I was interviewed for a BBC News article about manhole covers and the people who find them a fascinating (who doesn’t?!). The cover image is my photo-survey of Stoke Newington coalhole covers and my collection also makes an appearance! Check it out.

The 16th Stoke Newington History Talks event was online with talks that about the fascinating history of the Woodberry Down Estate by John Boughton, the story behind the publication of the Stoke Newington Lifestyle Guide in 1987 by Martin Bailey and finally, my talk was about some of the architects that designed Stoke Newington's public …

Continue reading 05.08.2021 – Stoke Newington History Talks no. 16

The 15th Stoke Newington History Talks event yesterday was terrific. 197(!) tickets were sold, which is a record and the event raised £638 for the local branch of National Food Service North London. I’ve been meaning to give a talk about historical street signs in Stoke Newington for a while now, so it was great to …

Continue reading 06.04.2021 – Stoke Newington History Talks #15

https://youtu.be/BrSUNkkcLYM On a very hot day in August 2020 I provided a short history overview of Woodberry Down as part of an episode of Landscape Artist of the Year. It was fun experience, which allowed me for the first time to stroll along the south bank of West Reservoir that is otherwise closed.

The 14th Stoke Newington History Talks event on December 3rd was attended by 130+ viewers on YouTube and included talks from myself, Billy Reading and Caz Richards. It was a very different experience than the usual in-person setting I got used to in the last 4 years, but it was still a great evening nonetheless. …

Continue reading 03.12.2020 – Stoke Newington History Talks #14

I was chuffed to be invited a few months ago to record a BBC ‘Boring Talk’ podcast about my fascination with coalhole cover designs. It was great fun to record in the BBC 4 studio and also in the streets of Stoke Newington. You can listen to the podcast here. Recording a podcast about such a visual …

Continue reading BBC ‘Boring Talks’ podcast

The 13th Stoke Newington History Talks event was held in St Matthias Halls on March 2nd in front of a packed audience. Brilliant talks by Alan Denney and Andy Wells. Proceeds from this event were donated to Hackney Playbus. Thank you to all who attended. Here are the audio slideshows and slides of the three talks: …

Continue reading 02.03.2020 – Stoke Newington History Talks #13

I had a great time presenting my survey of Stoke Newington coal-hole cover designs as part of the October Nerd Nite London event. It’s very niche and ultra-geeky, which is why Nerd Nite is the ideal forum to share my interest in these decorative cast iron beauties. Slides Videos https://youtu.be/DZ2wbMsh5tU https://youtu.be/evNOl83H9QM Photos  

The 12th Stoke Newington History event of the year was held on December 3rd in St Matthias Halls, as usual. All 155 Tickets were snatched in 22 hours, which was incredible. Proceeds from this event were donated to Pets Against Loneliness; a group of volunteers bringing together older members of the community with well-behaved dogs …

Continue reading 03.12.2019 – Stoke Newington History Talks #12

Here's a snippet from a Financial Times article about Stoke Newington house prices, which includes a few quotes I provided the journalist who contacted me on Twitter.