Stoke Newington Common
Encyclopedia
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...
in the London 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....
. It is east of Stoke Newington High Street, with Northwold Road to the north, and it straddles the busy Rectory Road.
This is old common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
that came under public ownership in 1872. It was originally known as Cockhanger Green and later became Shacklewell Common, but Shacklewell's
Shacklewell
Shacklewell is a district within the London Borough of Hackney, roughly North-east of modern-day Dalston, .-History:...
contracting sphere of influence led to it being named for a time 'Newington Common' (not to be confused with Newington Green
Newington Green
Newington Green is an open space in north London which straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, the southern section of Stoke Newington with Green Lanes-Matthias Road...
) until finally in the early 20th century it acquired its present name.
Not merely the common's name has been mangled by time. Unlike its near neighbour, Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs is an open space and a broader area in Lower Clapton, in the London Borough of Hackney; it is also the name of a local council ward. It borders on Stoke Newington to the west and Shacklewell to the south...
, this land has been dissected by London's Victorian transport links. The deep cutting of the railway line between Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington railway station
Stoke Newington railway station links Stoke Newington to Liverpool Street in central London, and to Cheshunt and Enfield Town further north. Trains generally run every fifteen minutes....
and Rectory Road
Rectory Road railway station
Rectory Road railway station is a railway station in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney, North London, United Kingdom.It is located on the Seven Sisters branch of the Lea Valley Lines, between Stoke Newington and Hackney Downs...
railway stations runs straight through the common from north to south, while the parallel Rectory Road making part of the A10 gyratory
Gyratory System
Gyratory System is a three-piece music band based in London. It is fronted by producer/trumpet player Andrew Blick. Blick was a session musician in the 1990s and previously a member of One More Grain. His trumpet-playing style, which involves the heavy use of electronic treatments, has been likened...
slices off another strip to the west. Finally the road called Stoke Newington Common carrying a busy bus route chops off a section to the south.
The now buried and lost Hackney Brook
Hackney Brook
The Hackney Brook is one of the subterranean rivers of London. It crossed the northern parts of the current London boroughs of Hackney and Islington, emptying into the River Lea at Hackney Wick, with its source in Holloway.- Course of the River :...
once ran across the north of the common, but this has long been replaced by the busy Northwold Road. This was due to the increased population at the time of its burial reducing the brook to no more than an open sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
.
A 400,000-year old palaeolithic flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
axe factory was found by W.G. Smith
Worthington George Smith
Worthington George Smith was an English cartoonist and illustrator, archaeologist, plant pathologist, and mycologist.-Background and career:...
in 1878 on the south side of the common and in market gardens on the north side of the common. This Palaeolithic floor is associated with an ancient terrace carved by the River Thames called the Upper Taplow Terrace that extends from Stoke Newington past Canonbury as far as Rosemary Branch. It is a remnant of a plain where extensive evidence the earliest human occupation of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
has been found, notably at Swanscombe in Kent.
The north side of the common was overlooked by Gibson Gardens
Gibson Gardens
Gibson Gardens is a well-known historic tenement block of flats in Stoke Newington in London, EnglandThe flats were built by the Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes in 1880 and originally comprised 3 brick blocks of flats and a row of 'cottages' which...
; an early example of quality tenement dwellings for working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
people built in 1880 and still unchanged today, some parts are highly desirable for owner-occupier
Owner-occupier
An owner-occupier is a person who lives in and owns the same home. It is a type of housing tenure. The home of the owner-occupier may be, for example, a house, apartment, condominium, or a housing cooperative...
s. Gibson Gardens is now masked from the common by the innovative Raines Court on Northwold Road on the site of the old dairy. Built by the Peabody Trust
Peabody Trust
Peabody Trust , founded in 1862, is one of London's oldest and largest housing associations with over 19,000 properties. It also a charity and urban regeneration agency...
, this is just the second multi-storey modular housing
Modular home
Modular buildings and modular homes are sectional prefabricated buildings or houses that consist of multiple modules or sections which are built in a remote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use...
development to be built in Britain, and offers one approach to the increased demand for housing in the area.
Local residents campaigned unsuccessfully to have Rectory Road closed off over the common and the railway roofed for many years with the prohibitively high cost of the works reducing the possibility of success to zero.
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
of the band T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
, who lived at 25 Stoke Newington Common, on the south side, from birth until the age of 15.
External links
- History of Stoke Newington Common (from the Cazenove Area Action Group)
- Restore the Common (from scrap the gyratory campaign)