Hackney Archives is open to anyone who wants to find out more about Hackney’s past. If you are interested in the history of a building or street in the borough, a Hackney based business or organisation, or would like to know more about family members who lived in Hackney then we’ll do our best to help you.

News & What’s On

Workshops and Events

Wikipedia Editing Workshop

1:15 PM - 4:15 PM Sunday 26 October 2025

Join us to learn how to create content on Wikipedia, a free-content online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers. Trainers from Wikimedia UK will give an overview of Wikipedia editing, why it is important and help attendees to get started.

This workshop is suitable for beginners and those with experience alike. Please bring a laptop with you if possible as you will need a laptop if you would like to do some editing.

Further guidance will be shared with people who register.

Hackney Archives Search Room

Dalston CLR James Library (2nd floor with lift access)
Dalston Square
E8 3BQ

FREE

Booking here

Contact Us

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Where to find us:
Hackney Archives
Second Floor Dalston CLR James Library
E8 3BQ

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 10am to 6pm, first Saturday of the month 10am to 5pm.


Search our collections of books, pamphlets, photographs, maps and unique archive material. Many of our images can be viewed online and you are welcome to visit us in person to view any other material.

 
View fullsize Hackney Archives is open to anyone who wants to find out more about Hackney’s past. If you are interested in the history of a building or street in the borough, a Hackney based business or organisation, or would like to know more about family m
View fullsize Archives opening times Hackney Archives is open Wednesdays to Fridays 10.00am - 6.00pm, as well as on the first Saturday of every month, 10.00am - 1.00pm then 2.00pm - 5.00pm. If you would like to request material from our basement stores, register
View fullsize Discover 600 years of Hackney’s history Search our collections of books, pamphlets, photographs, maps and unique archive material. Many of our images can be viewed online, and you are welcome to visit us in person to view any other material.
View fullsize Local historian Laurie Elks chairs a panel discussion with Roland Walker and Alan May, two of the figures in the Dalston Peace Mural. Roland is the son of Ray & Anna Walker. Ray designed the mural and Anna co-painted the mural following Ray&rsquo
View fullsize Dalston Square: a stage through time 11:30 AM 12:30 PM Saturday 17 May Exclusive talk on how Dalston was transformed into a circus, a theatre and a cinema space before evolving into dynamic music venues hosting international artists and the developm
View fullsize Feminist Re-Imaginings at the Rio, 1980-2025! Did you come to the women’s film and video screenings at the Rio in the late 1970s, 1980s or early 1990s? Were you a member of the Rio Women’s Cinema, the Women’s Media Resource Project
View fullsize with @hackneylibraries Join the event to celebrate 40 years of the renaming of Dalston C.L.R. James Library, with a special panel of speakers we will be discussing the relationship between C.L.R. James and Hackney. We will look back to the renaming o
View fullsize Eithne Nightingale, author of Child Migrant Voices in Modern Britain: Oral Histories 1930s - Present Day and Margaret Andrews, author of Becoming Fowokan: The Life and Works of Fowokan George Kelly, discuss the experiences of young girls who have mig
View fullsize Whatever Happened to Us? Saturday, March 15 · 2 - 6pm GMT. Doors at 2pm Join @anvietarchives for a day that will reflect on what it means to remember - exploring how communities share memory through archives, art, performances, games, and f
View fullsize @unfinishedhistories UPCOMING EVENT: Join us as we present Bloolips Living Leg-Ends Revisited. Exploring the radical drag troupe in one of their key camp extravaganzas, as Bette, Lavinia plus Diva Dan, Gloria, Phil Harmonia, Marge Mellow, Naughty Nic
View fullsize Hackney Archives closed from 25 December to 24 January 2025 for the holidays and stocktake. During our closure period, if you are interested in the history of the borough, a business or organisation, or family members who lived in Hackney we warmly
View fullsize Danny F! Anansi Lives! Comic-Book Launch! Cartoonist Danny F! presents his comic anthology 'Anansi Lives!' Q&A hosted by Comic Laureate Bobby Joseph Sunday, June 16 · 1:30 - 4pm Hackney Archives Renowned for intricate greyscale, comic-