Description
Fassett Square is on land once owned by the Lord of the Manor of Hackney, which appears to have been acquired in 1853 by Catherine Massie and Thomas White. In 1861 William Hodson was granted leases for house building, and evidently laid out the ornamental garden. Those living in Fassett Square did not have automatic right of access to the gardens despite the obligation to pay for its upkeep. It remains for the private use of residents of Fassett Square, an oblong garden enclosed by reproduction C19th style railings, which has been restored with new planting in 1999. Fassett Square and Fassett Street were used as the model for the fictitious Albert Square in 'East Enders'.
Practical Information
| Site location | Fassett Square |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E8 1DQ |
| What3Words | ///worker.sugars.dwell |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Hackney |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Rail: Hackney Downs. London Overground: Hackney Central, Dalston Junction. Bus 38, 242, 277 + 30, 56, 236 |
| Research Updated | 1 July 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Fassett Square garden is on land once owned by the Lord of the Manor of Hackney, which appears to have been acquired in 1853 by Catherine Massie and Thomas White. The Massie family had plans for a development that incorporated the west end of Graham Road and west side of Fassett Square but this was not completed. In 1861 William Hodson was granted leases of the land for house building. The first mention of the garden is in the under leases that Hodson subsequently granted to various people, each of whom were covenanted to pay 'a fair proportion not exceeding 10s 6d per annum, in common with the other lessees, of the cost of maintenance of the ornamental ground formed or to be formed by William Hodson'. The lease for the garden itself was held from 1852 to 1951 by the Trustees of Miss Rose Kindred and Mrs Lavinia Foster, whose agent contracted with a firm of nurserymen to maintain the garden, which in 1928 is described as 'a narrow rectangular enclosure laid out with grass and shrubs and containing some pollarded trees'. It appears that those living in Fassett Square did not have automatic right of access to the gardens despite the obligation to pay for the upkeep. Today it is for the private use of residents of Fassett Square, an oblong garden enclosed by reproduction C19th style iron railings. It has been restored with new planting in 1999 through funds provided as part of the restoration of the adjacent German Hospital. Fassett Square and Fassett Street were used as the model for the fictitious Albert Square in 'East Enders'. The garden has roses and pollarded lime trees, the perimeter planted with holly, forsythia, rose beds and other shrubs.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ342848 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.06 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Site Management | Fassett Square Residents Group |
| Dates | 1860s |
| Designers | William Hodson |
| Listed Structures | LB: The German Hospital Main Block, East Extention |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Hackney |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Graham Road and Mapledene |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | London Square |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
From the 1840s, Dalston was rapidly expanding as a middle class suburb and in the 1860s a planned residential development was built on land owned by the Lord of the Manor. The population was initially served by an iron church, which St Mark's Church was built to replace in 1863-66. One of the largest parish church in London, it was nicknamed the Cathedral of the East. The tower, built in 1877-80, features a turret barometer, probably the only working one in Europe. The church is surrounded by a churchyard garden with lawn, some shrubbery and notable mature trees around the railed perimeter.
Dalston Eastern Curve Garden is on the site of disused railway lands, no longer required after improvement works were made at Dalston Junction. In 2009 it was used as a site for a temporary art installation in conjunction with the Barbican Art Gallery. In 2010 the garden was created through a partnership project commissioned by Design for London, 'Making Space in Dalston' in which Hackney Council, local residents and groups worked with muf architect/art and J & L Gibbons Landscape Architects. It was planted with wildlife friendly trees and shrubs, Since 2012 the garden has been managed as a social enterprise, with a café, education programme and community events.
Shacklewell was a medieval hamlet that grew up on both sides of Shacklewell Lane, an old route between the village of Hackney and Kingsland Road. An ancient well attracted visitors from the C17th onwards, and various inns and hostelries were established here. Shacklewell Green and Shacklewell Lane Triangle, sometimes called the 'small green', are survivals of manorial waste that were given to Hackney Board of Works for public open space in 1883 by the Lord of the Manor, whose manor house was to the north. The Green has perimeter plane trees and contains the 1914-18 war memorial.