Brickfields is a project run by the Hackney-based architecture centre, Building Exploratory, and this online resource focuses on the London borough of Hackney.
Brickfields website, homepage © Building Exploratory
The Brickfields homepage has an ingenious horizontal timeline divided into seven coloured sections: Roman, Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, pre WW II and post WW II. This means the resource can be used by schools outside Hackney to illustrate typical buildings and lifestyles from each historical period.
Clicking on a time period produces a drop-down menu and, if you pick homes or work, it’s a built environment treasure trove. ‘Victorian homes’, for instance, gives you a photograph of a bedroom interior while ‘Victorian work’ produces Brigg’s tent factory and the Berger paint factory, among other buildings. ‘Georgian homes’ has a pair of terraced houses in Stoke Newington. Each section is accompanied by useful and informative text, which would work well for use with the whole class via an electronic whiteboard.
Key stages: 2, 3 and 4
Key subjects: history, art & design, geography
Built environment education: archaeology, architectural styles, buildings and places, heritage
Access from the Brickfields website
Visit the Building Exploratory page
