Hoxton

Hoxton (origin Hoc's farm) is an area of London (UK) in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. Formerly the home to furniture craftsmen and shoemakers, the industrial lofts and buildings were occupied by young artists in the early 1990s. Their presence gradually drew other creative people into the area (especially magazines, design firms, and dot-coms) so that by the turn of the century, Hoxton had become a vibrant arts and entertainment district boasting a large number of bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and art galleries. In this period, the new Hoxton residents could be identified by their obscurely fashionable (or "ironically" unfashionable) clothes and their hair (the so-called "Hoxton fin", as exemplified by Francis Healy of Travis).

Related Topics:
London - London Borough of Hackney - City of London - Dot-com - Ironically - Francis Healy - Travis

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Hoxton has long been the home of Hoxton Market, a once popular market that has declined over many years. It has lost its status to neighbouring markets such as Bethnal Green and Dalston. The area has recently become gentrified as a result of attempts at regeneration that have aroused hostility among some local residents. These projects have invested millions of pounds in new housing close to the City.

Related Topics:
Bethnal Green - Dalston - Gentrified

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Although Hoxton and neighbouring Shoreditch were once separate places, the two now have ill-defined borders and are often deliberately or unwittingly conflated into "Hoxton" or "Shoreditch", though the portmanteau word "Hoxditch" is also used. The confusion originates from prior to 1965 when both areas formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch and is compounded by some street signs in the area which still bear this name instead of the London Borough of Hackney which replaced it.

Related Topics:
Shoreditch - Portmanteau - 1965 - Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch - London Borough of Hackney

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Hoxton (and Shoreditch) denizens have been satirised in the satirical magazine Shoreditch Twat, on the TVGoHome website, and in its sitcom incarnation Nathan Barley. In recent years, Shoreditch and Hoxton have been home to pop musicians Jarvis Cocker and Future Sound of London, fashion designer Alexander McQueen, and artists Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Jake and Dinos Chapman, along with actor and heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal. The focal point in the area is Hoxton Square, a small park bordered by industrial buildings, one of which was home to Dr James Parkinson, the 19th century physician who first diagnosed Parkinson's Disease.

Related Topics:
Satirical - TVGoHome - Sitcom - Nathan Barley - Jarvis Cocker - Future Sound of London - Fashion designer - Alexander McQueen - Tracey Emin - Gavin Turk - Jake and Dinos Chapman - Gael Garcia Bernal - Dr James Parkinson - Parkinson's Disease

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As private developers moved in to cash in on the area's trendy image, property prices rose steeply. In response, the local council formed a not-for-profit corporation, Shoreditch Our Way (ShOW), to buy local buildings and lease them out as community facilities and housing.

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