Where is it?
Although it’s technically north London, Stamford Hill is in the borough of Hackney. It borders Finsbury Park to the east and Clapton to the west, is south of Tottenham and just north of Stoke Newington. There is no Underground station (unless you walk to Manor House) but Stamford Hill railway station links to Liverpool Street and there are several bus routes to central and north London.
Tell me more...
Stamford Hill is best known for being home to Europe’s largest community of orthodox Jews, specifically Haredi Jews.
There is evidence of life here in the prehistoric era, as a bunch of tools were found around Fountayne Road that experts believe date back to the Stone Age, but they don’t think there was a settlement here. Clopton (now Clapton) was the nearest village in medieval times, and there wasn’t much going on in this area until around 1800, with the exception of Ermine Street (now Kingsland Road), an old Roman road that was a main thoroughfare between London Bridge and York, the modern day A10. As trade grew the area got busier, and toll gates were eventually placed. The cost to get through the gates varied depending on how many horses or wheels a carriage had, however the 18th century version of fare dodgers would take a different route via the side streets, while daredevils would simply charge through aggressively. This becomes easier to imagine when you picture Dick Turpin, the villain of the day; he’s hardly going to stop at a booth with a watchman and politely pay for his travel is he? (One of Turpin’s known hiding spots was in Hackney Marshes).
\n\nBy the late 19th century there were trams and trains running through the area, as it had become an active transport hub. Stamford Hill’s altitude also made it a popular residential area, and the people who lived here were affluent, usually involved in commerce. They built plush homes surrounded by vast gardens; among them was a certain Nathan Meyer Rothschild, from the famous banking dynasty.
By now Stamford Hill was becoming overcrowded and noisy, as roads were made from granite and the metal wheels and hooves of the horses were a disturbance, so in some places wooden blocks were used to dampen the sound a little. The arrival of the railways meant that less wealthy people could afford to live here too, as commuting from this suburb was no longer prohibitively expensive. Inevitably those with money to spend moved away.
In the early 20th century hundreds of Jewish people migrated here from the squalor of the East End, from Stepney in particular. The area’s first synagogue was relocated here in 1915. With Nazism on the rise in Germany and Eastern Europea, many more flocked here to escape persecution. In the 1960s many Muslim immigrants arrived, and later it would be Polish people, and the population of Stamford Hill is very mixed, however Haredi Jews have remained the largest ethnic group by far.
\n\nWhat’s life in S. Hill like?
Stamford Hill is a relatively small area, with a population of around 20,000 Hassidic Jews. There are over 70 synagogues and 30 orthodox schools. Haredi Jews are very family-orientated, as it’s not uncommon for homes to have more than five children, and so it has the highest child population in Europe. Men dress in traditional clothes: black top hats, long coats and they sport ringlets on either side of their faces. Women wear long skirts, flat shoes, and headscarves or wigs to preserve their modesty (displaying hair is immodest). Public displays of physical contact between men and women, even a husband and wife holding hands are forbidden. Aside from home life, studying at the synagogue is the main pastime as well as the main course of education. Marriages are arranged, and a lot of households ban modern things like television and the internet. Imagine if you will, life in the 19th century, and you begin to get the picture.
Stamford Hill itself lacks much greenery, but it’s within fairly easy reach of Clissold Park, Finsbury Park and Springfield Park. It’s a very quiet neighbourhood, with low crime rates.
What is there to do?
There is a multitude of kosher supermarkets, bakeries, butchers and restaurants, so it’s a great place to go for Jewish food. Nightclubs and wine bars haven’t sprang up like in Stoke Newington yet.
Can I afford to live here?
Some very nice-looking large Victorian and Edwardian terraces have led estate agents to use terms like “prime location”, “desirable” and “Hackney’s best secret” when describing Stamford Hill. This translates as prices sky-rocketing in the next few years.
So yet another place ripe for gentrification then?
Yep. It borders Stoke Newington and Dalston, both trendy places that most people without a trust fund can no longer buy or rent a property in. Plus the aforementioned lovely bay-fronted houses, mostly converted to flats, mean this is ideal for students, young professionals, etc. But how will hipsters and orthodox Jews mix? Let’s talk again in three years…
