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.

I’m extremely pleased to announce that four heritage street signs have now been restored and reinstalled, following a year-long process. For a couple of years, I directly campaigned to Hackney Council to stop them from removing and destroying old street signs when they deemed them no longer ‘fit for purpose’ due to discolouration. This was followed by a year-long effort, with the help of local councillors, to persuade the council to restore these historically significant signs.

I thoroughly enjoyed giving a 40-minute talk in a packed Red Lion in Stoke Newington Church Street about its long history, as part of ‘Red Lion Fest,’ marking 100 years since the current building was constructed after the 17th-century pub was demolished for road widening. The event, organised by the pub, included Craig McLean’s lively ‘Sorted for Beers & Quiz’ and raised £675 for St. Joseph’s Hospice through ticket sales and an auction. Cathie Brennan, whose parents ran the pub from 1969 to 1986, attended and shared vivid memories, having not visited in 42 years. Her appearance and stories were the icing on the cake.

This morning I had the pleasure of speaking with Riz Lateef live on BBC Radio London this morning about my interest in Stoke Newington’s history, and specifically ‘The History of Every Shop in Stoke Newington Church Street‘. It’s great to see that my research into the evolving commercial landscape of the street since the mid 19th century is generating interest beyond Stoke Newington.

I had a great time giving a talk about the history of local street names as part of the Stoke Newington Literary Festival. The main hall in the Mildmay Club was completely packed! It’s great to see this level of interest in our local history. Fascinating and thought provoking questions from people in the audience at the end. See you again next year!

Since I first shared the 155-page book I created a few weeks ago for my research into the history of every shop in Stoke Newington Church Street, it has taken off, and I had the pleasure of filming a short segment about it with BBC London News. In this 2:30-minute piece, I describe the project, talk about a few shops, and visit two where the business owners talk about their shop. At the time of writing, nearly all 100 copies that were printed, thanks to Oakwood Estate Agents, have been given away for free. Five additional local businesses have offered to sponsor an additional 325 copies, which will be available for free from local shops.

Only a couple of weeks after I created the A5 booklet version of my research into the history of every shop on Stoke Newington Church Street, it was great to see it in print. Oakwood Estate Agents kindly sponsored the printing of 100 copies, which I’ve been giving away for free. So far, three other local businesses have committed to sponsoring additional copies. The response from people has been very enthusiastic, which is great. I’ll give copies at my talks and some will be available for free in local shops, and paid copies will be available for purchase from certain local charity shops.

I enjoyed taking part in the inaugural Hackney History Festival, where I gave a talk at the historic Sutton House on Sunday, May 12th about the 1930s and the significant transformation Stoke Newington underwent during that decade, from the rise of council housing to road widening, street renaming, and much more. Having a local history festival felt long overdue, and it was great that Janet Chapman took it upon herself to form a festival team and organise an impressive 3-day event, which included walks and talks taking place in three locations.