18 months ago I had an idea to install a plaque on Barton House GP, the site of the home of Clissold Park co-founder Joseph Beck, who led the campaign in the mid 1880s to save the park from development. While there’s a commemorative fountain in the park to honour Joseph Beck and his ‘partner-in-crime’ John Runtz, I felt it would fitting to also have commemorate Beck’s important achievement outside the park, where Beck lived.
Continue reading “10.11.2018 – Joseph Beck Plaque Unveiling Ceremony”
The 8th (and 2-year anniversary!) Stoke Newington History Talks event was held in St Matthias Halls on November 14th. All 100 tickets sold out in 12 hours. It was a great event in front of packed audience. I talked about Stoke Newington’s historical boundaries and how present perceptions of Stoke Newington are subjective and vary considerably, depending on who you ask. Simon Cole talked about Dissent and Mike Steele provided an insight into George Duckworth’s notes about Stoke Newington as part of Charles Booth’s poverty survey of London in the late 19th century.
Continue reading “14.11.2018 – Stoke Newington History Talks #8”It was a pleasure talking to Helen Mulroy from BBC London News about my photo mash-up project. I love how the mash-ups were overlayed onto the footage to create a ‘mash-up in motion’.
My survey of Stoke Newington coal hole covers made it to the Hackney Gazette. It’s great seeing the photos in print in a double-spread. You can access the article online here.
Continue reading “12.07.2018 Hackney Gazette: Stoke Newington Historian Documents the Fascinating Designs of Victorian Coal Hole Covers”I completed a photo survey of coal holes covers within the boundaries. I only started notice these case iron objects a few months ago and have been fascinated to see so many different patterns and designs so I decided to document all of them. I checked every Victorian house in every street in the boundaries of the former borough of Stoke Newington (More interesting than it sounds). Found 76 different ones and I estimate about 600 overall. You can download an A2 poster here.
The 3rd Stoke Newington History Talks event at the White Hart pub was a great success, with a packed function room and brilliant talks from Ken Worpole and Alan Denney. Ken talked about the birth of the Garden City Movement, which began in Stoke Newington. Alan presented photos from the 1970’s and 1980’s, which are part of his amazing vast collection of photos of the area. I presented my property survey of Stoke Newington Church Street 1847-2017. My presentation slides are available here.
I contributed the history section to a beautifully illustrated map of Clissold Park. The map was produced by the Clissold Park User Group and illustrated by Anna Hymas. You can buy the map in Clissold House cafe.
Inspired by a meeting I attended at William Patten School regarding a planned local heritage project, I created Sgt. Pepper-like poster summarising 60 individuals connected with Stoke Newington from the last 6 centuries. Some were born in Stoke Newington, others lived in the area for period or helped shape its architectural landscape.
You can download high quality version here. Recommended minimum print size is A3.
I had a great time presenting my research into the evolution of Stoke Newington Church Street (1847-2017) at a Nerd Nite London event in January in front of 200 people. My talk was followed by two brilliant talks about 3D printing and quantum physics! It’s a terrific event which takes place once a month. Highly recommended.
Continue reading “17.01.2018 – Nerd Nite London”
The 7th Stoke Newington History Talks event, which was held on June 6th in St Matthias Halls was one of my favourites so far. Kay Trainor, who co-founded the 3-week Stoke Newington Midsummer Festival in the 1990s talked about the festival fascinating story while Ian Castle, describe the riveting details of the German Zeppelin raid on Stoke Newington in 1915. My talk ‘Look up, look down: Spotting local history everywhere’ included examples of various relics and remnants in the built environment from coal-hole covers, boundary marker plates and bootscrapers.
Continue reading “06.06.2018 – Stoke Newington History Talks #7”
Stoke Newington History 