Erection date: 10/10/1934
{Top plaque:}
John Dower - Architect
A. T. Rowley Ltd - Builders
1934
{Middle plaque:}
Shakespeare House. Built by the Shoreditch Housing Association was opened by the most Hon. the Marquess of Crewe, KG, PC on October tenth 1934.
{Bottom plaque:}
Shakespeare House. This stone was laid December 11th 1933 by Dame Sybil Thorndike for the Shoreditch Housing Association.
Site: Shakespeare House (1 memorial)
E9, Lyme Grove
The brick pier built to display these rescued plaques is behind the railings, at the right of our photo.
Until we did the research we assumed that the 1930s block had been demolished and recently replaced with the building that is now on site. But at Architects Data File we read: "Friday, 4th July 2014, bptw {partnership} complete unique Hackney residential refurbishment project Recently completed, Shakespeare House is a unique conversion of a four storey residential building in Lyme Grove, Hackney. Through an inventive and rigorously executed refurbishment process eighteen high quality modern apartments have been created, transforming the original 1930’s building into a desirable place to live. An official re-opening ceremony for the scheme which is located on Lyme Grove, Hackney was held this week, and attended by Cllr Glanville, Cabinet Member for Housing at the London Borough of Hackney who unveiled a plaque and commended the development team on the quality of the building." A set-back fifth floor was added.
The page closes with this statement "As well as significantly improving the quality of living for residents, the development is an exemplar of the high architectural quality that can be achieved through the retention of existing buildings."
No part of the visible building looks to us anything other than newly built. Perhaps the internal structure of the 1930s block was retained.
