Christmas Past
By Tom Chalmers
As Christmas approaches and passes again in Stoke Newington, I began to think of how many times the area has been through the festive period and how it must have been in the different Stoke Newingtons through the years. Therefore, like a seasoned time-traveller, I decided to go back and imagine how Christmas must have been 100 years ago, in 1906.
This was the year of the San Francisco Earthquake, Samuel Beckett and Catherine Cookson entered the world, while Henrik Ibsen passed his final days. And a glance at the voting records shows a different corner of North London to what we see today – virtually all residences, or ‘dwelling houses’, with a smattering of shops and a handful of offices.
With London not yet quite as merged into one, a sense of community is apparent – the council minutes include submissions from the highway and sewers, public health, libraries and electric lighting committees. Maybe I was being ignorant but that was more beaurocracy and organisation than I had imagined. Though sadly even then the decline in libraries had begun then with 546 issues per day, down 93 on the previous year.
However, for those moaning about the current extensive roadworks, it apparently all began back in 1906. During the Christmas period it was agreed that the High Street from Church Street to Abney Park Cemetery would be paved with wood to replace the granite paving (not convinced that is an improvement, but there you go). Also, for Church Street, until recently a far cry from the current trendy, middle-class hangout of today, a loan of £9,500 loan was raised for improvements. Probably wouldn’t even get you a slice of carrot and broccoli pie there these days.
Though of course the area was not without its rough edges. Eliz. Salt (presumably an abbreviation) received the equivalent of a 1906 ASBO – three charges of failing to comply with a nuisance order, at 2, 2a and 4 Allen Road respectively. In another festive scene, William Deakins was charged after quarrelling with his father. Apparently the money he had been given had been inexplicitly spent in a public house, much to his father’s annoyance. One only needs to pass The Jolly Butcher/Father Ted’s on a Friday night to realise that, 100 years on, not much has changed.
Looking through the records further, there does seem to be something of the arts scene that is in evidence today. No surprise I guess considering the area’s bohemian reputation over the years. For those liking a bit of a pantomime during the festive period, Robinson Crusoe (of course from Stoke Newington’s famous son Daniel Defoe) was playing at the Dalston Theatre. A flick through the local paper during the period also unearths a variety of musical adverts or calls for participants.
However, those with a sweet tooth or those looking for an easy Christmas present should have been careful. They may have fallen prey to one Hyman Karesh, who though clearly up to no good, showed some shrewd initiative. Good old Hyman decided to bag together a load of smashed-up old chocolate and sell it as ‘Nestle’s Broken Chocolate’, which was snapped up as the latest thing by sugar-hungry punters. Sadly, as far as I’m concerned as surely it was the shoppers’ fault for buying a load of broken confectionery, in the end he was caught chocolate-handed and arrested.
However, there was also some community good cheer at the time as the Mayor of Shoreditch, one Alderman E.T. Pearce JP, decided to treat the oldest and poorest residents to a ‘substantial tea’ at the Town Hall. The good-willed Mayor also announced that tea would be put on again in the New Year for the poorest children in the area. Clearly a dab hand at public relations, if he ever reads N16, as I’m sure he might, old Etonian David Cameron will think he’s missed a trick.
It is also interesting to glance at the Hackney & Kingsland Gazette at the time. While in many ways an improvement on the paper today, its ‘hints for the home’ section is a cause for concern. In particular, the ‘finding a fault with your children’ and ‘cleaning your wallpaper’ entries appear a little dated, though maybe like when grand-parents say something outrageous, we should just put it down to a ‘different generation’.
However, the Gazette redeems itself with its Christmas conundrums section, maybe a replacement for today’s crackers, if they weren’t around at the time. Packed full with ‘jokes’ somehow amusing due to their a-humorous nature, my favourite was ‘If you were to ride a donkey, what fruit would you be?’ Answer: ‘A pear’. You have to think about it for a while and even then it doesn’t really make sense.
So there we go, hopefully some kind of insight into Christmas in Stoke Newington in 1906, or at least some names to check out for infamy. Somehow picturing the area through the years as a series of very different places adds an extra dimension to seeing Christmas here today. Stoke Newington has clearly changed a great deal though some aspects still remain. I am off to smash up some chocolate and sell it on Church Street.
Tom Chalmers is Managing Director of Stoke Newington-based book publisher Legend Press. |
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