Stoke Newington History

About

I’m a local historian and heritage advocate focused specifically on the history of Stoke Newington, working to research, document, and share the story of this ancient parish in north London, first recorded in 1086. It was a Metropolitan London Borough from 1900 until 1965, when it merged into the newly formed London Borough of Hackney. I moved to Stoke Newington in 2002, and since 2012, I have been sharing local history content daily on social media and giving talks, including a regular event I’ve run since 2016.

Amir Dotan

Upcoming Events

12.03.2026 – Stoke Newington History Talks 27 (Detailed to be confirmed)
16.05.2026 – Hackney History Festival (Details to be confirmed)

Join Events Mailing List

Past 5 Events

All Events

Past 5 Blog Posts

Featured in the Hackney Post: My Bid to Fund Historic Street Sign Restoration

A feature was published today on the Hackney Post website about my funding application, currently under review, to restore nine historic street signs. The application, submitted on behalf of the Hackney Society, outlines a proposed collaboration with Hackney Council. The council would handle the technical restoration, while the Hackney Society and I would lead the community outreach, aiming to raise awareness, understanding and appreciation of the restored signs and their historical importance.

Saving Ghost Shop Signs in Stoke Newington

The latest issue of Spaces, the Hackney Society’s newsletter, includes a short piece I wrote about two ghost shop signs recently uncovered and saved on Stoke Newington Church Street. These old signs sometimes appear when modern fascias are removed, giving a glimpse of long-gone businesses that have been preserved in an old, hand-painted sign.

Clissold Park Petition Project Featured in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine

I’ve been a huge fan of the series Who Do You Think You Are? for many years, so it was a real thrill to be contacted earlier this year by the series’ magazine for an article about my 2021 crowdsourcing project to transcribe the 1886 petition that helped save Clissold Park. Featured in the September edition of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, the piece highlights the 11,000-signature petition raised by residents of Stoke Newington, Hackney and Islington to stop the sale of the land that would become Clissold Park, and tells the story of how I initiated, organised, coordinated and managed a community-wide effort that brought together 40 volunteers from across the country to digitally transcribe this remarkable document.

30.10.2025 – Stoke Newington History Talks 26

The 26th Stoke Newington History Talks took place on Thursday 30 October 2025 at St Matthias Halls. Nigel Smith gave a fascinating talk based on a trove of archival documents, revealing the day-to-day running, bureaucracy and social history of the Savoy Cinema on Stoke Newington Road. Neil Martinson shared his experiences photographing Stoke Newington since the 1960s, reflecting on how the area has changed and showing recent images alongside those taken over forty years ago. My talk explored old shop signs briefly uncovered when modern signage is removed, revealing personal and family stories behind several such discoveries in the area.

Funding Application to Restore Stoke Newington’s Historic Street Signs

On 15 September, I met with councillors Sarah Young (Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport), Sheila Suso-Runge (Heritage Champion) and Richard Lufkin, together with representatives from Hackney Council’s Streetscene team, to discuss the future of Stoke Newington’s surviving historic street signs. At that meeting it was agreed that applying to the Hackney Community Fund is the only viable way to raise the money needed for their restoration. This has now kicked off the process of preparing a funding application in partnership with The Hackney Society and Streetscene. The application deadline is 6 October.