Social history: The story of how Market Nursery in Hackney changed the lives of families in the 70s

Setting up a nursery is quite something. It is even more something when it is set up by a group of mothers in adverse circumstances with no promise of funding or premises.

Among the captivating stories at the Women in Revolt exhibition (Tate Britain) is that of the Market Nursery.

The founding of the Market Nursery is a significant episode in women’s activism and early years history. Fifty years ago, a group of women in desperate need of childcare took it upon themselves to make something happen. It was an achievement against all the odds.

Sue Finch (pictured left) is one of the two women who got it started. ‘I was a single parent with a three-year-old daughter, and needed to work, but the only nurseries in Hackney were for children who were “at risk”. Together with friends we went door to door asking who else needed a nursery; almost every woman who opened the door did. It took a year to get the community nursery open, but it is still there – a tribute to everyone who helped.’

Here we have a story of sheer grit and exhaustion, with much joy and satisfaction along the way.

THE BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING

It all started in 1974 in the Broadway Market area of Hackney, London. This was a densely populated area due for redevelopment. Whole streets were due for demolition with nothing planned to replace them.

The only under-fives provision in the area was a half-day nursery class attached to a school. The playgroup that Sue’s daughter attended in Dalston was about to be evicted from the church hall. Something had to be done.

Sue wrote to the Greater London Council (GLC) and asked if they could use one of its unused houses for the playgroup. Many months later, the GLC offered them a house. Sue and her friend, Carol Boatswain, who she met on a playgroup leaders’ course, accepted the offer.

No.15 Dericote street became the site of much-needed childcare provision, entirely organised and run by local parents.

THE BEGINNING

The house was derelict, so money had to be found. Fortuitously, a nearby hostel for unmarried mothers had been given an ‘Urban Aid’ grant to open a nursery. Eventually, and after long negotiations, the committee of the hostel got permission from the Home Office to give the nursery its £3,500 grant. By now, it was summer 1975. Sue and her colleagues had a dilapidated house and a grant for two years. From this point on it was all go to make something of it. They recruited friends, family and, basically, anyone they could lay their hands on to make the house viable.

Sue tells us, ‘We cleared the garden, emptied the house, painted it, laid lino, and did whatever else needed doing. Carol’s dad rewired the whole house, and a local parent who was a builder built an extension for three toilets. ‘Of course, everything took far longer than we’d anticipated. We worked for months and months wondering if we’d ever transform our building site into a nursery. There was still so much to do. It was a steep learning curve for us. There was so much we didn’t know about – the fire officer, the public health officer, registration from Social Services, and probably heaps of other things I’ve now forgotten about! We certainly had our work cut out. At several points, it felt so overwhelming.’

However, they persevered and in November 1975, Market Nursery opened. It started with six children attending from 9.30am to 3.30pm, two paid workers and several volunteers. Sue says, ‘It felt like a miracle! We couldn’t quite believe we’d done it.’

Surviving mishaps such as toilets flooding, windows leaking and various other calamities, the children loved it. Sue says, ‘For the children, it was paradise. They had so many toys and much more freedom than at home – they adored the garden space.’

It wasn’t long before women were knocking on the door wanting their names to be put on the waiting list. Market Nursery was the only all-day care in the area for young children. The 20 places, costing £2 a week, were in high demand.

WHAT DID A DAY AT MARKET NURSERY LOOK LIKE?

The day got off to a slow start with children arriving up to 10.00am, sometimes later. Some would do various indoor activities, such as Lego, jigsaws, pastry and painting. Others would go straight into the garden and play in the sandpit or on the swing and climbing frame.

They would have a morning snack of milk and biscuits and then play again until lunch at midday. It was a substantial lunch – something like roast chicken with rice or toad in the hole and vegetables, with a pudding to follow. It was all bought, prepared and cooked by the parents. After lunch the children could sit and read or lie down for half an hour.

In the afternoon there were several projects going on. Some weeks the children planted seeds and nurtured them until (sometimes) their plant grew. There was a table where they could learn about colours. Carol taught them songs and dances – her speciality. Sue specialised in messy play like finger painting and potato prints, which weren’t so popular with parents!

The day ended with reading stories all together, so that it would be relatively peaceful when the parents arrived to collect their children.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Over the next five to six years, issues of funding, staffing and relocation recurred.

‘Funding was the primary issue,’ says Sue, ‘Our most difficult problem was getting a decent grant from the council. Without adequate money, nothing else was, in the long term, possible. It took a great deal of time and thought. We decided that we must maintain pressure on the council constantly for a new grant.’

Being the sort of women they were, they overcame these incessant challenges through endless campaigning and hours and hours of slog. The nursery parents, staff and children demonstrated at Hackney Town Hall again and again. They gained publicity in the Hackney Gazette and Mirror, which in the end led to better funding and new, much bigger premises. It helped that there was a local campaign for better early years provision – Hackney Under Fives – and that the nursery was one of seven community nurseries in Hackney, so there was always a good turnout.

Included in the invaluable support they offered the community was an annual camping holiday to the seaside. One of the parents, Ali Langan, raised money for the holidays from charities, and Sue borrowed two minibuses from a local Polytechnic to get to Wales. Most of the children had never seen the sea and referred to it as ‘going to the big river’.

Sadly, the battle for affordable nursery provision almost half a century ago remains relevant today. Despite a vociferous parental campaign, Hackney Council is planning to close down two nurseries in its Children’s Centres and cut back another two. This will cut a quarter of all subsidised nursery places in the local area, according to the Save Hackney Children’s Centres campaign.

Market Nursery was managed by parents for almost 50 years until the building needed substantial renovation. The nursery was taken over by the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) and is now called London Fields Nursery & Pre-School. Many of the staff stayed on, as did the parents’ committee.

Market Nursery is a story of women doing it for themselves. Their exceptional drive to improve the lives of young children and their families resulted in a unique community nursery.

MORE INFORMATION

• Save Hackney’s Children’s Centres: www.savehackneyschildrenscentres.wordpress.com