Hoxton is an area of London located north of the City. Originally a village, Hoxton was located about a mile outside of the city walls, separated by moorfields. Its name (ton) derives from a farmstead, owned by Hocs/Hocqs (or a similar spelling). London's old city walls were demolished in the early 1400s and Moorgate was built so that people from the City could easily visit the village of Hoxton and enjoy its popular gardens. In the Victorian times, railways took the rich from Hoxton and left those living in poverty in the area. Almeshouses and an asylum (its remains are part of the community college) were built in Hoxton, and it was a place that attracted non-Conformists who did not have to adhere to any laws outside the City. Hoxton has quite a bit of history and has changed a lot over the years.
As mentioned, Hoxton is not far from the City of London, and the City's tall buildings can be seen from Hoxton Market.
Looking south toward the City from Hoxton
Hoxton Community Trust Gardens is a small patch of green land with a clock tower that originally belonged to a hospital. When this was demolished to make way for Homerton Hospital, the clock tower was put into the gardens.
Hoxton Trust Community Gardens
Hoxton Market and the patch of green square pictured above are located north of Hoxton Square.
St. John's Church, Hoxton
Hoxton Street Market takes place on Saturdays, and the sign at the northern end of the street marks the end of the street market. Modern houses are built just to the north.
Hoxton Market
Hoxton contained many workhouses for the poor, and one of them is the building below, labelled "St. Leonard Shoreditch Offices for the Relief of the Poor". It was a workhouse, though, and not an office.
Buildings in Hoxton
Hoxton is historically noted for cloth selling (haberdashers), and the guild was here. Perhaps this is what inspired the items on the Hoxton Street Market signage.
Hoxton Street Market sign
In 2013, the council have worked hard on publicising the street market.
Hoxton Buildings
Hoxton was also the location of Gainsborough Pictures, a film and movie production house, and Alfred Hitchcock, amongst others, worked here. This was demolished in 2002 and located in northern Hoxton, near the canal.
Hoxton timber building, close to Shoreditch High Street
I discovered a pub on Hoxton Street with nice handwritten font/typography.
Nice handwriten font on a pub in Hoxton
Since the 1980s, artists and musicians have been moving into Hoxton as it was cheap. The area around Hoxton Square was popular for fashion, and a derivitive of the mohawk hairstyle was attributed to the location. It is now a creative hub with design firms, magazines, clubs, and start-ups. The centre of Hoxton is Hoxton Square. It continues to be an artistic hub with many cafes and night-life venues. Galleries are also nearby.
Hoxton Market is the name of a street located off of Hoxton Square, and this was the historical part of the town where the market did trade before the Hoxton Market already mentioned above. (It's a little confusing.)
Circus Space
Located here on Hoxton Market is the St. Leonard Electric Light Station. This building was used to create electricity from garbage to heat the public baths and circus production. The building is now home to The Circus Space, the only place in the UK that offer degrees in circus. They do sometimes have open days where you can watch the students perform.
There are many restaurants and clubs to visit around Hoxton Square as it's still considered the trendy and fashionable area of London. Up the road and around Hoxton Street Market are many fish and chip and fast food shops and pubs.
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