August 2016
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East life<br />
Pics: Isabelle Gerretsen<br />
Laurie maintaining the clock mechanism in St <strong>August</strong>ine's Tower<br />
Laurie Elks, guardian of Hackney’s oldest building, tells some<br />
of its fascinating history to Isabelle Gerretsen<br />
St <strong>August</strong>ine’s Tower is tucked<br />
away behind a betting shop<br />
and often overlooked by those<br />
visiting the Church of St John-at-<br />
Hackney.<br />
However, the medieval tower<br />
used to be the heart of the<br />
village and is in fact the<br />
borough’s oldest building,<br />
dating back to 1275.<br />
Laurie Elks has been the<br />
guardian of St <strong>August</strong>ine’s<br />
Tower since 2000. He describes<br />
it as his hobby and “great love”.<br />
4 LOVEEAST<br />
Laurie started going to the<br />
tower once a week to wind<br />
the clock and over the years<br />
became more and more<br />
involved in maintaining the<br />
historical landmark.<br />
Heritage is<br />
being ignored<br />
by planners<br />
He helped curate the tower’s<br />
permanent exhibition on<br />
Hackney’s history and organises<br />
a series of talks every June.<br />
Laurie’s knowledge of the<br />
tower’s fascinating history<br />
shines through as he guides me<br />
up the 135 steps of the spiral<br />
staircase leading to the roof<br />
with incredible panoramic views<br />
across London.<br />
The tower used to be part of<br />
the village’s medieval church, he<br />
tells me, and was reconstructed<br />
by Christopher Urswick, the
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