Newington Green - the Village that Changed the World!

Non-conformists & Mary Wollstonecraft

During the 1660s Newington Green became a centre of nonconformist activities, culminating in the building of the chapel in 1708 following the Act of Toleration. During the 18th century, the chapel became a focus for influential thinkers: poet, Samuel Rogers (1763-1865), Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743- 1825), Daniel Defoe (1660-1730), Richard Price (1723-1791) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759- 1797).

Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, lived and worked in Newington Green in the late 18th century. She is best known for her 1792 work A Vindication of The Rights of Women, one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. At 25 she established a girls’ boarding school in Newington Green within sight of the City of London. 

There is a statue to commemorate her on Newington Green by artist Maggie Hamblin CBE.

Royal visitors and ministers

In the 16th century the area was connected to the court of Henry VIII. The king himself used a house on the south side of the Green as a base for hunting the wild bulls, stags and wild boars that roamed the surrounding forest.

In 1523 a resident of the north side of the Green, the future 6th Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy became engaged to Anne Boleyn. At the time he was page to Cardinal Wolsey. Lord Percy had not sought permission from either his father or the king, causing Wolsey to scold him and his father and refuse the marriage. He later found himself a member of the jury that convicted Anne of adultery.

Listed Buildings

Newington Green carries a surprising wealth of historic architecture and has become a conservation area. On the west side of the Green  is London's oldest surviving brickterrace, which is Grade I listed . These were built in 1658, even in the centre of London, there are few brick houses this old, pre-dating the Great Fire of 1666.

The Green also has two Grade II listed buildings. To the north is the Unitarian Church, which celebrated its tercentenary in 2008.  Built in 1709 Mary Wollstonecraft’s pew is still in the church.

To the west is its neighbour, the former headquarters of the China Inland Mission, an organisation founded byJames Hudson Taylor in 1865 and responsible for 18,000 converts to Christianity.