James Brooks, 1825 - 1901, eminent church architect, designed Church of St. Columba, Kingsland Road, 1868; designed and built this house c.1862; lived and died here.
London Borough of Hackney
Site: James Brooks (1 memorial)
N16, Clissold Crescent, 42
Clissold Crescent was part of the Willow Estate, whose history is well-covered at Local Local History, but Brooks is not mentioned there.
Looking closely at the front pavement wall, it's clear that it has been altered. The white sections were probably the coping stones of low walls that were themselves topped with ornate ironwork matching that to left and right. An unusual and attractive entrance.
An aside: our Australian consultant, Margaret Wright, drew our attention to the nearby Burma Court Estate. This is the post-WW2 development Immediately to the south west of Brooks's house, It is also referenced by Local Local History 2. The apartment blocks all have Burmese-related names (Mandalay House, Rangoon House, Chindit House, Wingate House, etc.). This might suggest that someone connected with the area or the development had a significant connection to Burma.
From LLH: "At the time of the 1868 map ... Burma Road was being built..." Checking the history of Burma (present-day Myanmar) we find the 1885 Third Anglo-Burmese War leading to the total annexation of Burma in 1886.
This 1870 map shows the road named 'Grange Road', but by this 1894 map the Victorian developers have chosen 'Burma Road' instead. And we'd guess that the post-war developers just took their inspiration from that.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk
