Devoted to items relating to Hackneyites past and present, this interesting little museum is as diverse as the ethnically mixed community it serves. Most exhibits are everyday things used by everyday people, but more unusual items include a 1000-year-old Saxon log boat and a coin from the 'Hackney hoard'. This was one of 160 gold coins discovered in 2007 after being hidden by a Jewish family who moved to Hackney to escape the Nazis, only to die in the Blitz.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. St Augustine’s Tower

0.23 MILES

Set at the edge of the beautiful St John’s Churchyard Gardens, this 13th-century tower is the oldest building in Hackney and the only remains of a church…

2. London Fields

0.35 MILES

A strip of green in an increasingly hip part of Hackney, London Fields is where locals hang out after a meander up Broadway Market. The park also has two…

3. Sutton House

0.36 MILES

It would be quite possible to walk straight past this relatively inconspicuous brick house without noticing its great age. Originally known as Bryk Place,…

5. Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

0.79 MILES

This garden is typical of the kind of grassroots regeneration happening around Dalston: a project led by the community, for the community – and a roaring…

6. Ridley Road Market

0.8 MILES

Massively popular with the ethnically diverse community it serves, this market is best for its exotic fruit and vegetables, whole fish and colourful…

7. Victoria Park

0.92 MILES

The ‘Regent’s Park of the East End’, this 86-hectare leafy expanse of ornamental lakes, monuments, tennis courts, flower beds and lawns was opened in 1845…

8. Hackney City Farm

1.02 MILES

If there's a less bucolic landscape than Hackney Rd, we can't imagine it. All the more reason to bring a slice of the country to kids who have only ever…