Place Name
Remembers philanthropist Valentine Poole of Old Ford whose will of 1624 left the income of five acres of land called Butfield in Well Street, Hackney, to support the poor of the local parish. It was still going strong by 1824 when the churchwardens, who used then rent to provide bread for the needy, hoped to develop the land – but the bid failed. By 1863 they paid cash sums. By 1862 an exchange was agreed with Sir John Cass’s charity in 1862 and all the land was let on a building lease to John George Bishop in 1867, under which £375 10s. rent was paid and Poole Road, Valentine Road, and neighbouring roads were built up. The houses later accounted for most of the large income enjoyed by the St John, Hackney, Joint Estates charities.
