The Old Church (Stoke Newington)

[2] A church on the site is first recorded in 1314, when a rector was appointed to it - it was then a peculiar of St Paul's Cathedral's dean and chapter, with patronage passing to the crown (1404-1414), back to the dean and chapter (1414-1580), the cathedral's prebendary of Stoke Newington (1585-1830) and finally to the Bishop of London.

[3] The earliest mention of its dedication to St Mary dates to 1522, whilst the list of rectors survives continuously from 1562 onwards.

[4] There are tomb monuments within the building to Patten's successor as lord of the manor John Dudley, Thomas Sutton and the Hartropp family (including descendents of Charles Fleetwood), whilst the cemetery contains the graves of James Stephen, Anna Barbauld and the sister and daughter of William Wilberforce.

[5] A strongly Parliamentarian parish, it accepted Alexander Popham's presentation of Thomas Manton as rector in 1644 and had its own vestry elect Daniel Bull as his successor in 1656.

[4] 1716-1717 saw the addition of a north aisle, followed by an extension to the chancel in 1723, new west windows and a raising of the south walls in 1728, further repairs and a new clock bell in 1770 and a raising of the west end to the same height as the rest of the church in 1785. whilst 18th century curates to the parish included Augustus Clissold.