The Stunning Shepherdess Walk Mosaics

Walk along Shepherdess Walk in Hackney and look out for the entranceway circled below.

Descend down some steps and you will see this intriguing sign pointing to a mysterious passageway.

Pluck up the courage, walk through and you will emerge from the darkness into Shepherdess Walk Park.

Shepherdess Walk Park

The passageway mimics the route of a path that once crossed the fields from the City of London to the pastoral hills of Islington. It would have been well trodden by shepherds and their sheep on the way to Smithfield meat market.

Fast forward to the mid-19th century and the Regent’s canal winds it way through the landscape, industry has arrived and terraces of houses have been laid out.

The passageway existed at this point and linked through to another terrace called Turner’s Place, where the park is now located.

Two huge bathhouses opened here in 1842; the largest covered baths in London for 90 years. They were converted into factories in the 1950’s and then, after a period of dilapidation, were torn down, along with Turner’s Place, to create the park.

Tucked into the northernmost corner of the park, by the passageway, you will find a series of beautifully intricate mosaics.

The Shepherdess Walk Mosaics

The mosaics were created in 2012 by Tessa Hunkin. She worked with around 150 volunteers from the local community, including from Lifeline Works, involving those struggling with substance abuse.

The first panels were called ‘History in the Making’ and created in time for the London Olympic Games.

Inspired by Roman mosaics, they depict all sorts of details from life in Hackney.

As well as the more traditional patterns, plants and animals, they also include a lot of modern references. Look out for the figures using headphones, mobile phones and cameras.

Over the following couple of years, more were added, including a panel depicting the shepherdesses and sheep that gave the area its name.

The project sounded like great fun to be part of and a genuine community effort.

Tessa said: ‘ I’ve been making mosaics for twenty-five years and I started working with people with mental health problems. I like working with groups of people on large compositions that they can be proud of. Mosaic-making is very time-consuming and laborious, so it seemed a good idea to work with people who have too much time, for whom filling time can be a problem.’

For some of the lovely individual stories behind the mosaics, read Spitalfields Life article here.

See some photos of the unveiling event here, including people dressed as shepherdesses and a real sheep.

London has lots of great street art, projects and public sculptures to see, but this has got to be one of my favourites. The community spirit that went into it, the level of detail and the overall effect is inspiring and just brilliant.

A link here for a site about rehabilitation from addiction issues or problems with mental health.

Thank you for reading, see below for more of London’s hidden gems!