The morning was conveniently occupied with the weekly shopping run to Sainsbury’s. Later, the pangs of hunger tempted us out once more.

Sizzle

This cafe called Sizzle in Chapel Market has become one of our favourite eating places. Not only is the food well cooked but the prices are lower than those of any other cafe we frequent.

Lunch!

Tigger took this photo of my lunch, omelette, chips and peas. Perfect 🙂

Hopper bus 394

After lunch we took the hopper bus 394. Most London buses have two or three doors but the 494 and a few others have only one. This because these buses are small in order to negotiate the narrow roads and sharp corners in the residential areas that they serve.

(Buses in Manchester also have only one door and it feels very odd to us, as Londoners, to have to wait for passengers to exit before we can board. London teaches you to be impatient!)

Street view, Hoxton

Hoxton is a district of the borough of Hackney. From your knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, you might be tempted to think that the name, which appears in Domesday Book (1086) as Hochesdon, means “pig farm”. That is plausible but incorrect. The name derives from that of a landowner called Hoc whose tun (“farm” or “enclosure”) was hereabouts.

Offices for Relief of the Poor

This building, dated 1863, has its original purpose inscribed thus: OFFICES FOR THE RELIEF OF THE POOR and operated under the patronage of St Leonard. How it is used today, I do not know. (Scope for further research 🙂 )

Cupola, Hoxton Community Garden

Tigger took this photo over the railings of Hoxton Community Garden which is unfortunately but perhaps understandably closed to the public. What attracted our attention was the cupola. It originally belonged to the old Hackney Work House at Homerton (which took its name from a farm belonging to a woman called Humburh).

Hoxton Street Market Arch

This arch indicates the site of Hoxton Street Market which was established in 1687 and is still going strong, with stalls selling a wide range of goods. (Closed on Sundays.)

St Anne’s, Hoxton

St Anne’s was first dedicated in 1870 and is Hoxton’s parish church.

Old pub?

This building on the corner of Hoxton Street and Hobbs Place must have been a pub but I have not found out anything about its name or history. One more for the research file 🙂

I Love Hoxton

This artwork by Kevin Harrison entitled I Love Hoxton, is known as the Market Sculpture, presumably because that was where it was sited originally. I believe it was moved during road works and will be put back when these are finished.

Apartment block

I’m not sure what attracted my attention to this apartment block with its striking square-section chimneys. Perhaps I’ll find out another time.

Bicycle lockers

Cycling has become hugely popular in London what with the encouragement of government, national and local, and the network of cycle tracks that had been constructed. These cycle lockers are sited in front of a block of council flats.

Old Shoreditch Library

This is the former Shoreditch Public Library built with a grant from philanthropist John Passmore Edwards and opened in 1897.

Foundation stone

The foundation stone was laid in 1896 by John Passmore Edwards himself.

Shoreditch Fire Station

This is the Shoreditch Fire Station, one that has so far survived the controversial fire station closures. It also gives its name to the bus stops on both sides of the road.

Figures by Stik

I just had time to take this photo of the street view seen from the bus stop before our bus arrived. On the façade of the building you can see three figures painted by artist Stik.