These Metropolitan Boroughs had existed since 1899 but their names and boundaries were very closely based on parishes dating back to the Middle Ages.

Unlike many London districts, such as nearby Stamford Hill and Dalston, Stoke Newington has longstanding fixed boundaries; but to many, the informal perception of Stoke Newington has blurred over time, to stretch east of the originally Roman A10 to overlap areas of the former Ancient Parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Hackney.

This broad area comprised many estates, stretching from the Manor of Stepney in the east (of which neighbouring Hackney was a part), to Willesden in the west and Hornsey in the north.

This proved very unpopular, especially in more affluent Stoke Newington, and after four unsuccessful attempts the two parishes regained their independence when they were separated by mutual consent under the Metropolis Management (Plumstead and Hackney) Act of 1893.

[7] Stoke Newington was permitted to become an independent Borough, and most of South Hornsey (also a part of the Finsbury Division was transferred to it to increase the new authority's size.

Stoke Newington, or 'new town in the wood', has been lightly settled for hundreds of years, close to larger neighbouring Saxon settlements near the River Lea.

In the 19th century it was discovered that Stoke Newington Common and Abney Park Cemetery had been part of a Neolithic working area for axe-making, some examples of which can be seen in the Museum of London.

[citation needed][8] In the Middle Ages and Tudor times, it was a very small village a few miles from the city of London, frequently visited by wayfarers as a pit stop before journeying north, Stoke Newington High Street being part of the Cambridge road (A10).

A century later, it passed to Lady Mary Abney who drew up the first detailed maps of field boundaries and began to lay out a manorial parkland behind today's fire station on Church Street, with the aid of her daughters and Dr Isaac Watts.

During the early 19th century, as London expanded, the Manor of Stoke Newington was "enfranchised" to be sold in parcels as freehold land for building purposes.

By the mid-19th century, Stoke Newington had "the largest concentration of Quakers in London", including many who had moved up the A10 from Gracechurch Street meeting house in the city.

A meeting house was built in Park Street (now Yoakley Road) by William Alderson, who later designed Hanwell Pauper and Lunatic Asylum.

St Mary's Lodge on Lordship Road, the 1843 home of architect and district surveyor John Young, is the last-surviving (though now ruined and derelict) of several grand detached houses built in the area around that time for well-off members of the new commuter class.

Gibson Gardens, an early example of quality tenement buildings erected for the housing of 'the industrious classes', was built off Stoke Newington High Street in 1880 and still stands.

As a late Victorian and Edwardian suburb, Stoke Newington prospered, and continued in relative affluence and civic pride with its own municipal government until changes brought about by the Second World War.

Between 1935 and 1937, the curved brick and Portland stone Town Hall was built for the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington by J. Reginald Truelove.

The memorial to all the residents of the Borough who died in the air raids, including local Jewish people, can be seen in Abney Park Cemetery.

Like Hackney, Stoke Newington avoided most of the later V-weapon attacks, which fell disproportionately on South London; seven V-1s and two V-2s hit the borough.

[citation needed] These days, Stoke Newington is very multicultural, with large Asian, Irish, Turkish, Jewish and Afro-Caribbean communities.

[12] Across the high street to the east is the fragmented Stoke Newington Common, which has had an extensive and diverse programme of tree planting.

From the 16th century onwards, Stoke Newington has played a prominent role in assuring a water supply to sustain London's rapid growth.

Stoke Newington East and West Reservoirs were constructed in 1833 to hold water prior to treatment in the New River Company's filter beds on the other side of Green Lanes, in the area now known as Brownswood Park.

On its western edge stands the former filter house, now set out as a visitor centre with a café; some of the old hydraulic machinery can be viewed in the main hall.

The pumping station at the reservoir gates, converted to a climbing centre in 1995 was designed in a distinctive castellated style by Robert Billings under the supervision of William Chadwell Mylne and built in 1854–56.

Stoke Newington is well known for its pubs and bars, lively music scene, including contemporary jazz, and open mic comedy sessions.