I became interested in red pillar postboxes after reading about them in a book about London street furniture. I was intrigued to see how many pillar postboxes in Stoke Newington might be considered rare. More generally, I was also interested to see the number of postboxes by Royal Cypher, which gives a rough indication when the postbox was installed.

You can read more about this little project in article I wrote in the Hackney Gazette.

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.

18 months later it’s a reality thanks to donations from the Clissold Park User Group and Beck’s family. The plaque was unveiled on November 10th, 3pm outside Barton House GP by Beck’s great great great grandchildren.

Two videos from the ceremony:

Caroline Millar from the Clissold Park User Group, who part-funded the making of the plaque, reading part of a letter written by Joseph Beck after the park was saved and secured for the public

Liz Shaw, Joseph Beck’s great great granddaughter and the plaque unveiling 

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.

Here are the presentation slides:

On Maps and in Minds: The Boundaries of Stoke Newington by Amir Dotan 

Charles Booth’s 1897 poverty map: The Stoke Newington notes by Mike Steele 

Stoke Newington and Dissent by Simon Cole

 

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.

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 had a great time talking to Ken Worpole about my property survey of Stoke Newington Church Street 1847-2017 as part of the Stoke Newington Literary Festival. The event was sold out (120 tickets) and there was a terrific vibe in the jam-packed Gallery Hall in Edward’s Lane. My presentation slides are available here.

The complete property survey (291 addresses, 170 years) 

It was truly a special experience giving a talk in Hackney’s 16th century St Augustin’e Tower. On a hot July evening, with the old tower clock chiming in the background in a small room drenched in history. Thanks a lot to Laurie Elks, the organiser of the event who gave me the oppotuniry to share in a unique location the story of how Clissold Park was saved.

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.