St Augustine's Tower
St Augustine's Tower is the oldest surviving structure in the London Borough of Hackney, and one of the most quietly remarkable medieval remnants in the whole of east London. Standing on Mare Street in the heart of Hackney, it is all that remains of the medieval parish church of St Augustine, the bulk of which was demolished in 1798 when a new church was built nearby. The tower dates primarily from the sixteenth century, though some elements may be earlier, and its endurance through centuries of urban change, wartime bombing and the relentless redevelopment of east London makes it a genuinely extraordinary survival. It is listed as a Grade II* listed building, reflecting its considerable historical and architectural significance, and is managed by the Hackney Historic Buildings Trust, which has worked to preserve and open it to the public on selected occasions.
The church to which the tower once belonged served the parish of Hackney for several centuries during the medieval and early modern periods, when Hackney was still a relatively rural village on the outskirts of London. The tower itself is built of ragstone rubite and brick, and its fabric reflects the various phases of construction and repair it has undergone over the centuries. When the old church was pulled down at the end of the eighteenth century and replaced by the neoclassical St John at Hackney further along the road, the tower was retained, perhaps out of sentiment, perhaps because demolishing a solid medieval structure was more trouble than it was worth. It has served various purposes since then, and the churchyard around it was used as a burial ground for many years, meaning the tower stands today amid a small green space that contains old gravestones, some worn almost beyond legibility.
Physically, the tower is a compact, sturdy structure that rises to a modest height and presents the typical features of a late medieval English church tower — square in plan, with battlemented parapet, clock faces added in later centuries, and the worn texture of old stonework that has weathered centuries of London rain and soot. The clock on the tower is one of its most distinctive features and is considered among the oldest church clocks in London, with its mechanism believed to date from the seventeenth century, making it a fascinating piece of horological history in addition to its architectural interest. Standing close to the tower, you are aware of its age in a way that is rare in this part of London — the roughness of the stone, the slight lean and irregularity of its lines, and the sense that it belongs to a completely different era than the busy commercial street just steps away.
The surrounding area is the busy urban core of Hackney, centred on Mare Street, which is one of the main arteries of the borough. The tower sits within a small churchyard that functions as a pocket of calm green space amid the surrounding activity. Hackney Central, with its mixture of independent shops, cafés, market stalls and cultural venues, spreads out around it. Nearby attractions include the Hackney Museum, Hackney Empire — the celebrated theatre on Mare Street — and the extensive green spaces of London Fields and Victoria Park a short distance away. The area has undergone significant gentrification in recent decades but retains a strong sense of its layered, multicultural history.
For visitors, St Augustine's Tower is generally not open on a walk-in basis, but the exterior and churchyard can be visited freely at any time. The Hackney Historic Buildings Trust organises open days, typically during events such as the London Open House festival in September, when the interior of the tower can be explored and the clock mechanism inspected. Arriving by public transport is easy, as Hackney Central Overground station is within a few minutes' walk, and numerous bus routes serve Mare Street. The best time to visit is during one of the open days, as access to the interior makes the visit far more rewarding. Those interested in history, medieval architecture or the social history of east London will find the tower a genuinely moving and thought-provoking place to spend time.
One of the most fascinating aspects of St Augustine's Tower is precisely its incongruity — a medieval structure planted firmly in one of the most rapidly changing urban environments in Britain, surrounded by the noise and energy of contemporary Hackney. It is easy to walk past it without fully registering what it represents, which is perhaps one of London's great pleasures: the way history intrudes unexpectedly into the present. The clock that has marked time on this corner for centuries now ticks away against a backdrop of coffee shops and cycle lanes, a reminder that Hackney has always been a place of change and continuity in equal measure.