Whitechapel

Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, 5.5 km east of Charing Cross. Whitechapel runs from the edge of the City of London at Bishopsgate in the West to Cavell Street in the East, and from Commercial Road in the south moving to the Brick Lane area in the north.

Because the area is close to the London Docklands and east of the City of London, it has been a popular place for immigrants and the working class. The area was the centre of the London Jewish community in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Whitechapel, along with the neighbouring district of Spitalfields, were the location of the infamous 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were attributed to the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

It is still a largely working-class area but has attracted a large Bangaledeshi community which has made Brick Lane what it is today. Many aspiring artists moved here for the cheap rents but still central location. Tracey Emin (one of the not-so-Young British Artists (YBAs) of the 1990s) has a studio in this area, and can be seen wandering around in the day. The Royal London Hospital gazes across at Whitechapel tube station and is famous for nursing Joseph Carey Merrick (the 'Elephant Man') in his final years.

Whitechapel takes its name from that church, St Mary Matfelon, which like the nearby White Tower of the Tower of London was at one time whitewashed to give it a prominent and attractive appearance.

Whitechapel has two underground stations: Aldgate East and Whitechapel. Aldgate East is served by the District line and the Hammersmith & City. Whitechapel is also served by these lines, as well by the Elizabeth line and the East London Line.

Plan and Book:

Walks

About Whitechapel

Whitechapel Art Gallery has been a champion of Modern Art since 1901, and has held exhibitions of greats such as Picasso, Pollock and Frida Kahlo and supported British Artists such as Gilbert & George and Lucian Freud. The space continues to hold regular new exhibtions with additional linked events on Thursday evenings. There is a cafe and a small art bookshop. Free entry. There are excellent facilities for disabled people (visual, hearing and physical).
Location: 80-82 Whitechapel High Street.

The undoubted highlight of East End trading life was the street market, operating under a grudging acceptance from the authorities and offering bargains with big suggestions that the cheap price may be related to a dodgy road to market. Sunday was the main market day due to the Jewish heritage of the area, and therefore attracted a large influx of punters before shops were allowed Sunday trading elsewhere in London. The (more controlled) current markets are a treat of variety, stretching out in short walk from Liverpool St or Shoreditch stations.

During a Sunday morning relaxed walk, allowing 2-3 hours, you can visit the four main markets, Petticoat Lane, Spitalfields, Brick Lane and Columbia Road Flower Market, have lunch and a shandy or two, whilst taking in the ever-changing diversity. New markets are opening en-route all the time, but real surprises are most likely to be found around the north Brick Lane/ Cheshire St area which most resembles the spirit of the original markets, having many stalls operating on the edges of both market and legality. The Whitechapel end of Brick Lane is filled with South Asian (mainly Bangladeshi) shops and restaurants, selling music, spices, tasty sweets and sari material.

Petticoat Lane Market

Petticoat Lane Market, in Middlesex Street, is traditionally the East End market where nearly anything could be found (legal or not) now mostly cheaper mainstream clothes. Main market Sunday, smaller market Mon-Fri in Wentworth Street.

Spitalfields Market

Spitalfields Market is the traditional fruit and vegetable market for The City moved into the suburbs in 1991. The existing buildings were threatened with complete demolition by developers, but saved partially by local action and the establishment of an organic market on the empty site. It has slowly been shrunk to a third of its size by development in the area. It still features a good variety of clothing, crafts and food stalls/shops, but very little organic anymore. Mon-Fri - upmarket stalls operate on the edge of the new buildings. Towards end of week more eclectic stalls can be found in old market area. Sunday hosts the full market in both old and new areas but tends to be increasingly more expensive and exclusive as traders are squeezed for higher rents.

Brick Lane

Brick Lane is a small but diverse neighbourhood, named after a long road starting in Whitechapel and running north into Shoreditch. The area has come to be known as "Banglatown" in recent years on account of many of its inhabitants and proprietors originating from the Indian subcontinent (especially Bangladesh). You can see evidence of this on the bilingual road signs which where placed to help immigrants in the 1980s who were unable to speak English.

Although now largely a Bengali neighbourhood, within living memory, Brick Lane was a Jewish district. As well as some obvious remnants of this history such as a few remaining bagel delis, there are some more subtle ones too, such as small synagogues in the back streets. Many of the larger synagogues have now been converted into mosques. Before that, it was a Huguenot area. The Huguenots settled in the area and became well-known for silk weaving. The markets here date back to the 16th century, when the area was a stop on the main eastern exit road from London The neighbourhood, now complete with its own annual festival, is now most famous for its curry restaurants, markets, speciality shops and vibrant but relaxed nightlife.

London's East End

The East End is the home of Cockney Rhyming Slang, a dialect of English where words are substituted for other words which they rhyme with. For example "Apples and Pears" is cockney slang for "Stairs", "Plates of Meat" is slang for "Feet". In recent years the East End is perhap more famous than ever due to the long running and hugely popular BBC TV series EastEnders, a soap opera about the life of people living in Albert Square, Walford, which is a fictional location.

Exploring the East End can be a great way to get off of the main tourist track, while staying in walking distance of the historic centre of London. A good place to start is to go east from Spitalfields into the nearby Brick Lane neighbourhood.

The East End consists of many small and quite distinct neighbourhoods:

Mile End

Mile End is an increasingly affluent neighbourhood about one mile (hence the name) from the City of London along the Whitechapel Road. While not as vibrant as its neighbours in Bethnal Green and Brick Lane, it has a charm of its own which makes this district worth a visit. It is rich in history and contains some very interesting relics of London's industrial past. The district was created just at the time when London was expanding at its fastest rate and as such contains areas which are a microcosm of the Victorian city. It also suffered greatly from German bombing in WWII and the slum clearances of the 1960s which saw many fine Victorian houses bulldozed to be replaced by sub-standard communal housing.

Shoreditch

Shoreditch stretches from Old Street station to Kingsland Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Culturally though this is part of the East End. This was once an area largely populated by skint artists but they were scattered once the wave of design and media studios and commercial art galleries rolled in. Although the area is still underdeveloped in many ways, this is one of the best places to go out drinking in London, simply because there are so many different bars, pubs and clubs dotted all over this area and many of these stay open past 23:00.

Shadwell

Shadwell is a down-to-earth East End district, home to Indian and global eateries, local shops, small mosques, and historic churches, including the striking 18th-century St. George In The East. The Cable Street Mural recalls the 1936 “Battle of Cable Street,” when local residents and others halted a Fascist march. Shadwell Basin is a former dock now used for kayaking and sailing, surrounded by modern housing.

Wapping

Wapping is a redeveloped former docks area with residential towers, apartments in converted warehouses, and traditional pubs beside the River Thames. A district that has a rich and fascinating history, a strong maritime character and a mix of old and new attractions, it is now known for its chic bars and smart eateries with outdoor seating surround a marina at St. Katharine Docks. The Thames River Police Museum, set in a working police station and open by appointment, traces the force’s history.

Tobacco Dock hosts food festivals and other events. Built in 1812 as a hub for precious cargo arriving from the New World, such as wine and, of course, tobacco, Tobacco Dock originally spanned 70 acres. A Grade 1 listed building, it now occupies just two-fifths of the original site.

Hoxton

Hoxton, to the north of Whitechapel, is home to indie art galleries and bars, with trendy global eateries surrounding the green space of Hoxton Square and classic Vietnamese restaurants along busy Kingsland Road. The Regent’s Canal has a popular towpath walk, and down-to-earth Hoxton Street Market sells food, clothes, and housewares. The Geffrye Museum has rooms with period furnishings in an 18th-century almshouse.

London's East End Address Book

Damon Albarn OBE (born 23 March 1968) is an English and Icelandic musician and composer. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz. A commemorative plaque at 21 Fillebrook Road Leytonstone, East London, where Albarn was brought up.

Dr. Thomas Barnardo (1845–1905) Founder of Dr Barnardo's Homes for children, began his work here in 1866 in a building on this of 58 Solent House, Ben Jonson Road, Stepney. He lived at 32 Bow Road, Bow.

Anti–Slavery Campaigner Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786–1845) lived and worked at The Directors' House, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, Shoreditch.

Edith Cavell (1865–1915), pioneer of Modern Nursing in Belgium and Heroine of the Great War trained and worked between 1896–1901 at London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel.

Sir Jack Cohen (1898–1979), entrepreneur founder of Tesco Stores lived at 91 Ashfield Street Whitechapel as a child.

At 88 Mile End Road, Mile End, stood a house occupied for some years by Lieut. James Cook 1728–1779, navigator, circumnavigator and Explorer.

Bud Flanagan, (1896–1968), Comedian and Leader of the 'Crazy Gang' born at 12 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields.

The First Flying Bomb on London Fell on Railway Bridge, Grove Road, Bow 13 June 1944.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) stayed at Kingsley Hall, Powis Road, Bromley by Bow.

Anna Maria Garthwaite (1690–1763), dDesigner of Spitalfields Silks, lived and worked at 2 Princelet Street, Spitalfields.

Painter Mark Gertler (1891–1939) lived at 32 Elder Street, Spitalfields.

SS Great Eastern (launched 1858), largest steamship of the 19th century, was built by I.K. Brunel and J.Scott Russell at Burrells Wharf, 262 Westferry Road, Isle of Dogs, London.

British historian John Richard Green, (1837–1883) lived at St Philip's Vicarage, 38 Newark Street Whitechapel, 1866–1869.

Rev. St. John Groser (1890–1966), apriest and Social Reformer lived at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine, 2 Butcher Row Limehouse.

Noted social worker Mary Hughes (1860–1941) lived and worked at 71 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green.

Dr. Jimmy Mallon C. H. (1874–1961), Warden of Toynbee Hall and champion of Social Reform, lived at Toynbee Hall, Commercial Street, Whitechapel.

The Match Girls’ Strike took place here at the Bryant and May works, 3 Moreland Cottages, Bow Quarter, 60 Fairfield Road, Bow, in 1888.

Sir Hugh Willoughby, Stephen Borough, William Borough, Sir Martin Frobisher and other navigators who, in the latter half of the sixteenth century, set sail from a reach of the River Thames near Ratcliff Cross to explore the northern seas. A memorial in King Edward Memorial Park, The Highway, Shadwell, London, honours the men and acknowledges their achivements.

Poet and Painter Isaac Rosenberg (1890–1918) lived in the East End and studied at Whitechapel Library, 77 High Street, Whitechapel.

Lincoln Stanhope Wainwright, (1847–1929), Vicar of St Peter's, London Docks, lived at Clergy House, Wapping Lane, Shadwell.

Writer and Philanthropis Israel Zangwill (1864–1926) lived at 288 Old Ford Road, Old Ford.