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Wednesday 10am - 6pm Thursday 10am - 6pm Friday 10am - 6pm

Hackney Archives

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Hackney Archives

Preserving Hackney's history through records of local people, organisations, societies, campaigns & buildings.

Free access to hundreds of unique collections documenting Hackney’s rich history. Gibson Collection - take down requests

Hackney Archives holds a collection of 150,000 negatives captured between 1952 and 1979 by Ron Gibson’s photography studio in Hackney. The Gibson collection records the people of Hackney as they got married, worked, celebrated and mourned and offers a unique insight into life in Hackney and surrounding areas over a 27 year period. Over the next two years Hackney Archives will be digitising the collection so that images from the collection can be shared publicly, for example on Hackney Archives’ page. We understand that due to the nature of the collection there may be sensitivities about certain photographs being made publicly available. If you believe that an image on our page should not be made public please email us at [email protected] (please use the subject heading ‘Gibson’) with details of the image you are concerned about or telephone us on 020 8356 8925.

28/09/2026

CLR James Legacy Lecture: Joy Francis
Joy Francis, executive director of Words of Colour, writer, literary activist, curator and genre-fluid DJ has been selected for 2026’s CLR James Lecture.

Saturday 3 October 6-7.30pm
Hackney Archives London E8 3BQ

Hiding in plain sight: Unravelling the pivotal role of Black British women in community activism and cultural change

When CLR James and other Black male intellectuals, activists and writers were visible and platformed, Black women’s pivotal role as activists, community organisers, feminists and incisive writers were largely rendered invisible.
During James’ time, the nature of racism and patriarchy and how it shaped Black political and intellectual life meant Black men gained visibility through institutions that systematically excluded or marginalised Black women. This often determined who
was recognised as intellectual, cultural and political figures, chiefly men.
Yet James political world was significantly shaped by Black women activists who were exposed to racism, sexism, misogynoir and male domination, including within some Black political organisations.
Joy Francis explores this complexity, asks how far we have come, and highlights the risks and challenges Black women face in the quest to be visible with a particular focus on some of the Hackney-based Black women activists, politicians and cultural
agents (past and present) who have, and continue to lead, inspire and cultivate vital legacies.

28/09/2026

Black History Season 2026 programme announced!

Welcome to Black History Season 2026. Here you will find details of brilliant grant-funded events and community activity to complement the this year’s UK Black History Month theme ‘Honouring Our Communities’. While we celebrate Black history in Hackney year-round, our Black History Season programme runs from October - November. Check out the list of events

26/04/2026

Free to good home! 6 lovely very robust research tables, 73cm high, tops 150cm sq. Pickup from Dalston. If interested please email [email protected]

Address

Hackney Archives, 2nd Floor CLR James Library, Dalston Square
London
E83BQ

Opening Hours

Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm

Telephone

+442083568925

Website

http://hackney.gov.uk/archives, https://hackney.soutron.net/Portal/Default/en-GB/Search/SimpleSearch, https://www.instag

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