The History of Every Shop in Stoke Newington Church Street: The Book

Introduction to the Book

This book captures the fascinating history of every shop on Stoke Newington Church Street, documenting over 170 years of commercial evolution. Created from extensive research into historical street directories, the book provides an accessible and engaging look at the businesses that have shaped the street’s character over time. It’s available for free as a PDF, and printed copies can be ordered through a printing service.

Emre Cinar of Spot Raiders, Dry Cleaners and Launderers, one of nearly 20 businesses that kindly sponsored the printing of the book

Since May 2024, I’ve distributed over 1,000 printed copies with the support of local businesses who generously covered printing costs. The book is not for sale and is instead a resource to ensure the rich commercial history of Stoke Newington is preserved and shared with the local community.

Why I Produced the Book

I produced the book in 2024 after being contacted by new business owners curious about the history of their shops, and as a local historian, I was often intrigued by the past of certain businesses myself. In March 2017, I began tracing the history of every shop on Stoke Newington Church Street, creating a valuable but data-heavy spreadsheet. To make the information more accessible and engaging, I decided to turn it into a book with clear, easy-to-follow timelines for each shop’s history. This format allows people to appreciate the street’s commercial evolution offline, ensuring the research’s longevity in a more digestible and physical form.

Each page lists the businesses that traded at each shop over the years

How I Researched the History of Every Shop

I began by manually copying the content of 24 street directories from the Hackney Archives into a spreadsheet. The snapshots jump by 5 years, starting from 1847. There was no need to capture every year, nor were street directories available for every year. The result provides a fascinating insight into how the street has changed since 1847, as many occupations and shops came and went over the years. In total, there were 291 addresses in the street. Some were and are still purely residential, some were lost over the years for various reasons, and today there are 123 commercial properties, including three purpose-built Public Houses.

A snippet from one of the 24 old street directories I used to gather the information

How I Captured and Organised the Research

I captured and organised the research by inputting data into a large spreadsheet with columns for years and 278 rows for addresses, creating a horizontal timeline. The research also includes mapping old street numbers to present-day ones, as the street was renumbered in 1880 and 1937. While the task might sound tedious, I found it engaging, as I eagerly anticipated the changes to each shop. I encountered long-gone professions and businesses, some of which I didn’t recognise, offering many opportunities to learn. The spreadsheet has since been a useful resource for historians and others, enabling easy searches for names, business types, and historical address mapping.

The spreadsheet with the data about each shop has been an extremely useful resource since I put it together in 2017

How the Book Is Organised

The book is organised into two sections to reflect the physical layout of Stoke Newington Church Street: the south side (odd numbers) with 72 shops, followed by the north side (even numbers) with 53 shops. It excludes purpose-built Public Houses like the Red Lion, Rose & Crown, and Clarence Tavern, as their ownership changes do not affect the business type. The history of each shop spans from the 1840s-1860s to the present, showcasing a mix of long-standing businesses and others that changed multiple times. The book includes photos, old ads, and charts to provide context and highlight interesting patterns in the street’s commercial evolution.

Printed Copies of the Book

The 160-page book is available as a PDF online for free here. I’ve been giving away printed copies for free at my events, through local shops, and to local schools, thanks to local businesses sponsoring the printing. The printing is done in batches, with each edition ranging in number of copies between 5 to 200. Each sponsored edition features the sponsoring business’s logo on the cover and a marketing page inside. To date, there have been 17 business-sponsored editions and one ‘in memory’ edition, printed in memory of Nick Perry, bringing the total to 18 editions and 1,080 copies. Get in touch if you’d like to sponsored copies branded with your business.

150 copies were ordered In Memory of Nick Perry and made available in a service celebrating his life.

Free copies of the book were distributed through various local shops for people to take. This was an opportunity to increase footfall to those shops, even if only temporarily, and allowed locals to engage with businesses they may not have visited previously.

Appearance on BBC Radio London

On Friday, 14th June 2024, I was a guest on Riz Lateef’s breakfast programme at the BBC Radio London studio to talk about my book and my interest in Stoke Newington’s history. Here’s the recording of the interview:

Appearance on BBC London News

BBC London did a 2:30-minute feature about the project, which was aired during the lunchtime and evening news on Monday, 3rd June 2024. I enjoyed discussing the book on Stoke Newington Church Street, and it was great to include two local business owners who represented the rich spectrum of businesses on the street.”

The Video on the BBC website

A shorter version of the feature, 1:30 minutes in duration, was shared on the BBC London social media channels and the BBC London website. You can view it here.