Stoke Newington History Talks 29

An evening of captivating talks delving into the rich history of Stoke Newington. Join us for the 29th Stoke Newington History Talks event: an evening of three talks about Stoke Newington's history from different perspectives organised by local historian Amir Dotan (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube). To date, there have been 51 guest speakers and 84 talks, reflecting the depth of the area’s rich history. Venue and Timings The event will be held at St Matthias Halls, Wordsworth Road, N16 8DD. Each talk lasts 25 minutes, followed by a five-minute Q&A. There’ll be a 10-minute break between talks and a bar serving a selection of beer and wine. Doors open at 19:00. Thank you for your patience while we get the venue ready for you. Past Talks and Upcoming Events Browse all past talks since 2016, with slides and recordings. Recordings are available for most talks since 2020. Join the mailing list to hear about upcoming Stoke Newington History Talks events. Fundraising Tickets are £9, up from £7—the first increase since 2020. All ticket proceeds go to charity, with each event supporting a different cause. This event’s proceeds will support the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND Association) in memory of John Baptiste George, who ran T. J. Electrics at 174 Stoke Newington Church Street for 50 years and died from motor neurone disease in 2023, aged 83. The charity provides care and support for people affected by motor neurone disease, funds research, and campaigns for better care and greater awareness. The last 21 events raised £13,358 for charitable causes. A list of charities that have received proceeds from past events is available here. The Line-Up Remnants of Lost Boundaries: Stoke Newington’s Historic Boundary Markers by Amir Dotan Dotted around Stoke Newington are old cast-iron boundary markers, some in the form of posts set into the ground and others as plates attached to buildings, marking boundaries that have long since disappeared. These remnants tell the story of how Stoke Newington was once divided between different parishes and local authorities, including the former Borough of Stoke Newington and the largely forgotten district of South Hornsey. Once relatively numerous, only a few survive today. While some markers stood along main roads, others ended up hidden in private back gardens as new streets and houses were developed, sometimes following ancient boundary lines. In this illustrated talk, local historian Amir Dotan explores the surviving markers and shares stories of those discovered in recent years, alongside others that have been lost. Amir Dotan (StokeNewingtonHistory.com) is a local historian focused on the history of Stoke Newington. Since 2012, he has researched and shared local history through social media (Instagram, Facebook), talks, and community projects. In 2016, he founded Stoke Newington History Talks, a regular event featuring speakers on the area’s past. Plans in the Dark: Stoke Newington’s Unbuilt Deep Shelter and the Politics of Protection by Tony Rich In April 1939, the distinguished engineer Oscar Faber proposed an ambitious network of deep air-raid shelters beneath Stoke Newington. Designed to accommodate tens of thousands of residents, with entrances distributed across the borough, the tunnels were never built. Drawing on Faber’s original report, contemporary newspapers, and local archival research, this talk explores Stoke Newington’s preparations for war, the remarkable shelter system proposed beneath its streets, and the competing approaches to civilian protection before the Blitz. Why did such a serious engineering proposal remain on paper, and what does it reveal about the political decisions shaping who was protected, how, and at what cost? Tony Rich is an independent research historian based in Stoke Newington, a committee member of Friends of Hackney Archives, and co-coordinator of the Mildmay Club Archive Group. Land, Tenure and Power: The Leasehold System in Stoke Newington by Lachlan Anderson-Frank From medieval copyhold and the great aristocratic estates of London to the present-day campaign for leasehold reform, this talk traces how land tenure has shaped power, property and politics in Stoke Newington. Focusing on Albion Road, developed from the 1820s on former Glebe land held by the Church to provide income for its upkeep, and Albert Town, laid out from the early 1850s as the housing development made up of Allen Road, Howard Road and the five roads that connected them, including Shakspeare Walk and Milton Grove, it explores two contrasting nineteenth-century models of development: Thomas Cubitt’s leasehold villas and the freehold plots promoted by the National Freehold Land Society as part of a wider movement linking property ownership with the right to vote. Along the way, the talk will consider how leasehold allowed landowners to control streets, buildings and behaviour long before modern planning, why it attracted criticism for encouraging speculative and poor-quality development, and how arguments over whether leaseholders should be able to buy the freehold of their homes continue today. Bringing local streets into conversation with national reform, this talk reveals how the history of Stoke Newington’s houses is also a history of ownership, democracy and control. Lachlan Anderson-Frank is a town planner who gives walking tours of Stoke Newington for Open City. Originally Canadian, he has lived in London for more than 10 years. Also at the Event • Friends of Hackney Archives will have a stall where you can learn about their work and sign up for membership. Recent issues of their journal, Hackney History, and newsletter, The Hackney Terrier, will be available to buy, with cash and card accepted. Free booklets will also be available, with donations welcome. • Clissold Park User Group will have a stall where you can learn about this volunteer-run group and how it supports the park. They will be selling postcards and illustrated maps of Clissold Park, with proceeds from sales helping to fund park improvements, activities and free community event Testimonials • "Loved your street signs talk last night. In fact all the presenters were great. Thank you so much for your dedication and energy in setting these evenings up." (Graeme) • "That was a wonderful evening last night. You said it would be special and it was. That chap James talking about electricity he is a star! How can anyone make substations sound interesting. Brilliant. And Mark was just great too. So relaxed and cool and calm. To think that Stokey looked like that at the time I was spending time there. I do not remember anything … we just used to go to the pubs and hear music. No cameras with us of course." (Rachel) • "Thank you Amir for the wonderful talk tonight. It was all so interesting! Mark and James were great too so please pass on thanks to them for sharing. Look forward to the next one." (Amanda) • "We thoroughly enjoyed your last gig, we were treated to so much information – too much for my aged brain to retain, so I’m looking forward to seeing the video of the event to refresh my memory." (Alan) • "Many thanks again for an excellent event. You and your guests help us enjoy and appreciate our common local history and urban landscape in massively entertaining ways." (Julio) --- Recordings of Previous Events More videos are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@stokenewingtonhistory/videos