Almost two months to the day after beautiful decorative Victorian tiles were uncovered at 117 Stoke Newington Church Street during its refurbishment to become De Nadas Empanadas, I had the pleasure of participating in the opening event on 19th September, where I presented a section of the tiles now visible as part of the new interior. I gave a brief talk about the shop’s history to a small audience gathered inside. The owners contacted me in early August after I pointed out on social media that the tiles had been covered during the refurbishment, and I was pleased to hear they planned to feature half of them in the interior by cutting a large hole in the newly constructed plasterboard.

About the Tiles

The small section of decorative tiles next to the shop window, which an architect I consulted dated to the late 19th century, was uncovered in July 2024 as the former sweet shop was stripped of its interior. The shop was a chemist in the 1860s–1890s and a fancy goods shop from 1900. I believe it’s more likely the tiles were part of the interior of the fancy goods shop rather than the chemist. The ground floor was originally residential, and I did consider the possibility that these were porch tiles from when the house’s door was there, but that would date them to the early-mid 19th century. Given their approximate age, this seems less likely, though I’m tempted not to rule it out completely.

Next to the tiles, there was a visible ‘stair line,’ which I believe may be a relic from when the ground floor was residential. It could indicate that the section of tiles just to its right in the photo were porch tiles where the front door to the house may have been located.

Preserving the Tiles

The tiles were covered during the refurbishment, but the owners changed their minds following comments on social media after I expressed my disappointment that they wouldn’t be visible. Thankfully, they decided to make half of the section part of the new interior. The tiles are due to be covered with a transparent protective screen soon.

The tiles are visible from the street and can be admired both from outside and inside the shop.

The Shop’s History

De Nadas kindly sponsored 25 copies of my book, which documents the history of every shop in Stoke Newington Church Street to giveaway to people who attended the ticketed talk, as part of opening event, which afterwards saw 300 free empanadas given to people who formed a long queue outside from 6pm.