Stoke Newington is a place in the London Borough of Hackney.

Stoke Newington includes Clissold Park, the historic and pretty Abney Park Cemetary , as well as the primary schools St. Mary's School and William Patten , and the secondary school Stoke Newington School .

It is famous as the birth place of Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.

History

Stoke Newington has been settled for hundreds of years, with possible Saxon settlements in the area near River Lea. In the middle ages and Tudor times it was a small village on the outskirts of London, frequently visited by wayfarers as a pit stop before journeying North. During the 18th and 19th century, as London expanded, Stoke Newington was absorbed, and was no longer a separate village. Also at this time, many expensive and large houses were built to house London's expanding population of nouveau riche.

During World War II, much of the area was destroyed in the Blitz, and many were made homeless. However luckily, many historic buildings did survive. After the war, the old bomb sites were often transformed into giant housing estates. Initially these were a good idea, but soon after they were seen to be ugly and centres of poverty and crime.

These days, Stoke Newington is a very multicultural area, with large Asian, Turkish and Afro-Carribean communities. There is also a large "green community" which is centred on Church Street and are sometimes seen as new age hippies. They are sometimes nicknamed "Stoke Newington green wellies".

The area continues to be home to many new and emerging communities such as Kosovan.

Nearest places

• Canonbury
• Dalston
• Highbury
• Hornsey
• Upper Clapton
• Stamford Hill

Nearest tube stations

• Manor House tube station
• Finsbury Park station
• Highbury & Islington station

Nearest railway stations

• Rectory Road railway station
• Stoke Newington railway station

External links

• Stoke Newington links
• N16 Magazine