In north-east London, England, the London Borough of Hackney has a neighbourhood called Stoke Newington. Located eight kilometres (five miles) northeast of Charing Cross, The historic parish of Stoke Newington received its name from the Stoke Newington Manor. For hundreds of years, Stoke Newington, sometimes known as the "new town in the wood," has been sparsely populated next to larger nearby Saxon villages near the River Lea. The Neolithic working area for axe-making, some of which can be seen in the Museum of London, was discovered to have included Stoke Newington Common and Abney Park Cemetery in the 19th century. Stoke Newington is now an extremely ethnic neighbourhood with sizable Asian, Irish, Turkish, Jewish, and Afro-Caribbean populations. Numerous new and developing populations, including immigrants from Poland and Somalia, continue to call this region home.
Stoke Newington has been instrumental in ensuring a water supply to support London's explosive growth from the 16th century. The man-made New River flows through the region and continues to supply water to London. It used to stop at the New River Head in Finsbury, but since 1946, the Stoke Newington reservoirs have served as its primary terminus. To the north, through Haringey, and on to the river's source close to Hertford, one can walk along the riverbank known as the New River Path.