Stamford Hill

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Stamford Hill
latitude= 51.5705
longitude= -0.0727
os_grid_reference= TQ335875
london_borough= Hackney
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area= N
postcode_district= N15, N16
dial_code= 020
constituency_westminster= Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish community.

History

Stamford Hill lies on the old Roman road of Ermine Street, on high ground above Stoke Newington, where it crosses the road from the medieval village of Clopton (the modern Upper and Lower Clapton) into Hackney.

Development of the area began around 1800, and many prosperous dwellings were built around Stamford Hill over the next 100 years. The "London Road" became a busy commercial centre to serve the needs of the burgeoning population. Around 1880, not only were railways serving the area, but this was the point where the tram systems coming north from the city, [The North Metropolitan Tramways Co. inaugurated 1872, and ran from Moorgate via Kingsland and Stoke Newington Roads to Stamford Hill] met the Hackney tram system, [The North Metropolitan from Bishopsgate ran through Mare Street, and thence to Clapton, opened in 1872, and was extended to Clapton Common in 1875, reaching Stamford Hill in 1902] and so it became a busy interchange, with a depot opening in 1873. [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22693 'Hackney: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 4-10] Date accessed: 1 November 2006.] Electrification commenced in 1902, and by 1924 a service was commenced between Stamford Hill and Camden Town, along Amhurst Park.

Stamford Hill had many eminent Jewish residents including the Montefiore family. Italian-born Moses Vita Montefiore (d. 1789), lived there by 1763. His son Joseph (d. 1804) married Rachel Mocatta and his grandson Abraham Montefiore (d. 1824) married Henrietta, whose father, the financier Nathan Meyer Rothschild, lived near the modern Colberg Place, from 1818 to 1835. The Montefiores' property, a little farther south, was to be turned by Abraham's grandson Claude Montefiore into Montefiore House school. With the spread of building, such distinguished families moved away: in 1842 there were few of the wealthy Jews who had once settled in Hackney. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22716. 'Hackney: Judaism', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 145-48] . Date accessed: 31 October 2006.] The philanthropist and abolitionist, MP Samuel Morley, had a residence here, from about 1860.

From the 1880s a new influx of Jews arrived in the area, escaping from the poverty of the East End in Stepney, [ [http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SDDRGVT "Kosher in the country" "The Economist" 1 June 2006] accessed 14 August 2007] and in 1915 the New Synagogue was transferred to Stamford Hill to serve this growing population. In 1926, the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations was established in Stamford Hill, and this became a magnet for other strictly observant sects, many fleeing both Stalinist and Nazi persecution in the years before and after World War II. Also, many Jewish families came to the area from other areas of London, refugees in their own way from bombing and post-war clearances for housing. One of the early Hasidic leaders in Stanford Hill was the Shotzer Rebbe. Another notable Jewish resident from 1955, until his death in 2000, was the spiritual head of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, Rabbi Chanoch Dov Padwa.

Orthodox Jewish community

Stamford Hill is at the centre of an Orthodox Jewish and predominantly Hasidic community estimated by Hackney Council and others to be some 20,000 strong [ [http://website.thejc.com/home.aspx?AId=60533&ATypeId=1&search=true2&srchstr=Charedi%20numbers%20&srchtxt=0&srchhead=1&srchauthor=0&srchsandp=0&scsrch=0 The JC says Hackney Council estimates the OJ community to be 19,700] ] [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,758997,00.html giving number as guardian.co.uk 20,000] ] [ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3198170,00.html Ynet giving number as 20,000] ] . It is the largest Hasidic community in Europe, and referred to as a "square mile of piety", reflecting the many Jewish men seen walking in their traditional clothes on their way to and from worship. The congregations often represent historical links, with particular areas of Eastern Europe, in their dress, and worship. Many also retain international links with other congregations around the world. The largest of these congregations is the Satmar who have five directly associated synagogues, and Belz is another large community with several synagogues. In the surrounding area, there may be over fifty synagogues and many observant Jews in the neighbouring areas of Stoke Newington, Upper Clapton and Tottenham identify with Stamford Hill.

An emergency response first-aid service, called Hatzola - the Hebrew word for rescue - run by Haredi volunteers. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2666123.stm Jewish health service offers local care - BBC Health 19 January 2003] accessed on 11 December 2006] The need for dietary observance means that Stamford Hill has a large number of shops selling specifically Kosher food.

The orthodox Jewish community relies mostly on private education for schooling, with almost all Jewish children attending Jewish private schools which are segregated as boy schools and Girl Schools. Recently however, the Stamford Hill Yesodey Hatorah senior girls’ school has achieved state aided status. The school has made headlines several times, most recently, when some of its pupils refused to study Shakespeare due to his supposedly anti-Semitic views with the schools principal Rabbi Abraham Pinter saluting the girls for having pride in what they believe in. [ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-522938/School-falls-league-tables-pupils-boycott-anti-Semitic-Shakespeare.html School falls down league tables after pupils boycott 'anti-Semitic' Shakespeare]

Haredi families have on average 5.9 children, almost 2.5 times the average for England and Wales, and many families live in overcrowded flats. [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3198170,00.html Reuters/Ynet - London haredim considering move - 1 July 2006] accessed 28 November 2006] National planning regulations are applied by the local council, prohibiting "excess" development of family housing. This has inevitably led to conflict between the council and the Jewish population, represented by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. Agudas Israel Housing Association is active in developing housing for the Jewish community in Stamford Hill.

Demographics

Stamford Hill reflects the very diverse composition of The London Borough of Hackney. The data table shows ONS Census data [ [http://www.hackney.gov.uk/SCRIPTS/texis.exe/webinator/search/redir.html?query=census&pr=HackneyLive&prox=sentence&rorder=1000&rprox=750&rdfreq=500&rwfreq=500&rlead=500&sufs=1&order=r&cq=&u=http%3A//www.hackney.gov.uk/print/xp_16census-wards-t53.xls Office For National Statistics, 2001 Census, at Hackney Live] accessed on 27 November 2006] for the wards around Stamford Hill, where respondents indicated a religion: [In the 2001 UK census, respondents were voluntarily asked to identify their religion.] :"The London Borough of Hackney has expressed its concern that Jewish residents were seriously under-counted in the 2001 Census data" ['Torah, worship and acts of loving kindness' - Christine Holman and Naomi Holman, De Montfort University, November 2002.]

Education

:"For details of education in Stamford Hill see the Hackney article"There are also many independent Jewish schools in the area.

Transport

Nearest places

* Finsbury Park to the west
* Manor House to the north-west
* Stoke Newington to the south
* Tottenham to the north
* Upper Clapton to the east

Nearest stations

* Stamford Hill railway station
* South Tottenham railway station
* Manor House tube station
* Seven Sisters station
* Stoke Newington railway station

ee also

*Lubavitcher
*Haredi Judaism

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/99/a8869099.shtml memories of Montefiore House School 1944-1950]
* [http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/dmag-briefing-2006-27.pdf "2001 Census profile: The Jewish population of London" - GLA Data Management Group (September 2006)] accessed 13 December 2006
* [http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/terns2/index.htm The Reservoirs Nature Society (TeRNS)]