This archive is an accurate reproduction of a scrapbook created by Joseph Beck, now in the possession of his great-grandson Jonathan Shaw. It provides an in-depth account of the arduous 4-year campaign to preserve Stoke Newington’s last great open space for the public.

This archive was created and photographed by Amir Dotan, a Stoke Newington historian and a member of the Clissold Park User Group and Friends of Hackney Archives. The archive wouldn’t have been possible without the help and cooperation of Joseph Beck’s great- grandson, Jonathan Shaw and his daughter Isabelle. Thank you for allowing me to photograph and publicise this fascinating scrapbook.

I am also deeply indebted to Leanne Bentley and Daphne Steele for transcribing the handwritten letters in the archive.

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