Situated in the north-west corner of the London Borough of Hackney, Stoke Newington is an area with a long and fascinating history of non-conformism and Bohemianism. From the Quakers and Dissenters to the Angry Brigade, Stoke Newington has been home to a radical, anti-authoritarian tradition and has always attracted people from all cultures, classes and walks of life.

Today, this raffish, slightly down-at-heel community continues to reflect its cosmopolitan history, with newly-arrived merchant bankers, writers, academics and actors sharing the narrow streets with the original working-class inhabitants and the many immigrant communities. In short, the area has become gentrified, as can be seen from a glance at Stoke Newington Church Street with its pubs, cafes and restaurants serving menus from India, Thailand, China, Italy, Turkey and contemporary Europe, and the range of boutiques, delicatessens, clothes shops and specialist, expensive designer outlets. The 'Church Street effect' has moved outward and the middle classes have moved in, attracted by Stokey's proximity to the City and the West End and its air of 'community'. They are buying up properties in the increasing numbers of apartment blocks, and the soaring house and flat prices demonstrate Stokey's popularity. Meanwhile, much of the area remains a relatively poor, typically inner-city deprived neighbourhood.

N16 magazine was first published in April 1999 to serve the needs of this diverse and vibrant area and to provide a guide to local news, events, personalities, issues, opinions and history. Our blend of humorous, perceptive and informed writing, and our regular features - Crossword, Your Letters, Personality of the Month, Comment, News in Brief, Local Music and Listings, Arts and Entertainment, Restaurant Reviews, Our Boy in the Clock End and so on - have appealed to our many readers in the area, and over the last seven years we have become a regular part of Stoke Newington life. The magazine is editorially led and we aim to provide our readership with informative, entertaining and often provocative features, rather than simply churn out advertorial copy in the manner of many free publications. We also take great care over the appearance of the magazine, employing local company Audiografix to design the pages, and ensure that our paper and printing quality remains at a high standard.

The magazine is quarterly and free, and is available on the day of publication in outlets across Stoke Newington, Newington Green, Stamford Hill, Central Hackney and specially-selected outlets in Dalston, Shoreditch and Broadway Market. We also deliver directly to hundreds of homes in Stoke Newington on publication. Given that we have no retail price, we are entirely dependent on advertising revenue, and we are delighted with the continuing support we receive from our regular advertisers and with the increasing number of new advertisers.

We hope you find our website useful and that you enjoy reading the magazine.


Rab MacWilliam
Publisher/Editor