History
The Hackney Brook flowed through the south westerly end of Blackstock Road from its source in Holloway before emptying into the River Lea at Hackney Wick. The book The Ground Water Diaries by Tim Bradford states that the 'Bank of Friendship' pub is so named because the people of Highbury used to wave at the folk of Stoke Newington across the river.
Blackstock Road's original name was Boarded River Lane when it was still a dirt track.
The river that used to run into where Blackstock Road sits now originated near Newington Green, cutting across Highbury Vale, over where Wilberforce Road, Queen's Drive and Finsbury Park Road now are. On the river in the 18th century was a renowned hostelry known as the Eel Pie House, serving pies with eels that had been fished out of the river. The pie houses' location is thought to have been located on the spot where 57 Wilberforce Road now stands (according to the Encyclopedia of London).
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