Stoke Newington St Mary, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes

Parish History
St Mary Newington is an ancient part created approximately in the year 1561.

"NEWINGTON, STOKE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hackney, Finsbury division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 3 miles (N. by E.) from London; containing 4490 inhabitants. The village consists principally of a long street extending from Kingsland-road to Stamford-hill, and forming a portion of the road from the metropolis to Cambridge. The eastern side of this thoroughfare is within the parish of Hackney; and from the western side, near the centre, branches off a street leading to the church of Newington, and comprising the most agreeable part of the village. These streets are paved, and lighted with gas; and the inhabitants are supplied with water from the New River, which pursues a serpentine course through the parish, and near which are a continuous line of respectable private houses, and several detached residences. Among the latter is a modern mansion close to the church, the grounds around which, on the bank of the stream, are laid out with much taste; and numerous good houses have been erected of late years in Parkstreet, Albion-road, and other parts. Here are some extensive nursery-gardens. The trade of the place depends on the supply of the population, and on its situation as a thoroughfare. The New River Company have a large reservoir and a steam-engine in the parish.

"The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10; net income, £438; patron, the Bishop of London. The church is a handsome edifice, built by William Patten, lessee of the manor in 1563, and since repeatedly enlarged; considerable alterations were made a few years ago, a new gallery was erected, and a spire added. It contains several good monuments. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, and Unitarians. To the north of Church-street and west of the principal thoroughfare, is the Abney-Park public cemetery; in the centre of the grounds is a handsome chapel, and the cemetery contains a monument to Dr. Watts, by Mr. Baily, the sculptor, erected by subscription in 1845: the grounds of Sir Thomas Abney's mansion are comprised in the burial-ground. Near the Friends' meeting-house, which is a handsome building, are almshouses for ten widows, founded and endowed under the will of Michael Yoakley, in 1835. A brick gateway with a pointed arch, on the north side of Churchstreet, is the only part now standing of the buildings belonging to the old manor-house. Near the church is a walk between trees, called Queen Elizabeth's walk; and at Newington resided her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and his contemporary, Edward Vere, Earl of Oxford. Dr. Isaac Watts, the eminent poet and dissenting divine, having passed the last 30 years of his life at the mansion of Sir Thomas Abney, died here November 25th, 1748. Among other residents in the parish were, the republican general, Fleetwood; Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe; Adam Anderson, who wrote the History of Commerce; Thomas Day, author of the History of Sandford and Merton, and other popular productions; Howard, the philanthropist; Dr. John Aikin, compiler of the General Biography; and his sister, the celebrated Mrs. Barbauld"

1. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England (London: S. Lewis & Co., 1848), 394-398. Online | here, (accessed: 23 April 2010.)

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.