Wikipedia

Stoke Newington Church Street

Stoke Newington Church Streetis a road in north London of the borough ofHackney.The road linksGreen Lanes(A105) in the west to Stoke Newington High Street (theA10,formerlyErmine Street), in the east.Stoke Newingtonis one of the villages swallowed by the growth of London in the 19th century, and Church Street retains some of this neighbourhood feel, with many restaurants, pubs, and independent (non-chain) shops.

Stoke Newington Church Street, looking west. (March 2006)

History and naming

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First noted in 1329, what is now Stoke Newington Church Street was recorded as Newington or Newton Lane in 1403, then Church Street in 1576 and as the current name from 1937, making it the longest-used street name inGreater London.

Various parts of the street have had different names in the past. On the south side and starting in the west at Green Lanes, the section up to Clissold Crescent was the site of Newington Hall. The next section, occupying almost all of the street from Clissold Crescent to Clissold Road, was known as Paradise Row (now 229-249 Stoke Newington Church Street). A large part of this is occupied today by Kennaway Estate: Garland House (built 1953) is on the site of The Willows, while Millington House (built 1937) is on the site of Paradise House.[1]Paradise House had a long association with the Quaker community, being the birthplace ofSamuel Hoare Jrand later occupied byWilliam Allen.TheabolitionistThomas Clarksondescribed it as "The very first house in the country, about London, in which I was received and encouraged, in my early pursuits in the cause of the Abolition of the Slave Trade...".[2]One of its final incarnations before demolition was as Paradise House School.

Continuing east from Paradise Row to Clissold Road, the next property was Glebe Place. This is now occupied by Gaskin House, Manton House, Thoresby House and Lloyd House, built by theLondon County Councilaround the same time as Millington House. (All of these blocks of flats are named after former rectors of Stoke Newington.[3]) The current Spensley Walk was previously Park Crescent. The section from Albion Road to Woodlea Road was Sister's Place and beyond Defoe Road were Abney Place and Langel Place.[4]

Description

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The Rose and Crown, 2007

Clissold Parkmarks one end of Church Street. Near to it, at the junction with Albion Road, is the municipaltown hallandassembly hallof the oldBorough of Stoke Newington,refurbished during 2009-10.Abney Park Cemetery,set up as anon-conformistcemetery andarboretumin 1840 on the site ofparkland of the same nameand now run as anature reserve,has an entrance on the street. This is next to the fire station, which was built on the site of Fleetwood House and Abney House,[5]whereNewington Academy for Girls,an innovative Quaker girls' school, ran from 1824. It commissioned the world's firstschool bus,which ran from Church Street toGracechurch Streetmeeting housein the City, taking the pupils to worship.

There are two churches on the street, both known as Saint Mary’s. The first,St Mary's Old Church,was built in 1563 and was partially rebuilt in the 19th century and then again in the 1950s after heavy bomb damage duringWorld War II.The second church is the impressive mid-VictorianSt Mary's New Churchwith its 250-foot steeple. This church, designed by SirGeorge Gilbert Scott,was built in 1858, and completed in 1890.[6]

The street has become famous for its large number ofpublic housesand restaurants providing a wide range of food, drink and entertainment. There are a number of licensed venues serving alcohol and hosting live music. For entertainment Ryan’s Bar and the Auld Shillelagh have live music licences. The Daniel Defoe pub (named afterthe authorofRobinson Crusoe,who lived nearby) offers a good range inreal alesand has a passablebeer garden.TheRose and Crownis aGrade II listedpub built in 1930-32, and designed forTruman's Breweryby their in-house architectA. E. Sewell.[7]For dining, the two Rasa restaurants offerKeralacuisine (Rasa Travancore not beingvegetarian), Il Bacio and Il Bacio Express specialise inItalian cuisine.Other popular places include the Spence bakers for a good range of breads.

In addition to public houses and restaurants, the street is also home to a wide range of independent shops and boutiques offering unusual craft items, jewellery, cutlery, musical instruments, and clothes.

Notable residents

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Blue plaque erected in 1932 by London County Council at 95 Stoke Newington Church Street commemoratingDaniel Defoe

References

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  1. ^Hackney Archives copies of LCC plans of Kennaway Estate
  2. ^abLife of William Allen with selections from his correspondence Vol III 1846 pg 210.
  3. ^'Index', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 226-244. URL:http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=6594.Date accessed: 13 July 2008.
  4. ^1868 Ordnance Survey Map of Stoke Newington, The Godfrey Edition.
  5. ^Stoke Newington: Public services', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 200-204. URL:http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=10537Date accessed: 23 October 2011
  6. ^Weinreb, Ben;Hibbert, Christopher(1992).The London Encyclopaedia(reprint ed.).Macmillan.p. 769.
  7. ^Historic England."The Rose and Crown public house, Stoke Newington (1427444)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved30 August2015.
  8. ^A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, T F T Baker, C R Elrington (Editors), A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot 1985
  9. ^"Stoke Newington: Growth, British History Online".
  10. ^"The Quietus | Features | In Their Own Words | N16age Riot: Thurston Moore On Stoke Newington Life".

51°33′40″N0°04′57″W/ 51.56111°N 0.08250°W/51.56111; -0.08250

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