Squatting in Hackney/Stoke Newington/N16, 1980s/90s
- Thread starter DaveCinzano
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Doodler
You're quite nice when you smile
There was the old Dalston bus garage which Wikipedia states was abandoned by London Transport in 1981. I went there in 1982 by which time it had been taken over by the Peace Convoy and others, all their vehicles parked safely inside. They had a generator but the first time I visited it wasn't working so everywhere you looked there were dozens of lit candles. The magical impression this created was soon intensified by the Little Zippy acid tab I bought off a hippy woman there, my first trip.
Nearby Brougham Road had a lot of squats, some became licensed iirc.
Nearby Brougham Road had a lot of squats, some became licensed iirc.
Where was the old Dalston bus garage, Doodler?
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
Should have been called the London Fields bus garage really, this lot lived there when they weren't doing the festies:
Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe
, Tibetan Ukrainian Mountain Troupe , First book of the road , Greenham Common, Stour Valley, Fennit , reviews. photos, links, .
www.ukrockfestivals.com
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
Indeed. But there was also one in Lower Clapton, on a corner, which I remember visually but forget the name of. Clientele were a mixture of local, predominantly Black, people and us squatter types.
Anyone help me out?
Doodler
You're quite nice when you smile
I remember hearing about the Tibetans, people said differing things about them. Both the garage and Brougham Road were home to all sorts of characters. I remember one named New Zealand Andy who lived in a converted ambulance, beautifully done up inside with carved wood fittings.
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
Lord Cecil where Reknaw put on gigs?
Or what's now The Mermaid? Corner of Cricketfield and Clarence Roads?
So The Cricketers I'm talking about was next to the old fire station off Stokey Common and is now The Axe ( I believe -- my friend who's lived round there forever still calls it that anyway...)
But yeah, looks like The Mermaid was the other Cricketers.
But yeah, looks like The Mermaid was the other Cricketers.
marty21
One on one? You're crazy.
.
I was thinking of The Windsor Castle , close by , used to be a locals place , then became gastro-y , then closed. No idea of it will ever re-open as a pub, it's had builders in for a few years (but I've not seen any activity for a while)
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
They seemed fine to me, NZ Andy died a few years back, he had a house on Brougham Rd. Here's a couple of pics nicked from the Tibetans FB page:
Doodler
You're quite nice when you smile
There were a few squats in Yoakley Road. iirc one was inhabited by members of a band called Blood and Roses. They had a kind of gothy look, before the term was invented. They"d covered their living room windows with black bin bags and lined the inside of the fireplace with tinfoil. In the hearth glowed a green lightbulb. At the junction of Yoakley Road and Stoke Newington Church Street was a pub called the Yoakley Arms. Buster Bloodvessel from Bad Manners sometimes held court in there.
Doodler
You're quite nice when you smile
Sorry to hear that about Andy, I remember him as a tolerant, decent guy, widely travelled with all kinds of interesting stories.
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
. Think Reknaw did some gigs in there as well.
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
That was actually an April housing co-op house where the plumbing left a lot to be desired, I remember that their back yard was full of bags of shit at one point. They did have an aversion to daylight!
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
Squatted the Nevill Arms pub on Nevill Rd in the early 90s. Put on bars there every Thursday & Sunday nights for 4 months until the old bill raided, don't know why it took them so long as they used to drive past all the time on their way to & from Stokey Police Station. Some French mates squatted the Black Bull pub in Haggerston too.
andysays
Love and solidarity
I started my squatting career on the Wyndham Estate in Camberwell in about 1982 or 83, later moving to the Ocean Estate in Mile End and later still the King Edwards Estate off Mare Street.
Probably left there in about 87 or so, and was never really part of any scene.
Probably left there in about 87 or so, and was never really part of any scene.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
1986-1987 I'd been squatting in Haringey but 1988-1989 I squatted in Hackney. I cracked a squat on Durley Road in Stamford Hill, a nice roomy detached property, and invited two friends to move in. All was well and good. Then I foolishly invited another person who turned out to be a complete arsehole and who eventually set the house on fire (unintentionally) with an unattended candle. Luckily, my dog woke me up and we escaped by jumping from a first floor window.
Me and my best mate from Manchester fixed it up a bit after the fire and stayed there for a while, but it was still a burnt wreck. He eventually went into rehab, so me and the life-saving dog (Molly the Colly) shipped out and cracked another squat on the Woodberry Down estate. It was a nice one bedroom gaff in the derelict wing of a block. Funnily enough, the other wing (past the lift) was well tenanted but on my wing there was only me. I was there for a good while until some scallywags nicked the pipes from the empty flats above and below, thus cutting off all my water. Bastards. After that, I went into rehab and later got a HA property, so my squatting days were over.
Oh, forgot to say, I was at the mass occupation on the Stamford Hill Estate. Also used to drink in the Cricketers. I knew pretty much everyone on the squatting scene there in the late 80s.
Eta: also forgot to say, I knew most of the squatters on the Homeleigh Rd estate as well.
Me and my best mate from Manchester fixed it up a bit after the fire and stayed there for a while, but it was still a burnt wreck. He eventually went into rehab, so me and the life-saving dog (Molly the Colly) shipped out and cracked another squat on the Woodberry Down estate. It was a nice one bedroom gaff in the derelict wing of a block. Funnily enough, the other wing (past the lift) was well tenanted but on my wing there was only me. I was there for a good while until some scallywags nicked the pipes from the empty flats above and below, thus cutting off all my water. Bastards. After that, I went into rehab and later got a HA property, so my squatting days were over.
Oh, forgot to say, I was at the mass occupation on the Stamford Hill Estate. Also used to drink in the Cricketers. I knew pretty much everyone on the squatting scene there in the late 80s.
Eta: also forgot to say, I knew most of the squatters on the Homeleigh Rd estate as well.
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Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
An ex-girlfriend burnt out a squat on the corner of Lordship Park & Allerton Rd after a similar accident with a candle, she broke both her ankles jumping out the window.
Serge Forward
Just enjoyin' my coffee.
The house next door was also squatted. The lad next door put a bedbase below the window. I chucked the dog out first, she fucking loved it, her tail wagging as she flew through the air. I jumped, the bedbase was sprung and I bounced head first into a nettle bush.
Fire brigade turned up and put the fire out. Then plod arrived. I thought I'd get done for criminal damage to council property. So I picked up the dog and went up to dibble all excited saying how the dog was a proper hero, saved my life, etc, etc. The two coppers agreed the dog was amazing and how lucky I was to have a dog like that. Oh how we all laughed! Then they left.
A few minutes later, the arsehole who started the fire turned up. She was all in tears about how she could have killed me. Then she went inside and came back out a couple of minutes later, all smiles and saying, "It's all right, my drugs are okay." I had some very strong words after that.
Fire brigade turned up and put the fire out. Then plod arrived. I thought I'd get done for criminal damage to council property. So I picked up the dog and went up to dibble all excited saying how the dog was a proper hero, saved my life, etc, etc. The two coppers agreed the dog was amazing and how lucky I was to have a dog like that. Oh how we all laughed! Then they left.
A few minutes later, the arsehole who started the fire turned up. She was all in tears about how she could have killed me. Then she went inside and came back out a couple of minutes later, all smiles and saying, "It's all right, my drugs are okay." I had some very strong words after that.
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