61-599: Hanbury Street is a street running from Commercial Street in Spitalfields to the junction of Old Montague Street and Vallance Road in Whitechapel located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The eastern section is restricted to pedal cycles and pedestrians only. The street was laid out in the seventeenth century, and was originally known as Browne's Lane after the original developer. Its present name
122-593: A continuation of the route towards Old Street and the City Road , did Commercial Street really begin to succeed as what had always been Pennethorne's aim, an artery allowing traffic to bypass the City of London . With the implementation of the London Congestion Zone in the 2000s, the road has once again seen continued activity from private and commercial vehicles seeking to avoid the 7am–6pm charge, and
183-636: A popular cause at the time. The "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick (1862–1890) became well known in Whitechapel – he was exhibited in a shop on the Whitechapel Road before being helped by Frederick Treves (1853–1923) at the Royal London Hospital , opposite the actual shop. There is a museum in the hospital about his life. In 1902, American author Jack London , looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis 's seminal book How
244-405: A schoolmistress was to teach them the "catechism, reading, knitting, plain sewing, and any other useful work". In 1701 an unknown donor gave the foundation £1,000 (equivalent to £190,000 in 2023) so the children might be suitably clothed as well as educated. Between 1783 and 1830 the school received twenty gifts totalling over £5,000. Typical income seems to have been about £500 per year, which
305-528: A significant settlement for the British Bangladeshi community. Whitechapel and neighbouring Spitalfields were the locations of the infamous 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were attributed to the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper . These factors and others have led to Whitechapel being seen by many as the embodiment of London's East End, and for that reason it
366-718: A tent, erected in the Friends Burial Ground , Thomas Street, Whitechapel, in 1865. Others joined his Christian Mission , and on 7 August 1878 the Salvation Army was formed at a meeting held at 272 Whitechapel Road. A statue commemorates both his mission and his work in helping the poor. The population grew quickly with migrants from the English countryside and further afield. Many of these incomers were Irish or Jewish. Western Whitechapel, and neighbouring areas of Wapping, became known as Little Germany due to
427-537: Is a National Rail and London Underground interchange, a short walk to the west. 51°31′8″N 0°4′28″W / 51.51889°N 0.07444°W / 51.51889; -0.07444 Whitechapel Whitechapel is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets . It is in east London and part of the East End . It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore
488-626: Is a section of the A1202 London Inner Ring Road and as such forms part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. As the name implies, Commercial Street has historically been dominated by industrial and commercial activity in East End , which it maintains to this day. It is on the City of London fringes, and much industry that was seen as too noisome for the City was once exiled to such areas as this. However, since
549-408: Is a typical arterial route for emergency vehicles. Until the late twentieth century, the street was heavily dominated by the activities of Spitalfields wholesale fruit and vegetable market , and by outlets for the " rag trade " (the wholesale clothing and textile trade). Since the mid-1970s, however, the area has been increasingly subject to a process of gradual gentrification . In part this reflects
610-512: Is derived from that of a local family who owned land there in the seventeenth century. In 1884, Florence Eleanor Soper , the daughter-in-law of General William Booth of The Salvation Army , inaugurated The Women's Social Work, which was run from a small house in Hanbury Street. This home for women was set up in the hopes that they would not have to turn to prostitution and provided a safe haven for those who were already suffering from
671-513: Is now designated the A11 . This historic route has the names Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road as it passes through, or along the boundary, of Whitechapel. For many centuries travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many coaching inns which lined Whitechapel High Street. The area of the parish extended around 1400 metres from the City of London boundary, originally marked by Aldgate Bars around 180 metres east of
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#1732801515449732-722: Is often used to represent the East End in art and literature . Landmarks include Tower Hamlets Town Hall, the Royal London Hospital and the East London Mosque . Whitechapel was originally part of the Manor and Parish of Stepney , but population growth resulting from its position just outside the Aldgate on the Roman Road to Essex resulted in significant population growth, so a chapel of ease , dedicated to St Mary
793-468: Is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by Charlotte Wilson . On Sunday 4 October 1936, the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley , intended to march through the East End, an area with a large Jewish population. The BUF mustered on and around Tower Hill and hundreds of thousands of local people turned out to block the march. There were violent clashes with
854-587: Is unclear and apparently unique. Around 1338, Whitechapel became an independent parish, with St Mary Matfelon , originally a chapel of ease within Stepney, becoming the parish church. Whitechapel's spine is the old Roman Road, that ran from the Aldgate on London's Wall , to Colchester in Essex ( Roman Britannia's first capital), and beyond. This road, which was later named the Great Essex Road ,
915-513: The Aldgate itself, to vicinity of the junction with Cambridge Heath Road where it met the boundaries of Mile End and Bethnal Green . The northern boundary included Wentworth Street and parts of Old Montague Street. The parish also included an area around Goodman's Fields , close to the City and south of St Mary's, the parish church. The area became an independent parish around 1338. At that time parish areas only had an ecclesiastical (church) function, with parallel civil parishes being formed in
976-669: The Chief Minister of West Bengal . Also in 2022 a historical marker was placed in Whitechapel, on the site of the former Adler House at the junction of Adler and Coke Streets by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation UK Branch. Adler House was named in honour of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Herman Adler, 1891–1911. The marker recognises the significance of Whitechapel as
1037-448: The Great Essex Road . Population growth resulting from ribbon development along this route, led to the creation of the parish of Whitechapel, a daughter parish of Stepney , from which it was separated, in the 14th century. Whitechapel has a long history of having a high proportion of immigrants within the community. From the late 19th century until the late 20th century the area had a very high Jewish population, and it subsequently became
1098-494: The Relay Building , a 21-storey residential development (completed 2014). On the eastern side of Commercial Street stands Toynbee Hall , the university settlement founded in 1884. The nearest London Underground station is Aldgate East , at Commercial Street's southern end. Shoreditch High Street London Overground station is close to the northern end, by the former Bishopsgate Goods Yard . London Liverpool Street
1159-466: The 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were committed by the legendary serial killer known as " Jack the Ripper ". These attacks caused widespread terror in the district and throughout the country and drew the attention of social reformers to the squalor and vice of the area, even though these crimes remain unsolved today. London County Council , founded 1889, helped deliver investment in new housing and slum clearance ; objectives which were
1220-421: The 17th century to the mid-19th century resulted in great numbers of more or less destitute people taking up residence amidst the industries, businesses and services ancillary to the City of London that had attracted them. The Whitechapel Mount was a large, probably artificial mound, of unknown origin, that stood on the south side of Whitechapel Road, about 1200 metres east of the Aldgate , immediately west of
1281-598: The BUF around Tower Hill, but most of the violence occurred as police tried to clear a route through the crowds for the BUF to follow. The police fought protesters at nearby Cable Street – the series of clashes becoming known as the Battle of Cable Street – and Tower Hill, but the largest confrontations took place at Aldgate and Whitechapel, notably at Gardiner's Corner , at the junction of Leman Street , Commercial Street and Whitechapel High Street . The Halal restaurant on
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#17328015154491342-725: The Other Half Lives , donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss . The Siege of Sidney Street (also known as the Battle of Stepney , after the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney of which Whitechapel was part) in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces, and Latvian revolutionaries. Then Home Secretary Winston Churchill took over
1403-625: The Pavilion this way: "A large East-end theatre capable of holding considerably over 3,000 persons. Melodrama of a rough type, farce, pantomime, &c. " In the early 20th century it became the home of Yiddish theatre, catering to the large Jewish population of the area, and gave birth to the Anglo-Jewish 'Whitechapel Boys' avant-garde literary and artistic movement. Since at least the 1970s, Whitechapel and other nearby parts of East London have figured prominently in London's art scene. Probably
1464-650: The Peabody Donation Fund (now the Peabody Trust ) for London's "industrious poor". The red-brick Jacobethan block was designed by H. A. Darbishire and opened in 1864, but was sold by the Trust in the late 1970s and is now a private residential block named The Cloisters. On the opposite corner of Fournier Street from Christ Church is the Ten Bells , a pub that is popularly associated with Jack
1525-421: The Ripper , as two of his female prostitute victims are supposed to have frequented the establishment. Many Ripper tours (a thriving trade) start out nearby. Although the pub has long been refurbished, it still retains some fine original tilework. Prostitution remained a feature of Commercial Street until recently. Dorset Street , which ran off Commercial Street to the west immediately south of Spitalfields Market,
1586-626: The Tudor period. The original purpose of the civil parishes was poor relief. The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of Middlesex , but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets) . The role of the Tower Division ended when Whitechapel became part of the new County of London in 1889, and most civil parish functions were removed when
1647-405: The area joined the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1900. In 1965 there was a further round of changes when the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green and the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar to form the new London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The new borough of Tower Hamlets covered only part of the historic Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets). At
1708-580: The area's most prominent art venue is the Whitechapel Art Gallery , founded in 1901 and long an outpost of high culture in a poor neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood has gentrified, it has gained citywide, and even international, visibility and support. From 2005 the gallery underwent a major expansion, with the support of £3.26 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The expanded facility opened in 2009. Whitechapel in
1769-458: The bomb on a Saturday when the road was less busy. After realising his mistake and unwilling to change the timer on the bomb, he left it on Hanbury Street instead. At 5:45 p.m. a member of the public found the bag and took it to Brick Lane police station which was closed, and then put it into his car boot, driving along Brick Lane. On realising it could have been a bomb he left the car at the junction with Fashion Street and called police, at which time
1830-416: The borough town centre. Whitechapel is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of Charing Cross . The district is primarily built around Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road , which extend from the City of London boundary to just east of Whitechapel station . These two streets together form a section of the originally Roman Road from the Aldgate to Colchester , a route that later became known as
1891-560: The centre of British Jewish refugee life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Local council facilities will be grouped within the old Royal London Hospital building as a civic centre. The local library , now called an Idea Store is located on Whitechapel Road . Whitechapel Road was the location of two 19th-century theatres: The Effingham (1834–1897) and The Pavilion Theatre (1828–1935; building demolished in 1962). Charles Dickens Jr. (eldest child of Charles Dickens ), in his 1879 book Dickens's Dictionary of London , described
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1952-471: The changing character of Spitalfields more generally, but in Commercial Street in particular it was stimulated by the departure of the market in 1991 (and subsequent redevelopment of its buildings), the arrival of a number of private residential developments (especially at the northern end of the street), and the introduction of some modest traffic-calming measures. Many of the commercial units in
2013-589: The city market demanded, such as tanneries, builders' goods yards, laundries, clothes dyers, slaughterhouse -related work, soaperies, and breweries. Whitechapel was strongly notable for foundries, foremost of which was the Whitechapel Bell Foundry , which later cast Philadelphia 's Liberty Bell , Westminster's Big Ben , Bow Bells and more recently the London Olympic Bell in 2012. Population shifts from rural areas to London from
2074-428: The device exploded injuring six people and destroying two vehicles. 51°31′12″N 0°4′9″W / 51.52000°N 0.06917°W / 51.52000; -0.06917 Commercial Street (London) Commercial Street is an arterial road in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney that runs north to south from Shoreditch High Street to Whitechapel High Street through Spitalfields . The road
2135-514: The early 1990s the street has grown increasingly fashionable, while maintaining its busy commercial feel. Spitalfields was historically one of the poorest, most overcrowded and most crime-ridden districts in London: a parliamentary report of 1838 described this area as harbouring "an extremely immoral population; women of the lowest character, receivers of stolen goods, thieves and the most atrocious offenders". The southern section of Commercial Street
2196-425: The early 21st century has figured prominently in London's punk rock and skuzz rock scenes, with the main focal point for this scene being Whitechapel Factory and Rhythm Factory bar, restaurant, and nightclub. This scene includes the likes of The Libertines, Zap!, Nova , The Others , Razorlight, and The Rakes, all of whom have had some commercial success in the music charts. The total population of Whitechapel in 2021
2257-424: The historic station which underwent a massive redevelopment that started in 2010. In order to prepare for Crossrail, in January 2016, the old Whitechapel station was closed for refurbishment and modernisation work in order to improve services and increase capacity in the station. The Royal London Hospital was closed and re-opened behind the original site in 2012 in a brand new building costing £650m. The old site
2318-548: The junction of St Mark Street and Alie Street opened in 1939 to serve the many Indian seamen living in the area. It is now the oldest Indian restaurant in East London. Whitechapel remained poor through the first half of the 20th century, though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage from enemy bombers during the Blitz , and from the subsequent German V-weapon attacks. The parish church, St Mary Matfelon ,
2379-491: The large numbers of German people who came to the area; many of these people, and their descendants, worked in the sugar industry. The St George's German Lutheran Church on Alie Street is a legacy of that part of the community. Writing of the period 1883–1884, Yiddish theatre actor Jacob Adler wrote, "The further we penetrated into this Whitechapel, the more our hearts sank. Was this London? Never in Russia, never later in
2440-408: The late 1960s and early 1970s, including a 22-storey tower block , Denning Point. The estate is now managed by Eastend Homes, and in 2012 was undergoing a major programme of regeneration that would see the demolition and replacement of several of the blocks. To the south again is the 11-storey Ibis London City budget hotel (opened 2005), and beyond that, at the junction with Whitechapel High Street ,
2501-668: The leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism. He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety. The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitative work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw , whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Lenin , led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia. The area
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2562-503: The market, to the Eastern Counties Railway 's Bishopsgate terminus and to Shoreditch High Street , was made between 1849 and 1857 and opened in 1858. In both phases of development there was some initial difficulty in finding tenants for the building plots, and much of the street was not built up until the 1860s and 1870s. Only once Great Eastern Street had been laid out further north between 1872 and 1876, creating
2623-555: The mass mobilisation of the local Bengali community. The gardens of the former churchyard were later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory. The Metropolitan line between Hammersmith and Whitechapel was withdrawn in 1990 and shown separately as a new line called the Hammersmith & City line . Crossrail calls at Whitechapel station on the Elizabeth line . Eastbound services will be split into two branches after leaving
2684-601: The modern Royal London Hospital. The Mount is widely believed to have formed part of London's defences during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century. This was either as part of a ring of fortifications known as the Lines of Communication which were in operation from 1642 to 1647, or additionally or alternatively, as one of the three forts which replaced that system of defence immediately afterwards. The mount
2745-461: The operation, and his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time. His biographers disagreed and claimed that he gave no operational commands to the police, but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions". The Freedom Press , a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in
2806-476: The same time, the area became part of the new Greater London , which replaced the older, smaller County of London . Whitechapel, along with areas such as neighbouring Shoreditch , Holborn (west of the city) and Southwark (south of the Thames), was one of London's earlier extra-mural suburbs. Beyond controls of the City of London Corporation , Whitechapel was used for more polluting and land-intensive industries
2867-488: The street are now occupied by fashionable clothing shops or restaurants. The street's most significant features are Hawksmoor 's grand Christ Church , on the corner of Fournier Street ; and (almost opposite) Spitalfields Market , the old fruit and vegetable market that is now bustling again after a long period of uncertainty. Both the market buildings and Christ Church are lucky survivors, as demolition has loomed for both of them at one point or another. The northern end of
2928-492: The street is dominated on its eastern side by the sprawling Exchange Building , an Art Deco former tobacco works, now residential. On the western side stands the former Commercial Street Police Station (built 1874-5, with an extra storey added in 1906), also now a residential block named Burhan Uddin House. Just to its south, with a wing extending into Folgate Street, is the first tenement block of model dwellings to be erected by
2989-440: The trade. On 8 September 1888, the body of Annie Chapman was found in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street. Chapman is generally held to have been the second victim of Jack the Ripper . Today, buildings with shops below and flats above can still be found on the south side of Hanbury Street, across from the murder site. But 29, which was on the north side of the street, no longer exists, having been demolished. The Old Truman Brewery
3050-714: The worst slums of New York, were we to see such poverty as in the London of the 1880s." This endemic poverty drove many women to prostitution. In October 1888 the Metropolitan Police estimated that there were 1,200 prostitutes "of very low class" resident in Whitechapel and about 62 brothels. Reference is specifically made to them in Charles Booth 's Life and Labour of the People in London , especially to dwellings called Blackwall Buildings belonging to Blackwall Railway. Such prostitutes were numbered amongst
3111-466: Was "The relief of all sick and diseased persons and, in particular, manufacturers, seamen in the merchant service and their wives and children". The hospital moved to the then largely rural Whitechapel Road site in 1757, and was renamed the London Hospital. It became known as the Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The new building, adjacent to the old building it replaced,
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#17328015154493172-519: Was 18,841. Bangladeshis are the largest ethnic group in the area, making up 40% of the Whitechapel ward total population. The East London Mosque at the end of Whitechapel Road is one of the largest mosques in Europe. The mosque group was established as early as 1910, and the demand for a mosque grew as the Sylheti community grew rapidly over the years. In 1985 this large, purpose built mosque with
3233-625: Was badly damaged in a raid on 29 December 1940, a raid so damaging that it caused the Second Great Fire of London . The remains were demolished in 1952. St Mary's traced stone footprint and former graveyard remain, as part of Altab Ali Park . On 4 May 1978, three teenagers murdered Altab Ali , a 24 year old Bangladesh-born clothing worker, in a racially motivated attack, as he walked home after work. The attack took place on Adler Street, by St Mary's Churchyard, where St Mary Matfelon had previously stood. The reaction to his murder provoked
3294-410: Was created in 1843–5 as part of a slum clearance programme, and to connect the Whitechapel thoroughfare with Spitalfields Market . It was laid out by the architect and planner Sir James Pennethorne along the approximate line of former Essex Street, Rose Lane and Red Lion Street, and entailed the demolition of some 250 sub-standard properties in Whitechapel and Spitalfields. The extension north from
3355-505: Was dubbed the "worst street in London". Much of the southern section of the street is occupied by warehouse buildings of the 1860s. Wentworth Street (part of the busy Petticoat Lane Market ) runs off Commercial Street to the west. Immediately to the south of Wentworth Street lies the Holland Estate, a social housing estate with elements dating back to the 1920s, but which is dominated on its Commercial Street frontage by blocks of
3416-516: Was established so people did not have to make the longer journey to Stepney's parish church St Dunstans . The earliest known rector was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329. 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. The etymology of the Matfelon element
3477-460: Was extended to cover the entire block on the north side of Hanbury Street; since 2004 this has been the site of Sunday (Up)Market. [1] British entertainer Bud Flanagan was born at 12 Hanbury Street in 1896. Neo-Nazi militant David Copeland attempted to detonate a nail-bomb upon Hanbury Street on Saturday 24 April 1999. Copeland intended to place the bomb on adjoining Brick Lane during its weekly market held on Sundays, but mistakenly planted
3538-569: Was much more than most vicar's and rector's livings, net. Supporting modern education, the Davenant Centre continues and the Davenant Foundation School has, since 1966, been based at Loughton in Essex . The London Infirmary was established as a voluntary hospital in 1740, and within a year soon moved from Finsbury to Prescot Street, a very densely populated and deprived part of southern Whitechapel. Its aim
3599-518: Was opened in 2012. In 2023 the old hospital building became the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall , replacing the Mulberry Place site in Poplar . In common with many other parts of the East End of London , Whitechapel gained a reputation for severe poverty, overcrowding, and the social problems that came with it. William Booth began his Christian Revival Society , preaching the gospel in
3660-464: Was removed to allow residential development in 1807–1808. In 1680, Ralph Davenant (rector of the parish of Whitechapel), his wife and his sister-in-law bequeathed a large sum for a schoolmaster to teach literacy, numeracy and the "principles of the Church of England" to forty boys of the parish. In the same deed Henry and Sarah Gullifer undertook to provide for the education of thirty poor girls; namely
3721-499: Was then repurchased by the local council to open a new town hall, replacing the existing Town Hall at Mulberry Place. In March 2022, Whitechapel station signs had "হোয়াইটচ্যাপেল" in Bengali installed. The British-Pakistani Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was "delighted" that the signage was installed ahead of Bangladesh Independence Day on 26 March. The installation was attended by Bangladeshi diplomats and Mamata Banerjee ,
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