The multicultural Hackney neighbourhood of Clissold Park has the feel of a quiet, family-friendly suburb, made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and populated by a mix of renters and homeowners. The area sits amidst the lively Stoke Newington and the southern end of Green Lanes, with cosy pubs, boutiques and fantasic affordable Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants. It’s also just a short walk away from the night life hub of Dalston, and an easy commute to central London. The transport links are excellent, with a number of nearby Overground stations including Canonbury and Dalston Kingsland, as well as Arsenal and Highbury & Islington tubes just a mile away, and many buses stop near the park. There are also a number of convenient schools that prove popular with the area’s families. A significant proportion of the neighbourhood is taken up by the stunning Clissold Park, which not only provides swathes of green space but also children’s playgrounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, cafes, terrapins in its lake, goat and deer pens and even an aviary! The park also hosts the annual DayMer Festival celebrating the cultures of the large Turkish and Kurdish populations that the area is home to.

Stoke Newington, which means “new town in the woods”, has been sparsely settled since at least the Neolithic period, when the area was dotted with axe-making areas. It slowly grew and by the Middle Ages was owned by St Pauls Cathedral, acting as a stop off point for wayfarers travelling north out of London. After the manor was sold and enfranchised, which coincided with the Industrial Revolution, Stoke Newington began to grow rapidly into a seamless expansion of London. Clissold Park was opened in 1889 around an existing 18th-century manor house known as Paradise House (later Clissold House), which had previously been owned by Augustus Clissold, and which is now the park’s cafe and visitors’ centre. The park has remained a public open space ever since, and was granted a £4.5m restoration grant in 2007 to bring it back to its former glory after more than a century of continued use.

The area has long been home to political radicals, starting with the abolitionist Quakers in the 19th century, a school for the children of whom was set up in 1824 and funnily enough trialled the world’s first school bus introduced by the famed George Shillibeer. Following the Second World War, Stoke Newington and especially Church Street became the home of the Communist Party, which was very large at the time, who held their meetings in the Town Hall, as well as a hub for squatters, bohemians and artists.

The Aphex Twin track ‘19 [Slo]w early morning clissold sunrise’ is named after the beautiful Clissold Park, which is perhaps the reason why a stencilled life-sized portrait appeared of the musician in 2018 on Burma Road a short distance from the park.

The historic core of Stoke Newington Church Street has retained its village-esque feel since its construction, so much so that the famed architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner found it difficult to imagine that the district was even part of London at all.

The increased popularity of Stoke Newington has seen house prices rocket over the past four or five years, one of the highest price hikes in the whole of London, in fact. This has led to renters being forced out by increased rents and many buyers looking elsewhere. However Stoke Newington’s radical edge and community engagement remains somewhat in their fight to retain independent businesses and prevent chains from taking their place. Speaking to local retailers, they seemed to be confident that, for now at least, they are not being forced out by price rises. How long this will last though is very uncertain.

The nearby stations of Dalston Junction and Dalston Kingsland are some of the most congested Overground stations in the city. However, the introduction of Crossrail 2 is set to free up space at these busy stations, as well as offering an alternative for people travelling from Highbury & Islington, which also has a tendency to become rammed at peak times. It will also connect both Dalston Junction and Dalston Kingsland, making commuting far more convenient for those who need to change lines.