, churches within the original parish boundaries below.
Ancient parish
The vestry of the parish, in common with all parishes in England, was entrusted with various administrative functions from the 17th century. The parish vestry administered the Poor Law until 1837, until it became part of the Poor Law Union of Hackney. The ecclesiastical and civil roles of the parish increasingly diverged, and by the early nineteenth century they covered different areas.
Civil parish
A distinct civil parish dates from 1855, with the incorporation of The Vestry of the Parish of Hackney in the County of Middlesex by section 42 of the Metropolis Management Act. With Stoke Newington it formed part of the Hackney District, governed by the Hackney District Board of Works, within the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the parish of St John at Hackney within the Hackney District Boards of Works was divided into seven wards : No. 1 or Stamford Hill, No. 2 or West, No. 3 or De Beauvoir Town, No. 4 or Dalston, No. 5 or Hackney, No. 6 or Homerton and No. 7 or South. In 1894, the district and board were dissolved, with the Hackney vestry taking on its duties within the parish. In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into eight wards : Stamford Hill, West, Kingsland, Hackney, Mare Street, South, Clapton and Homerton. In 1889 Hackney was included in the new County of London, and in 1900 the vestry was dissolved with the parish becoming the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney. The civil parish was abolished when the borough became part of the London Borough of Hackney in 1965. The boundaries of the civil parish were identical to the ancient parish, and it covered . The populations recorded in National Censuses were: Hackney St John's Vestry 1801-1899
Year
1801
1811
1821
1831
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1901
Population
12,730
16,771
22,494
31,047
37,771
53,589
76,687
115,110
163,681
198,606
219,272
Ecclesiastical parish
The ancient parish, was originally dedicated to St Augustine. By 1660 it was rededicated to St John the Baptist and usually referred to as St John at Hackney. It and its successors are in the Diocese of London. From 1825, building and the population of Hackney increased rapidly and new parishes were formed, a few of which have since been dissolved:
