The Original Plaque

A commemorative plaque once stood at the entrance to Hawksley Court Estate, marking its opening on 11 September 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, then Minister of Health. It also carried the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington, the council that built the estate, together with the names of the Mayor, Housing Committee and other officials involved in the scheme. I noticed on 1 August 2023 that the plaque had gone missing.

Trying to Find out What Happened

After establishing that the plaque was no longer in place, I began trying to find out what had happened to it. Over time, this became a long-running effort involving emails to local ward councillors, council officers and others, first to establish the fate of the original plaque and then to push for a proper replacement.

Changing Explanations

One of the main difficulties was that different explanations were given at different times.

In June 2024, I received an update from a local ward councillor stating that the plaque had been removed for restoration purposes. That suggested the original plaque still existed and was being dealt with appropriately.

However, a different picture emerged through a thread involving Mayor Woodley’s office, after a local resident contacted the Mayor about the missing plaque. In a reply sent on 11 June 2024, the Mayor’s office said the council had been informed on 3 August 2023 that the plaque was missing, that a housing officer had investigated, and that it had not been possible to establish who had removed it or why. The same reply said that a replacement plaque was being designed.

That directly contradicted the earlier suggestion that the original had simply been removed for restoration. By September 2024, it was being acknowledged that the historic plaque had been stolen, while other earlier explanations had suggested that it was either being restored or was with Hackney Museum. Rather than one clear account, there was a shifting series of explanations.

Installing an Inaccurate Replica

These efforts eventually led to the council installing a replica plaque. That at least recognised that the original should not simply have vanished without trace.

However, the replica was not a faithful reproduction of the original. The original plaque carried the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington, the authority that built the estate. The replica instead uses the coat of arms of the present-day London Borough of Hackney. That is historically wrong and undermines the point of reproducing the original plaque.

There were also mistakes in the inscription. Tony Rich, a fellow local historian, later pointed out in an email that Margery Creswick Atkinson’s name had been misspelt on the replica as “Crewswick Atkinson”. Atkinson was a significant local figure who coordinated welfare and emergency housing in Stoke Newington during the Second World War, so the error was not minor. It further showed that the council had not produced a faithful copy of the original.

The material and finish also changed the character of the plaque. The original was a dark plaque with strong contrast and a clear civic presence. The replica is a much paler metal plate, flatter in appearance and less legible against the brickwork.

Installed in the Wrong Location

When the replica finally appeared in September 2024, it had not been reinstated at the prominent entrance location where the original plaque had stood. Instead, it was fixed to the side wall of Barrie House, behind a fence and away from the main point of arrival into the estate.

The result is easy to miss. In wider views, the plaque is barely visible, and when foliage grows up along the fence it becomes even more obscured. This is in marked contrast to the original plaque, which had been placed in a position that allowed residents and visitors to see it clearly and approach it easily.

I raised these concerns as soon as the new plaque appeared, including the decision to place it in what felt like a random and obscure location, and the decision to replace the historic Stoke Newington coat of arms with that of Hackney. In September 2024, a local ward councillor told me that it was now acknowledged the original plaque had been stolen and that questions were being asked about how the replica and its placement had been decided. In October 2024, I continued pressing for it to be moved to its original location. By then, it was clear that even some of those involved were unhappy with both the replica and its placement.

Continued Follow-Up

The matter did not end with the installation of the replica. In December 2024, January 2025, June 2025 and September 2025, I continued following up and asking for the plaque to be relocated. At one point I was told that the matter had been escalated and that arrangements had been made to meet the local housing manager and move it. Despite this, the issue remained unresolved.

A Case for a New And Accurate Plaque

The more recent correspondence has strengthened the case not just for moving the plaque, but for replacing it with a more accurate version. In March 2026, Tony Rich wrote to Hackney Council confirming that he holds a clear photographic record of the original plaque and had prepared a full transcription of its inscription, together with notes on how it could be reproduced accurately.

He also clarified an important point about the plaque’s purpose. It was not simply a memorial plaque to Margery Creswick Atkinson, but the civic opening plaque for Hawksley Court, recording the estate’s official opening by Aneurin Bevan and listing the Housing Committee of Stoke Newington Borough Council at the time. That means the aim should not be to create a loose modern substitute, but to reproduce the original plaque as closely as possible in wording, layout, material and heraldry, and to install it where it originally stood.

For now, the work remains unfinished. A replica has been installed, but it is historically inaccurate and badly placed. The effort continues to secure a plaque that faithfully restores what was lost.

The Programme of the Official Opening of Hawksley Court