Hackney Marshes

Hackney Marshes
The River Lea passing through Hackney Marshes
Hackney Marshes Location within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ375845
• Charing Cross	6 mi (9.7 km) SW
London borough	Hackney
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	E9, E10
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Hackney South and Shoreditch
London Assembly	North East
List of places UK England London 51°33′25″N 0°01′48″W / 51.557°N 0.030°W / 51.557; -0.030

Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, and from its origin as an area of true marsh.

The marshes were extensively drained from Medieval times onwards, and rubble was dumped here from buildings damaged by air raids during World War II, raising the level of the ground.

The principal area of the marsh lies below Lea Bridge Road between the Old River Lea, and the Hackney Cut – an artificial channel of the Lee Navigation, dug about 1770, to avoid a loop in the natural watercourse. The southern extent is marked by the A12; although the industrial land around Hackney Wick Stadium was originally an extension of the marsh, it now forms a part of the Olympic Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Hackney Marsh is one of the largest areas of common land in Greater London, with 136.01 hectares (336.1 acres) of protected commons.^[1]