Stoke Newington Common

Stoke Newington was an old parish, recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Newtone, with the name Stoke Neweton first appearing in records of 1391. Stoke Newington Common was originally the village green, once known as Cockhanger Green (Clarke, Glimpses of Ancient Hackney) and was owned by the Lord of the Manor although its use for pasturage was allowed throughout the year and it was grazed until the C19th. The common once extended to Stoke Newington High Road but was gradually eroded from the early C18th onwards, particularly on its western edge; the Hackney Brook was at the northern edge. Stoke Newington remained a village until the C17th when the area began to develop and grand houses built. A number of them, such as Abney House and Fleetwood House, were built for the many Non-conformists forbidden to live in the City of London who moved to the area. Stoke Newington Common at that time was 'a free and open space, with a few good houses around it, especially on the south side, and standing in their own grounds' (Clarke). It was used as the site for preaching on at least one occasion in 1739 by the prominent non-conformist preacher George Whitfield. Further development of the area took place in the C19th particularly in the 1830s by developers such as Thomas Cubit, and between 1860-90 by the Tyssen family who had purchased the manorial land from the Powell family in the 1830s.

In the 1860s the Common had been cut in two when the Great Eastern Railway Company built its Enfield branch line, which opened in 1872. A plot of land equal to that taken for the railway was given in compensation in the south-west corner, and another compensatory parcel was added in the south by the end of the C19th. In 1872 the Common, by this time no more than 5.5 acres, was protected as open space as a result of a petition raised by local people in the 1860s following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866. They successfully fought to enclose and conserve in all 180 acres of land in the borough for public use, the land acquired under the Metropolitan Commons Supplemental Act 1872. Collectively described as Hackney Commons this included Millfields Park (q.v.), Hackney Downs (q.v.), London Fields (q.v.), Clapton Common (q.v.), and Well Street Common (q.v.) as well as various strips of land such as in Dalston Lane and Grove Street (later Lauriston Road). All these lands were transferred to the Metropolitan Board of Works, although it wasn't until 1881 that the MBW finally purchased the rights from the Lord of the Manor, under an Act of 1881. Common rights were extinguished by Special Act of Parliament 1884.

From 1898 maintenance of Stoke Newington Common was the responsibility of the LCC who over the years provided paths, seating, planting, fencing and a play area; the site boundaries have altered somewhat as a result of new public roads. By the late 1950s a memorial drinking fountain to Mrs Du Vergier had been installed in the section north of the railway cutting; in the section south of the railway a number of trees were planted in the 1990s and a plaque installed by members of the Kurdish and Turkish communities to commemorate 37 martyrs burned alive in Sivas on 2 July 1993.

The Common remains a flat grassy area divided by the railway cutting that runs north-west to south-east, and is surrounded by large plane trees and overlooked by ranges of C18th and C19th small terraced houses, including Sanford Terrace (q.v.). It now comprises a number of green spaces of differing characters. The largest, eastern triangular area has mature London plane and some lime trees. Stoke Newington Common Users Group was formed in 2000 under the auspices of Kyverdale Area Action Group with the aim of looking after the park, including erecting new signage, restoring the drinking fountain, establishing play facilities and seating areas, planting, and also plans to cover the railway cutting to form a 'green bridge' to connect the two main sides of the common. Since 1998-9 the Hackney-wide Tree Musketeers Group has planted and maintains over 60 trees of a variety of species here, providing information boards about the trees. A loggery has been created with the help of boys from the Sonshine Club, a Charedi Jewish organisation that provides healthy after-school activities for young people. As part of the Council's 'Mad about Meadows' project, a meadow has been planted on the common with involvement of local primary school children.