Hackney City Farm

From Lorry Park to Living Farm

The land at 1A Goldsmiths Row has had a surprisingly varied history. In the early 1800s it was worked by market gardeners supplying produce to the city. A brewery occupied the site from the 1880s until the 1930s, followed by furniture makers, button manufacturers and, from 1940 onwards, a road haulage company run by the Jeakins family. By the early 1980s the yard was derelict.

In 1984 a group of local residents, inspired by the recently established Kentish Town City Farm, secured a hundred-year lease from Hackney Council and set about converting the abandoned lorry park into a working smallholding. What began with a handful of animals on a patch of concrete has grown into a registered charity and one of east London's most valued community spaces.

What to See and Do

The farm's one-acre site packs in a remarkable amount. Open pens and paddocks hold Anglo-Nubian goats, Kerry Hill sheep, pigs, a donkey, ducks, geese and chickens. The apiary near the garden produces honey, and the poultry roam freely around the central courtyard during opening hours.

Beyond the animals, the cottage garden is divided into raised vegetable beds, a herb garden, a bog garden planted with wetland species and a small orchard of apple, pear and plum trees. The pottery workshop runs drop-in sessions through the week — children's classes on Wednesday afternoons and Sundays, adult evenings on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Frizzante, the Italian cafe in the courtyard, serves Mediterranean-inspired food using seasonal and farm-grown ingredients, and the Get Loose refill shop sells dry goods, eggs and pantry staples with zero packaging.

Nearby and Practical

Hackney City Farm sits on the edge of Haggerston Park and a short walk from the Regent's Canal towpath, which connects to Broadway Market, Victoria Park and the wider Lea Valley. Columbia Road Flower Market is a ten-minute walk west and operates every Sunday morning.

The farm is closed on Mondays except for bank holidays in spring and summer. There is no car park and on-street parking is limited, so arriving by Overground or bus is recommended. Paths within the farm are a mix of concrete and compacted earth — manageable for pushchairs in dry weather but potentially muddy after rain. Dogs are not permitted on the farm.