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Beloved Stokey bar Ryan’s closed last month after 32 years in business (no!) but all is not lost for the legendary Stoke Newington Church Street venue, which has a massive beer garden.
The space will be reopening as a pub named in honour of local hero Mary Wollstonecraft. The Mary Wollstonecraft Freehouse is set to open soon, named after the 18th century writer, philosopher and feminist, who lived in the area.
It’s not the only local landmark named after Wollstonecraft. A controversial statue in tribute to the writer by Maggi Hambling was unveiled on Newington Green in 2020. Mary Wollstonecraft was born in Spitalfields in 1769, and her pioneering and groundbreaking work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was published in 1792. She died in 1797 at the age of just 38, and less than two weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Mary Shelley, who would go on to write the classic gothic novel, Frankenstein, in 1818.
Ryan’s closed on December 28, 2025, signing off with ‘It’s been a blast’ on its Instagram account. ‘After 32 great years it is time to say goodbye to Ryan’s N16… We want to thank all our lovely customers for the memories and boy there are a few!’
The Mary Wollstonecraft will open at 181 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0UL, later this year.
Check out our list of the best pubs in Stoke Newington here.
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