Stamford Hill credit Hackney Archives

Helping local families find housing, setting up Kosher businesses, and making sure there is community support for those with medical needs.

These are just some of the stories heard first hand from the Orthodox Jewish pioneers of Stamford Hill. Which are captured in a new display that opened at Hackney Archives this month. 

Created by young women from the Charedi Orthodox community group Teen Action, ‘Sharing Our Stories: Jewish Stamford Hill 1950s-1980s’ features stories, objects and photos of businesses and community groups that have had a big impact on Stamford Hill during that time.

Stamford Hill is now home to Europe’s largest Charedi community with an estimated 20,000 people. Many Orthodox Jewish people who arrived to the Hackney area post WWII were instrumental in setting up the community as we know it today. Many local schools, organisations and businesses were built up by these pioneers.

Young people from the group Teen Action wanted to share this unknown history and help other young people gain an appreciation for the older generation and this heritage. As well as learning more about their local community, this Heritage Lottery funded project supported by Hackney Archives and Hackney Museum, has seen the group of young Charedi women trained in heritage skills including researching archive collections, filming and editing oral history interviews, and creating an exhibition of their own design.

Ruchi, 18, a member of Teen Action, said: "I learnt to appreciate older people, and that they have a lot to offer. I also learnt a lot about heritage. I know about the special people in our community and all the pioneers who established Stamford Hill and helped it become the wonderful place it has come to be."