Хокстон: История и география лондонского района.

Neighbourhood in the East End of London, England

Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England, and is in northeast London and is part of the East End. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It lies immediately northeast of the City of London financial district, and was once part of the civil parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, prior to its incorporation into the London Borough of Hackney. The area is generally considered to be bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road to the west, Old Street to the south, and Kingsland Road to the east. There is a Hoxton electoral ward which returns three councillors to Hackney London Borough Council. The area forms part of the Hackney South and Shoreditch parliamentary constituency.

The earliest recorded names of the settlement are Hochestone, in the Domesday Book in 1086, and Hocston, which is mentioned in a fine of 1220 1221. The name is likely to derive from the possessive form of a person's name, possibly Hocg, and the Old English word tun, meaning a fortified enclosure, village, or manor. Little is recorded of the origins of the settlement, though there was Roman activity around Ermine Street, which ran to the east of the area from the first century. In medieval times, Hoxton formed a rural part of Shoreditch parish. It achieved independent ecclesiastical status in 1826 with the founding of its own parish church dedicated to St John the Baptist, though civil jurisdiction was still invested in the Shoreditch vestry. The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers remains Patron of the advowson of the parish of St John's. In 1415, the Lord Mayor of London "caused the wall of the City to be broken towards Moorfields, and built the postern called Moorgate, for the ease of the citizens to walk that way upon causeways towards Islington and Hoxton" – at that time, still marshy areas. The residents responded by harassing walkers to protect their fields. A century later, the hedges and ditches were destroyed, by order of the city, to enable city dwellers to partake in leisure at Hoxton.

By Tudor times many moated manor houses existed to provide ambassadors and courtiers country air nearby the city. This included many Catholics, attracted by the house of the Portuguese Ambassador, who, in his private chapel, celebrated the masses forbidden in a Protestant country. One such resident was Sir Thomas Tresham, who was imprisoned here by Elizabeth I of England for harbouring Catholic priests. The open fields to the north and west were frequently used for archery practice, and on 22 September 1598 the playwright Ben Jonson fought a fatal duel in Hoxton Fields, killing actor Gabriel Spencer. Jonson was able to prove his literacy, thereby claiming benefit of clergy to escape a hanging. Hoxton's public gardens were a popular resort from the overcrowded City streets, and it is reputed that the name of Pimlico came from the publican, Ben Pimlico, and his particular brew. Have at thee, then, my merrie boyes, and beg for old Ben Pimlico's nut brown ale. The gardens appear to have been situated near Hoxton Street, known at that time, as Pimlico Path. The modern area of Pimlico derives its name from its former use in Hoxton.

On 26 October 1605 Hoxton achieved notoriety, when a letter arrived at the home of local resident William Parker, Lord Monteagle warning him not to attend the Parliament summoned by James I to convene on 5 November, because "yet I say they shall receive a terrible blow, the Parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them". The letter may have been sent by his brother in law Francis Tresham, or he may have written it himself, to curry favour. The letter was read aloud at supper, before prominent Catholics, and then he delivered it personally to Robert Cecil at Whitehall. While the conspirators were alerted, by the public reading, to the existence of the letter they persevered with their plot as their gunpowder remained undiscovered. William Parker accompanied Thomas Howard, the Lord Chamberlain, at his visit to the undercroft of Parliament, where Guy Fawkes was found in the early hours of 5 November. Most of the conspirators fled on the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, but Francis Tresham was arrested a few days later at his house in Hoxton. A commemorative plaque is attached to modern flats at the site of Parker's house in Hoxton Street.

The geographical distinction between Hoxton and Shoreditch is often confused. The two districts have a historical link as part of the same manor, and in the 19th century both formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch. This was incorporated into the newly created London Borough of Hackney in 1965, but old street signs bearing the name are still to be found throughout the area. Both are also considered to be part of the East End of London. Manufacturing developments in the years after the Second World War meant that many of the small industries that characterised Hoxton moved out. By the early 1980s, these industrial lofts and buildings came to be occupied by young artists as inexpensive live/work spaces, while exhibitions, raves and clubs occupied former office and retail space at the beginning of the 1990s. During this time Joshua Compston established his Factual Nonsense gallery on Charlotte Road in Shoreditch and organised art fetes in Hoxton Square. Their presence gradually drew other creative industries into the area, especially magazines, design firms, and dot coms. By the end of the 20th century, the southern half of Hoxton had become a vibrant arts and entertainment district boasting a large number of bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and art galleries. In this period, the new Hoxton residents could be identified by their obscurely fashionable (or "ironically" unfashionable) clothes and their hair (the so called "Hoxton Fin", as exemplified by Fran Healy of Travis). The excesses and fashion centricity of Hoxton and Shoreditch denizens have been satirised in the satirical magazine Shoreditch Twat, on the TVGoHome website, and in the sitcom Nathan Barley. This fashionable area centres around Hoxton Square, a small park bordered mainly by former industrial buildings, as well as the elegant 19th century parish church of St John's. The northern half of the district is more residential and contains many council housing estates and new build private residences. Residents are typically older and the unemployment and crime rates, with the exceptions of drug offences, robbery and theft, are relatively high compared to some parts of the borough. Hoxton Street Market is the focal point of this end of the district. The market sells a wide range of household goods during the week and specialises in independent fashion, art and design products on Saturdays. Nearby is the Museum of the Home and Hoxton War Memorial. Property prices have continued to rise steeply since the early years of the 21st century as property developers have moved to cash in on the area's trendy image, central location and transport links. Some galleries have, as a result, moved to nearby Shoreditch, or have relocated further afield to cheaper districts such as London Fields or Bethnal Green. In response, the local council formed a not for profit corporation, Shoreditch Our Way (now called The Shoreditch Trust), to buy local buildings and lease them out as community facilities and housing. The extension of the East London Line (completed in 2010), has provided the local rail access which was lost when the line from Broad Street closed to services.

Hoxton Market, which is now in Hoxton Street rather than its original site to the west of Hoxton Square, was founded in 1687. This market was the cornerstone of the local community but, from the 1980s onwards, changed from a thriving market to one that lost its trade to the move towards supermarkets and away from the traditional street market meeting all of the community's needs. In 2013 the local business community, working with the council, started work to revive the market and this has attracted great attention and increased trade, complemented by new shops opening along the length of the market.