About The Growth of Stoke Newington

This is a survey of a very small part of Stoke Newington but the method of compiling it may be of wider application.

The sequence of maps came from the Hackney Archives Department, De Beauvoir Rd, London N.1, the London Guildhall Collection and the Greater London Council Records Office, Nottingham Rd, N1. Often several photocopies were needed before an acceptable one was obtained.

Typical houses were photographed and line drawings made, as photographs are difficult to photocopy well. Each house was described fully and quite technically.

The sequence of maps gave the pattern of street development. The population graphs came from 'The Victorian Villas of Hackney'. Bound copies of 'The Builder' at the Royal

Institute of British Architects Library gave the building styles and practices of each period. (This is a very convenient library as it is open access and one can get rare books quickly). 'The London Building Scene in the 1860's', by John Summerson, put the sudden explosion of population in Stoke Newington, elegantly in place.

Geology helped to explain why streets in the area had developed in their particular order. The 6" Geological Map and the Bore Record, were of great help.

The geology also revealed the Hackney Brook which is shown on the John Rocque map, 1741. In 1860 it was flowing at 400 cubic feet a minute in the driest weather'. It shaped our landscape, but was culvetted as the Hackney Sewer and forgotten. Valleys under houses become invisible.

The material on the New River was kindly supplied by the North Thames Water Board.

The computer drawn map is a hint of what could be done in this field.

Most pupils regard computers as magic: they do not realise the vast number of facts which must be fed into a computer before it can function. I look forward to pupils preparing their own x,y,z co-ordinates of a chosen area, sending off the figures to a large computer, perhaps in a university, and receiving back a 3D map which can be used as a duplicator master. A useful way of learning about computers. If the map could be drawn in contours, the effect would be even better.

Population Change Charts