Themes

South Asian Hackney

Campaign Badges

Badges were an important tool of communication, with individuals often wearing numerous badges to show what causes they supported. From the 1970s onwards, the local area was a hotbed of social and political organising on a truly vast amount of issues.

LGBTQI+ Hackney

Music, Dance & Performance

Visual Arts & Crafts

My Story (Oral Histories)

Sports

Civic Life

Disability & Access

Politics & Campaigning

Jewish Hackney

Historic Images

African Hackney

Earlier Olympic and Paralympic Games

Items from the museum's collection relating to the London Olympic Games of 1948, and other previous games.

Chalmers collection of fine & decorative arts

A selection of works of art from the collections of Hackney resident Alexander Chalmers.

Alexander Henry Chalmers was born in Aberdeen in 1849, came to London in 1864 and worked in banking for most of his life. He lived in Stoke Newington for many years. He had a long association with the city of London, and developed a particular interest in London’s older churches. He was also a regular visitor to many of London’s art galleries. It was this interest in art which led him to collect, over the course of his lifetime, the many pictures, bronzes, ivories and cameos which now constitute the collection.

The Chalmers Bequest is a varied collection of paintings and decorative art objects. It was donated to the Borough of Stoke Newington by Alexander Chalmers in 1927 along with a sum of money, the interest of which was intended for the continued expansion of the collection. Until 1986 the Chalmers Bequest was housed in the Stoke Newington Library, at which point it was moved to the newly instituted Hackney Museum in order to increase access and to provide better security and supervision for the collection.

London 2012

This theme contains items the museum has collected that relate to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the cultural Olympiad.

Healthcare in Hackney

Hackney has a long tradition of healthcare from the earliest private hospitals and sanatoria to the current work of Homerton Hospital. The Red Cross has also had a well-recognised base in Dalston for many years. The museum has an extensive collection of health-related items, including a major bequest from Dr Lionel Stoll who grew up here and went on to become an early GP for the new NHS.