The Shepherdess Walk Mosaics...

If you walk along Shepherdess Walk in Hackney you might see a hidden entranceway.

 

Descend down some steps and you will see this intriguing sign pointing to a mysterious passageway.

 

The passageway mimics the route of a path that once crossed the fields from the City of London to the pastoral hills of Islington. It would have been well trodden by shepherds and their sheep on the way to Smithfield meat market.

 

Fast forward to the mid-19th century and the Regent’s canal winds it way through the landscape, industry has arrived and terraces of houses have been laid out. The passageway existed at this point and linked through to another terrace called Turner’s Place, where the park is now located.

 

Two huge bathhouses opened here in 1842; the largest covered baths in London for 90 years. They were converted into factories in the 1950’s and then, after a period of dilapidation, were torn down, along with Turner’s Place, to create the park.

 

Tucked into the northernmost corner of this park, by the passageway, you will find a series of beautifully intricate mosaics.

 

The mosaics were created in 2012 by Tessa Hunkin. She worked with around 150 volunteers from the local community, including from Lifeline Works, involving those struggling with substance abuse.

 

The first panels were called ‘History in the Making’ and created in time for the London Olympic Games.