On Common Ground

During the 1770s, Stamford Hill Chapel was built by John Devall to serve as a place of worship for his tenants. In 1827 the chapel was purchased from the vicar of St Martin in the Fields by a group of trustees - many of whom had interests adjacent to making use of the transatlantic slave trade. In 1854, following the end of that colonial misuse, and with its growing congregation, St Thomas' began the process of separating from it's mother church - St John Hackney. Following significant bomb damage in December of 1940, St Thomas Church was rebuilt in 1958 by N.F. Cachemaille-Day & Co. In this century, following extensive work to forge links with the community via a local charity - Clapton Commons Community Organisation - and the development of our Undercroft for community use, we look to the future via the past.

Over the course of eight weeks of public engagement work, featuring four different 'interventions' - Mapping Common Ground; Digging in the Trunk; Walking on Common Ground; and Digging in Hackney Archives - neighbours and commoners drew together ideas, designs, art and archives to feature in a small scale temporary exhibition in June displaying the history and heritage of the Common Land, St. Thomas' Church, and the social lives of those historically existing in and around what is now Clapton Common.

We re-present this exhibition and open the Church and its Common Rooms for the public to experience in Open House.

Common Land in this area was originally twice the size of what it is currently discernable as park and common open space. What is/are the history of this/these sites and what are the principles of the Commons? Why were Commons and Commoning implemented and why is this our story? How have the Commons been eroded and how did we let this happen? And, where do we place our community – diverse as it is – in this Third Space, and do so for 'The Common Good'.

This project, specifically, posits and builds on a relationship between the Commons nearest to Clapton Terrace and that terrace’s anchor – the Church of England parish church of St Thomas, Clapton Commons. The church has, at its heart, the tenant of exiting to do 'the common good'. Its aim - and the aim of this project - is to map and then draw out a responsive relationship across and between residents around the Common, parishioners at the Church, and the Heritage of the site/s to which end connections can be made in service of the 'common good'.

A panel discussion with the collaborators, neighbours, artists and all stakeholders with run in the early evening of the second day. Questions it will likely discern are: Can we articulate a vision for the neighbourhood in this dynamic, hybrid zone where different cultures, faith-identities, or environments intersect?; How might we allow for negotiation, transformation, and the creation of new meanings, in a space that is fast changing but which shares it roots in a common history?; What can we and what should we preserve of the Commons, and how do we work together as citizens and a community – to do this?; and, Who are the caretakers of the Commons - does being a caretaker require that you be advocate, or just that that a certain amount of negotiation is natural to a Commons?

This year, St Thomas, Clapton Common became the Beneficence (the active promotion of Common Good) of St Thomas' & St Matthew, Clapton Common, following the closure of our sister church, St. Matthews, Upper Clapton. The next stages of our work are to regenerate the tower, restore and redesign the church, and establish ourself as a venue for music and events.

Visit us and join us as we unpick the texts and textiles of our past to rewrite our future.