Lower Clapton

Lower Clapton is a district of East London in the London Borough of Hackney, lying immediately north of Hackney Central, the borough's administrative and retail centre.Neither Lower Clapton nor the wider Clapton area have ever been an administrative unit and consequently their extent has never been formally determined, however Lower Clapton can be described as closely approximating to the southern part of the E5 (Clapton) postal district.BoundsLower Clapton closely approximates to the southern part of the E5 postal district and as such can be described as having the following approximate boundaries: North: Lea Bridge Road\Kenninghall Road. Upper Clapton lies north of these roads.Manorial courts from the early 19th century distinguished the parts of Clapton north and south of Lea Bridge Road as Upper and Lower Clapton, and those names soon passed into general use. West: The Rectory Road to Hackney Downs rail line, taking in Hackney Downs park. East: The Lea Valley. South: The southern boundary approximates to Clifden Road.HistoryClapton was from 1339 until the 18th century normally rendered as Clopton, meaning the "farm on the hill". The Old English clop - "lump" or "hill" - presumably denoted the high ground which rises from the River Lea. Clapton grew up as a straggling hamlet along the road subsequently known as Lower and Upper Clapton Road, and as the area became urbanised, the extent of the area called Clapton eventually increased to encompass most of the north-eastern quarter of the Ancient Parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Hackney.