Stoke Newington Church Street is a road in north London

North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...

 of the borough of Hackney

London Borough of Hackney

The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....

. The road links Green Lanes

Green Lanes

Green Lanes, London, is a main road in North London and forms part of the A105. At approximately 7.5 miles from end to end, it is one of the longest streets in the capital....

 (A105) in the west to Stoke Newington High Street (the A10, formerly Ermine Street

Ermine Street

Ermine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...

), in the east. Stoke Newington

Stoke Newington

Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...

 is one of the villages swallowed by the growth of London in the nineteenth century, and Church Street retains some of this neighbourhood feel, with many restaurants, pubs, and independent (non-chain) shops.

History and naming

First noted in 1329, what is now Stoke Newington Church Street was recorded as Newington or Newton Lane in 1403, then Church Street in 1576 and as the current name from 1937, making it the longest street name in Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

.

Various parts of the street have had different names in the past. On the south side and starting in the west at Green Lanes, the section up to Clissold Crescent was the site of Newington Hall. The next section, occupying almost all of the street from Clissold Crescent to Clissold Road, was known as Paradise Row (now 229-249 Stoke Newington Church Street). A large part of this is occupied today by Kennaway Estate: Garland House (built 1953) is on the site of The Willows, while Millington House (built 1937) is on the site of Paradise House. Paradise House had a long association with the Quaker community, being the birthplace of Samuel Hoare Jr

Samuel Hoare Jr

Samuel Hoare Jr was a wealthy British Quaker merchant and abolitionist born in Stoke Newington, the north of London. He was one of the twelve founding members of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.-Background:...

 and later occupied by William Allen

William Allen

- Politicians :* William Allen , Canadian politician from Toronto* William Allen , American congressman from Ohio* William Allen , American politician from Ohio...

. The abolitionist Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...

 described it as "The very first house in the country, about London, in which I was received and encouraged, in my early pursuits in the cause of the Abolition of the Slave Trade...". One of its final incarnations before demolition was as Paradise House School.

Continuing east from Paradise Row to Clissold Road, the next property was Glebe Place. This is now occupied by Gaskin House, Manton House, Thoresby House and Lloyd House, built by the London County Council

London County Council

London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...

 around the same time as Millington House. (All of these blocks of flats are named after former rectors of Stoke Newington.) The current Spensley Walk was previously Park Crescent. The section from Albion Road to Woodlea Road was Sister's Place and beyond Defoe Road were Abney Place and Langel Place.

Description

Clissold Park

Clissold Park

Clissold Park is a community park in Stoke Newington within the London Borough of Hackney. Facilities include a children's playground, sports fields, a bowling green, tennis courts, a cafe and some animal attractions including terrapins in its lakes...

 marks one end of Church Street. Near to it, at the junction with Albion Road, is the municipal town hall and assembly hall

Assembly Hall

An assembly hall is traditionally a building used for the purposes of holding deliberative assemblies. An example is the Assembly Hall where the general assembly of the state of Mississippi was held. Some Christian denominations call their meeting places or places of worship, assembly halls, such...

 of the old Borough of Stoke Newington

Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington

The Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965 when it became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Predecessor authorities:...

, refurbished during 2009-10. Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...

, set up as a non-conformist cemetery and arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 in 1840 on the site of parkland of the same name

Abney Park

The historic grounds of Abney Park are situated in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a 13ha park dating from just before 1700, named after Lady Mary Abney and associated with Dr Isaac Watts. In the early 18th century, the park was accessed via the frontages and gardens of two large mansions...

 and now run as a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

, has an entrance on the street. This is next to the fire station, which was built on the site of Fleetwood House and Abney House, where Newington Academy for Girls

Newington Academy for Girls

The Newington Academy for Girls, also known as Newington College for Girls, was a Quaker school established in 1824 in Stoke Newington, then north of London. In a time when girls' educational opportunities were limited, it offered a wide range of subjects "on a plan in degree differing from any...

, an innovative Quaker girls' school, ran from 1824. It commissioned the world's first school bus

School bus

A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

, which ran from Church Street to Gracechurch Street

Gracechurch Street

Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....

 meeting house

Meeting house

A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....

 in the City, taking the pupils to worship.

There are two churches on the street, both known as Saint Mary’s. (See Stoke Newington (parish)

Stoke Newington (parish)

Stoke Newington was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. It was both a civil parish, used for administrative purposes, and an ecclesiastical parish of the Church of England.-Civil parish:...

.) The first was built in 1563 and was partially rebuilt in the 19th century and then again in the 1950s after heavy bomb damage during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The second church is the impressive mid-Victorian Saint Mary's New Church with its 250-foot steeple.

The street has become famous for its large number of public houses and restaurants providing a wide range of food, drink and entertainment. There are a number of licensed venues serving alcohol and hosting live music. For entertainment Ryan’s Bar and the Auld Shillelagh have live music licences. The Daniel Defoe pub (named after the author

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...

 of Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...

, who lived nearby) offers a good range in real ales and has a passable beer garden

Beer garden

Beer garden is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served. The concept originates from and is most common in Southern Germany...

. For dining, the two Rasa restaurants offer Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 cuisine (Rasa Travancore not being vegetarian), Il Bacio and Il Bacio Express specialise in Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

. Other popular places include the Spence bakers for a good range of breads.

In addition to public houses and restaurants, the street is also home to a wide range of independent shops and boutiques offering unusual craft items, jewellery, and clothes.

Notable residents

William Allen

William Allen (Quaker)

William Allen FRS, FLS was an English scientist and philanthropist who opposed slavery and engaged in schemes of social and penal improvement in early nineteenth century England.-Early life:...

 - Quaker abolitionist, scientist, and Fellow of the Royal Society 

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...

- author.