A Guide to Stoke Newington's Dissenters, Bankers and Abolitionists

Stoke Newington was a rural Saxon hamlet before becoming the vibrant London district that’s managed to preserve its history today. On this walking tour, you’ll find out how religious dissenters, wealthy merchants, and abolitionists shaped this unique area. You’ll also see some of its striking contrasts, from bustling high streets to tranquil waterways and green spaces that feel miles from the city.

The tour starts at Stoke Newington station on what was once the eastern boundary of the old manor. You’ll stroll along the bustling High Street with its multicultural shops and historic pubs. You’ll walk along Church Street and hear how it was once home to dissenters who sought religious freedom outside London’s boundaries.

Along the way, you’ll find out how Quakers and other religious nonconformists campaigned for the abolition of slavery. The tour ends at Manor House, where a former tavern that once hosted Queen Victoria now stands at the junction of ancient and modern thoroughfares.

On this 120-minute tour, you’ll have the chance to:

• Explore Abney Park Cemetery, final resting place of Salvation Army founder William Booth and one of London’s “Magnificent Seven”
• Learn how religious dissenters shaped Stoke Newington’s unique character and history
• Visit the mansions of wealthy merchants and writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Daniel Defoe, who wrote Robinson Crusoe while living here
• Walk along the 400-year-old New River, an engineering marvel that still supplies London with water
• Discover the castle-like Victorian pumping station built to combat cholera epidemics
• Stroll through Clissold Park’s peaceful grounds with its deer enclosure, ornamental ponds, and historic mansion
• Understand how the railway transformed this rural retreat into an urban district
• Find surprising contrasts between the grungy High Street and the genteel Church Street

By the end of this walk, you’ll have a sense of a part of London where the past persists in unexpected ways, where you can take a fascinating journey through centuries of social and architectural history.