On May 24th I ran the first (and hopefully not the last one) Stoke Newington History Pop-Up event with Nick Perry, Richard Young and Rachel Tobyn where people were invited to come and visit us at Revere the Residence shop in 150 Stoke Newington Church Street and ask us for free local history questions. We had no idea what to expect and after three and half hours I estimate about 30 people walked into the shop and presented us with fascinating questions, which we did our best to answer using old maps, old photos and census records.

Continue reading “24.05.2022 – Stoke Newington History Pop-Up Event no. 1” →

Way back in December 2020 I was contacted by a TV producer who was developing an idea for a history programme based around someone who grew up in Stoke Newington in the 1970s & 80s learning about the history of the area.

Continue reading “01.05.2022 – Local History Adviser on ‘Jay Blades – No Place Like Home’” →

It’s that time of the year and Here’s my 8th annual photo survey of Stoke Newington Church St. 41 businesses have changed since 2015 (37%). You can view the previous years in the Prints section here. The number of vacant sites hasn’t changed over the years. Full street history here: bit.ly/amirstokey

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 buildings. The event raised £500 for the Literacy Pirates; an educational charity developing literacy, confidence and perseverance in young people.

Continue reading “05.08.2021 – Stoke Newington History Talks no. 16” →

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.

Continue reading “5.05.2021 – Interviewed for a BBC News Article ‘Drain-spotting: The People Who Keep Their Minds in the Gutter’” →

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 finally be able to do that. James Watson’s talk about the history of electricity in Stoke Newington, which included a private tour of the substation in Wordsworth Road and Edwards Lane filmed especially for the event, was captivating. Mark Barnes’ brilliant photos of Stoke Newington he took in the late 70s coupled with his stories and personal memories growing up in the area, brought the period to life.

Continue reading “06.04.2021 – Stoke Newington History Talks #15” →

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.

I’ve used Flourish.Studio and data from my Church St occupancy survey 1847-2021 to create an animated ‘race chart’ showing the most common businesses by type in Stoke Newington Church St since 1847. You can view it in action and interact with it here. 

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. £573 was raised for the Hackney Foodbank and each talk generated interesting questions from the remote audience. And now I can start planning the next event!

Continue reading “03.12.2020 – Stoke Newington History Talks #14” →

Connie Dimsdale wrote a piece in the Hackney Gazette about my talk in October, which drew an online audience of 315 people.

From the article: 

Hackney’s Cllr Sophie Cameron (Clissold, Lab) said she feels “heartened” by how popular the history of Stoke Newington is: “One of the things that is so amazing about the local area is that there are so many people invested in the history…and it really affirms their identity. “It gives people a connection to the past that sometimes they feel is missing in modern life.

Hackney Gazette

You can read the full article here