Hoxton Square is a publicgarden square in theHoxton area in theLondon Borough of Hackney. Laid out in 1683, it is thought to be one of the oldest in London. Since the 1990s it has been at the heart of the Hoxton national (digital and design) arts and media hub, as well as hosting entertainment, with globally eclectic musicians, actors and dancers. Most of the square's buildings, quite tall for theVictorian age, diverge in use, with many floors converted to bars, restaurants and offices and at least one live music club of note.
One of the square's 18th-century residents,Rev.John Newton,[1] composed the popular hymn "Amazing Grace".
Hoxton Square was laid out by Samuel Blewitt and Robert Hackshaw, who leased the land from the Austen family in 1683.[2]
Hoxton and Charles Squares, while upper-middle class, housed manynon-conformists (with Anglicanism). From 1699 to 1729 an academy, offering a wide curriculum and also allowing "free enquiry" by its students, stood against the square.Samuel Pike, who lived in one of houses, offered theological teaching from 1750.Samuel Morton Savage opened hisHoxton Square Academy there. The academy closed in 1785.[3]
Hoxton Square is home to the Augustinian Priory, school andChurch of St Monica (architect: E. W. Pugin) built 1864-66 and the first Augustinian House in England since a brief attempt at revival underMary I of England.
Since the 1990s the square has become the heart of a nationally notableHoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district. It would be home to theBlue Note (formerlyThe Bass Clef), which was a key club for both theacid jazz anddrum and bass scenes.[4]
Between 2000 and 2012, the south side of the square was home to theWhite Cube art gallery, which primarily showcased newer artists such as from the movementYoung British Artists.
Since the year 2000 the square's buildings, largely ofVictorian vintage, have become host to bars, restaurants and offices - such asSh! Women's Erotic Emporium. Theinsurance groupAviva increasingly have purchased property on the square to redevelop into what has been dubbed a "corporate campus".[5]
In 2020 a sculpture designed by the graffiti artistStik was installed in the square.[6]
The Christian theologianJohn Thomas, founder of theChristadelphian movement, was born at Hoxton Square in 1805,[7] and in 1810 the square was home toPeter Durand, who filed the first patent nationally for tinning food.
One of the square's 18th-century residents,Rev.John Newton,[8] composed the popular hymn "Amazing Grace". Theparish church ofSt John's Hoxton is nearby, where one ofPrince George's ancestors was married in the mid-19th century.
James Parkinson (1755–1824), thephysician and author ofAn Essay on the Shaking Palsy, the subject of which is now known asParkinson's disease, was in practice at No.1, which is commemorated with ablue plaque on the site.
51°31′40″N0°04′53″W / 51.5277°N 0.08125°W /51.5277; -0.08125