Hackney Manor (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Brooke House

In the civil parish of Hackney.
In the historic county of London and Middlesex.
Modern Authority of London Borough of Hackney.
1974 county of Greater London.
Medieval County of Middlesex.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ34798624
Latitude 51.55906° Longitude -0.05692°

Hackney Manor has been described as a probable Palace.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Hackney's largest house was Brooke House, which stood on a site north west of the junction of Lea Bridge and Upper Clapton roads, now occupied by part of Hackney Community College. The earliest part of the house was probably built for William Worsley, Dean of St Paul's, who owned the estate from 1476 until 1496, when he sold it to Sir Reginald Bray. It passed to the Southwell family and was sold to Henry Algernon Percy, earl of Northumberland in 1531. In an exchange of lands with Henry VIII, the Hackney house passed to the King in January 1535. Occasionally used by Henry but no major building work. Given to William Herbert in 1547. Finally demolished in 1954. (National Archive's Learning Curve site)

Site of a brick courtyard house partly excavated by Grimes. Courtyard 1 built c 1476 by Worsley, Dean of St Pauls, possibly over an earlier structure? Courtyard 2 showed part of major rebuilding by Thomas Cromwell. Held by Henry VIII, traditionally the king's place at Hackney. Name from Grevilles, Lord Brookes who held it 1609-1820. Divided up in early 18th century. 1759 converted to mental asylum. Bombed 1940, demolished 1955. (Greater London HER)

Brooke House was formerly a possession of the Percys, and was acquired by Henry VIII in 1535. Soon after the accession of Edward VI the house was granted to Sir William Herbert, and in 1609 by Fulke Greville, afterwards Lord Brooke, from whom the house took its name. It was demolished in 1955. (PastScape ref. HKW)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 404497.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 080148/00/00.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Hackney's Royal Palace; National Archive's Learning Curve site
Books
- Thurley, Simon, 1993, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England (Yale University Press) p. 49
  Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1982, The history of the King's Works, Vol. 4: 1485-1660 (part 2) (London) p. 124-5
  Stevenson, B., 1972, Middlesex (Batsford) p. 144
  Grimes, W.F., 1968, The Excavation of Roman and Mediaeval London ( London: Routledge & Kegan Paul) p. 239
  Sheppard, F.H.W. (ed), 1960, 'Brooke House' Survey of London Vol. 28: Parish of Hackney Part 1 p. 57
  Rose, M., 1951, The East End of London (London: The Cresset Press) p. 16, 109
  RCHME, 1930, Inventory of Historic Monuments in London Vol. 5: East London p. 46-7 no. 3 online transcription
  Robinson, Wm, 1842, The History and Antiquities of Hackney Vol. 1 p. 109
  Lysons, Daniel, 1795, The Environs of London: Vol. 2: County of Middlesex online transcription

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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