Tower Hamlets
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Bethnal Green, part of the world famous east end of London. Have you ever fancied some Jellied Eels with pie n mash me old china? No, me neither, but if you did, Bethnal Green is the place to be. You can also get a nice hot Ruby Murray, but be careful, I hear it can make you Raspberry Tart!
As you may have guessed, it is also home to cockney rhyming slang, a dialect unique to the Bethnal Green and the surrounding areas. Bethnal Green is famous as a working class area, and has many notable historical figures associated with the area. The first would be Jack The Ripper who operated on the...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
The hamlet of Bow dates back almost a thousand years. It name comes from an arched bridge that was built in 1110 under order from Queen Matilda, wife of King Henry I. After having fallen in the River Lea when crossing and almost drowning, it was then she decided a bridge was needed.
Modern day Bow is a charming place to live with a variety of large open green spaces. The most predominant of these is Victoria Park which hosts festivals, music concerts, fireworks displays and is to be used in the coming Olympics. For the casual stroller, there is also a lake, deer enclosure and avery.
Mile End...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
The hamlet of Bow dates back almost a thousand years. It name comes from an arched bridge that was built in 1110 under order from Queen Matilda, wife of King Henry I. After having fallen in the River Lea when crossing and almost drowning, it was then she decided a bridge was needed.
Modern day Bow is a charming place to live with a variety of large open green spaces. The most predominant of these is Victoria Park which hosts festivals, music concerts, fireworks displays and is to be used in the coming Olympics. For the casual stroller, there is also a lake, deer enclosure and avery.
Mile End...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Set to the south of Bow and with a population of just over 11,000, this is one of the smaller districts of Tower Hamlets.
A notable landmark in Bromley by Bow is Bromley Hall, thought to be the oldest brick built house in London. It was build around 1490 and has since been remodelled. Its current use today is for offices, but if you’re in the vicinity of Gillender Street, its worth a look.
Kingsley Hall is another feature of the area. Built around 1912, it was here that Mahatma Ghandi stayed in 1931 for 12 weeks whilst attempting to bring about Indian independence. He was accompanied by a...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Named after William Cubitt, lord mayor of London 1860-61, Cubitt Town is a district on the Isle of Dogs. It was William Cubitt who was responsible for the development of the housing and amenities in the area in the 1840s and 1850s. The majority of this was for workers employed at the docks.
Amenities today are the Mudchute Park and Farm which has an equestrian centre, café and of course, the farm itself. Perfect for relaxing.
If you like to travel further afield, there is the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, which allows you to walk under the Thames and gives access to attractions such as the Cutty...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Docklands as a broad term encompasses parts of the London Boroughs of Greenwich, Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. The docks are:
St Katherine’s Dock
London Docks
Regent’s Canal Dock (now Limehouse Basin)
Surrey Commercial Docks (now Surrey Quays)
West India, Millwall and Poplar Dock (Isle of Dogs)
East India Docks
Royal Docks
These docks have been pivotal in shaping London, England, Britain and the World’s history.
Since Roman times, London had been using the River Thames to trade. As the settlement grew and more and more ships came to unload goods onto the banks of the Thames, there...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Set in the east of Bethnal Green, Globe Town was established in 1800 to provide for the growing amount of weavers living in Bethnal Green.
For more information, see Bethnal Green.
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
The Isle of Dogs is most notable for being the largest U bend in the river Thames. Look at any map, and it is hard to miss from its distinctive shape. Being central to London’s Docklands, the Isle of Dogs has been pivotal in its industrial history. Today, they are pivotal in shaping London’s financial future.
Up until the 13th century, the Isle of Dogs was marshland. Around this time it was drained so agriculture could take hold on the land. Unfortunately, in 1488, the embankment keeping the water out was breeched and the land returned to marsh. The small farming community that had developed...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
This district in Tower Hamlets took its name from the 14th century lime kilns that used to operate by the river Thames. In 1820, Regent’s Canal Dock (now Limehouse basin) opened and served as an important link between the Thames and the canal system where ocean going ships could unload their cargo to barges to be transported around London and the rest of England.
Other scraps of historical interest for Limehouse are that it was the original location for Chinatown in London. Coming over with the trade for tea and opium in the 19th century, it was here that they established their community as...
Area Guide
Tower Hamlets
Mile End takes its name from a marker that noted the distance of a mile from the City of London’s border at Aldgate. The marker was not actually located in Mile End, it was in Stepney, but Mile End New Town developed east of here around the 17th century and became known as Mile End.
The area is steeped in history and one of the more notable incidents is the peasants revolt of 1381 by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw. With an uprising against tax, 60,000 peasants marched on London and camped out at mile end. In June, King Richard II rode out to meet the peasants and signed their charter.
Around 1780,...