London Guide
Hackney
The borough of Hackney stretches from the East End edge of the City to the north London suburb of Stamford Hill. One of the most ethnically diverse of all London boroughs, it comes as no surprise that the country's longest-serving black woman MP, Diane Abbott, has her constituency in Hackney. Hackney is centred around Mare Street, whose main claim to fame is the ornate terracotta Hackney Empire (www.hackneyempire.co.uk), one of the last surviving variety theatres in London, built in typically extravagant style by Frank Matcham in 1899. The red-brick Tudor mansion of Sutton House is a short stroll away.