Tributes have been paid following the sudden death of Nick Perry, a passionate campaigner who spearheaded the Stokey Local Campaign.
As well as being a keen historian and an expert in conservation Nick, whose day job was in IT, had a passion for editing – he directed, filmed and edited the Women of Abney film, which remembered women buried there who’d made a big mark on the world.
He was best known locally for opposing the creation of large Sainsbury’s Store in Wilmer Place. He and a team of campaigners gathered more than 5,000 signatures, claiming the development would be a “massive intrusion” which would “disturb the sense of seclusion in {Abney} Park.” Ultimately Sainsbury’s withdrew.
Other high-profile campaigns he played a role in, included preventing the redevelopment of the Chesham Arms and the Wellington Pub.
Nick married Andrew Grace at New Unity in Newington Green in 2021. He was just 52 when he died on October 1st.
Paying tribute on his History of Stokey page, Nick’s friend and fellow historian Amir Dotan said: “The untimely and heartbreaking passing of Nick Perry leaves a huge void in the many places and special-interest groups he influenced and profoundly impacted.
“Nick was the nerdiest person I have ever met. He was extremely inquisitive and possessed a deep and astonishingly detailed knowledge of a wide range of subjects, where typically you’d expect someone to be passionate and knowledgeable about just one or two. However, Nick was a fountain of knowledge on an impressive variety of topics, including town planning policies and regulations, architecture, transport, maps, local authority, trains, infrastructure, history, bollards, postcodes, masonry, housing, phone numbers, digital audio and video recording, waterways, coats of arms, to name a few.
“From protecting pub buildings and opposing problematic development proposals to ensuring that historic features of local buildings weren’t obscured by billboards lacking advertising consent, he was always engaged. Nick never turned his back on any issue involving heritage, conservation, or planning control.
“I struggle to imagine who will step in with the same energy, enthusiasm, and deep knowledge to protect and preserve Hackney’s built history at a moment’s notice.
“Nick, who loved our local history so much, is now a special part of it. He will be greatly missed.”
A former Chair of the Hackney Society, Nick was also a regular on the Stoke Newington History Talks events and co-hosted local history drop-in sessions where residents could come armed with questions about the area. He loved Eurovision, travelled to Paris for the Olympics this summer and was passionate about conservation and sustainability.
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