My project, Windows into the Past, and my Instagram account were mentioned in a Times article on 21 March 2025 by Matthew Davis, titled ‘Stoke Newington Named One of the Best Places to Live in London 2025’. The piece explores Stoke Newington’s amenities, historical sites, and attractions, recognising it—according to The Times—as one of the best places to live in London this year. It’s great to see my work featured in this context.

Continue reading “My Project and Work Featured in The Times Article” →

The first Stoke Newington History Talks event of 2025 sold out in nine and a half hours, which I think is a new record. As always, it was a packed event at St. Matthias Hall. My talk was about the long saga of renaming Wiesbaden Road, which ultimately became Belgrade Road. We also had brilliant talks from Tom Hilverkus on South Hornsey—an independent local authority in the 19th century covering parts of Stoke Newington—and Tom Walker, Chair of Abney Park Trust, who spoke about the Abney Park restoration project completed last year.

Continue reading “27.02.2025 – Stoke Newington History Talks 24” →

I was absolutely blown away when the new owners of the Coach & Horses in 178 Stoke Newington High Street contacted me on January 31st to share an incredible discovery. While refurbishing the pub, they uncovered an old wooden wall featuring posters advertising various drinks. Based on the name of the publican included, I was able to date it to the 1880s, not long after the current building was constructed on the site of the original Coach & Horses.

Continue reading “A Remarkable Historical Find at the Coach & Horses” →

In late October last year, I was kindly invited to visit and document a home in Stoke Newington, belonging to a long-term resident who passed away earlier that year at the age of 81. She had moved into the house with her family in 1957 and lived there until her passing. While I was able to take numerous photos of the house, given its relatively untouched state, I also wanted to document it in video before it goes on the market. On January 20th, I had the opportunity to visit again and record an 8-minute video of the house.

Continue reading “Inside a Largely Intact Victorian House in Stoke Newington” →

The latest iteration of my Stoke Newington Church Street commercial landscape dashboard now includes two new charts: one tracking the historical trend in the number of chains on the street (10+ outlets) and another showing the rate of business change over time. I’ve also introduced metrics for two-unit mergers and large, purpose-built commercial units. These larger units are the most likely to attract interest from big chains if they become available.

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As part of my ongoing exploration of local businesses on Stoke Newington Church Street, I conducted an analysis of the number of outlets operated by each business, aiming to understand the split between independents and chains in the street. The key finding is that only 10% of businesses on Church Street are chains. This is based on the working definition of a chain as a business that operates 10 or more outlets, all with unified branding.

Continue reading “Exploring Independents vs. Chains on Stoke Newington Church Street: An In-Depth Analysis” →

An article by Lily Scaplehorn in Hackney Post highlights the milestone reached by Stoke Newington History Talks, a community event series I started in 2016, which has now raised over £10,000 in donations for Hackney charities. The latest talk, held at St. Matthias Hall, raised £649 for Boiler House Spaces, a charity dedicated to strengthening community connections in Hackney. The contribution brought the total funds raised through ticket sales to £10,079.

Continue reading “31.10.2024: Hackney Post Article on My Event Reaching £10,000 in Donations” →

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.

Continue reading “My Talk on the Uncovered Victorian Tiles at De Nadas’ Opening Event” →