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81-513: Spitalfield derived their band name from Spitalfields , a section of London 's East End where Jack the Ripper operated. The band announced their breakup and subsequent goodbye tour on September 10, 2007. Since the breakup, lead vocalist Mark Rose has pursued a solo singer/songwriter career. The band played a secret show on October 6, 2012 at Santos Party House in New York City, under

162-613: A blog called Spitalfields Life , writing under the pseudonym "The Gentle Author", and promising to post 10,000 daily essays. As of June 2020 , the writer had posted over 4,000 articles about life in Spitalfields, and the surrounding areas within walking distance. The economic makeup of Spitalfields is primarily centred around its four marketplaces. Old Spitalfields Market is the main one where traders sell antiques, food and fashion items, while Petticoat Lane Market mainly sells general clothing. Spitalfields has no connection to

243-424: A London cholera epidemic led The Poor Man's Guardian (18 February 1832) to write of Spitalfields: The low houses are all huddled together in close and dark lanes and alleys, presenting at first sight an appearance of non-habitation, so dilapidated are the doors and windows:- in every room of the houses, whole families, parents, children and aged grandfathers swarm together. In 1860, a treaty with France allowed

324-727: A county', having its own Lord Lieutenant (the Constable of the Tower ), it raised units in its own right (though in the Tower Hamlets, as elsewhere, not all units raised bore the name of their Lord Lieutenancy area). A significant number of units were raised, a noteworthy example being the East Metropolitan RVC (11th Tower Hamlets) which was entirely made up of Jewish Volunteers. The profusion of units, some very short lived before being amalgamated or discontinued, makes

405-507: A further amalgamation saw the loss of local identity in this last Tower Hamlets unit and the last of the Tower Hamlets name in the British Army. Some current British Army units, recruited on a much broader geographical basis, count Tower Hamlets units as part of their historic lineage. Various historical sources list different components of the division, but its overall area remained the same. The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 enumerated

486-782: A guard, a limited siege, using the City of London Trained Bands (the Tower Hamlets Trained Band garrisoning the Tower were separate from the City of London Trained Bands) under the popular Philip Skippon from 12 January. Around 20 January, the Constable (with the permission of the King) answered a summons and appeared before a House of Lords committee in Westminster to answer for his build-up of armaments. That night, with

567-469: A large Trained Band ready to serve outside the Liberty and this would later be organised into two regiments. By early 1643, the Tower Hamlets forces, together with those of Westminster and Southwark joined those of the City under the command of Sir Philip Skippon , who had previously tried to get the Tower Hamlets troops to betray the Tower to him before the start of the war. By 1644 The regiment of

648-471: A large cemetery with a mortuary chapel and stone charnel house . The chapel has been uncovered by archaeologists and preserved for public viewing. The priory and hospital were dissolved in 1539 under Henry VIII . At the time of the dissolution, the hospital had beds for 180 sick poor. The inner precinct of priory hospital was adjacent to the area that later became the Hamlet and parish of Spitalfields, in

729-506: A new London Regiment , though the Tower Hamlets units retained their local identities and traditions and affinities gained while attached to regular regiments. The 4th Bn Royal Fusiliers (previously the 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Brigade) became the 4th Bn while the 9th Bn The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) (previously the 2nd Tower Hamlets) became the 17th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) . Both these units saw extensive combat in

810-464: A pair of 18th-century silk merchants' houses, onto which London practice 6a Architects added two contemporary galleries, it stands on the part of the street known until 1895 as Raven Row. Whitechapel Art Gallery is at the bottom of Brick Lane. Amongst the many well known artists living in Spitalfields are Gilbert and George , Ricardo Cinalli , Tracey Emin and Stuart Brisley . TV presenter, architecture expert and Georgian fanatic Dan Cruickshank

891-605: A regular regiment, The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) . The Militia became the 7th Battalion, the 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps became the 9th Battalion and the 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Brigade (THVRB) also joined the regiment but retained its own name. In 1881 these latter two unit became part of the East London Brigade for training and mobilisation purposes but remained part of The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) regiment. The 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Brigade (THVRB) used

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972-556: A religious order) erected on the east side of the Bishopsgate thoroughfare in 1197, from which its name is thought to derive ("spital" being a corruption of the word "hospital".) An alternative, and possibly earlier, name for the area was Lolsworth . The area was a part of the manor and ancient parish of Stepney before the Domesday Book of 1086. Parish areas originally had only ecclesiastical (church) functions; but

1053-464: A ring of parliamentary fortifications around London. Despite this the support for Parliament remained generally robust throughout the coming war. The strategic importance of the Tower, together with its money and munitions meant Charles I was careful to install a Constable of the Tower , John Byron , who was loyal to him. In late December 1641 and early January 1642 Byron brought in stores of artillery and other armaments, parliament responded by putting

1134-633: A series of amalgamations. The longest to bear the local name were the Tower Hamlets Rifles who went through the Second World War as infantry. Both these Tower Hamlets Battalions (9th and 10th) of the Rifle Brigade were amalgamated to form 656th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Tower Hamlets) TA in 1947 and from 1961 to 1967 were known as the 300th (Tower Hamlets) Light Air Defence Regiment RA (TA) . In 1967

1215-571: Is a registered charity promoting public understanding of the Huguenot heritage and culture in Spitalfields, the City of London and beyond. They arrange tours, talks, events and schools programmes to raise the Huguenot profile in Spitalfields and to raise funds for a permanent memorial to the Huguenots. From the 1730s Irish weavers came, after a decline in the Irish linen industry, to take up work in

1296-407: Is a social project based in an area once an area fenced off and overgrown and is popular among a diverse range of people such as locals without gardens, and is made up of found materials, street art, sculpture and allotments. Nomadic Community Gardens is a temporary project or "meanwhile use" run by a private limited company on behalf of the property developer Londonewcastle, which leases the site to

1377-546: Is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road ). Tower division The Tower Division was a liberty in the ancient county of Middlesex , England . It was also known as the Tower Hamlets , and took its name from the military obligations owed to the Constable of the Tower of London . The term 'Hamlets' probably referred to territorial sub-divisions of

1458-646: Is likely to have led to a reduced responsibilities for the Tower Hamlets JPs. The area's special status ceased in 1889 with the creation of the County of London , and the creation of a Lord Lieutenant for the new county. The Tower division appears to have persisted as a magistracy area well into the 20th century. The Tower of London was normally garrisoned by a small force of Yeoman Warders , but these were supplemented by sometimes large numbers of local Hamlets men, known as Hamleteers . The area also provided

1539-476: The County of London from 1889 and was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney from 1900. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1921. The name Spitalfields appears in the form Spittellond in 1399; as The spitel Fyeld on the "Woodcut" map of London of c.1561; and as Spyttlefeildes , also in 1561. The land belonged to St Mary Spital, a priory or hospital (a lodging for travellers run by

1620-519: The First World War . The army's need for expansion saw the 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment "duplicated" to form four battalions (1/4th, 2/4th, 3/4th and 4/4th); while the Poplar and Stepney Rifles were "duplicated" to form the 1/17th, 2/17th and 3/17th. The Tower Hamlets Engineers, by now a part of the wider Royal Engineers and retaining their local identity but not their name,

1701-588: The Lea and into Essex . The Tower Division was formed sometime in the 17th century but the much older administrative units comprising the area were united in shared military obligations long before this time. The Liberty had judicial and some local government responsibilities, and its military function was unique. The growth of population around the City of London led to the Ossulstone Hundred being divided into four divisions, with each division taking on

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1782-772: The London Underground . Historically it had a station on the Great Eastern Main Line called Bishopsgate (Low Level) that opened on the 4 November 1872, but closed on 22 May 1916. Shoreditch tube station , the northern terminus of the East London Line , technically lay within the boundaries of Spitalfields, but principally served Shoreditch : it closed in 2006. Liverpool Street station (mainline and underground), Aldgate East (underground) and Shoreditch High Street ( London Overground ) are all in close proximity to Spitalfields. The area

1863-630: The Ridings of Yorkshire . The area had its own Justices of the Peace (JPs) , appointed by the Constable of the Tower (as Lord Lieutenant) , who administered both judicial and civil functions, mainly through their quarter sessions . The usual civic functions of JPs in England included: There is conflicting evidence around the county-level civil responsibilities exercised by the Tower Division;

1944-542: The Royal Artillery (RA) as an Anti-aircraft artillery unit, the 60th (City of London) AA Brigade, RA (TA) . The unit retained its Tower Hamlets identity, if not its name, and saw action on the home front and in continental Europe. Descendant units of the Tower Hamlets Engineers were also extensively involved in the conflict. After the war the Tower Hamlets units lost their identities through

2025-551: The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968. The modern regiment is headquartered at the Tower of London, where laid up Colours of the regiment are kept. The Fusiliers also maintain a museum at the Tower. While most UK militia fell into disuse in the early 19th century, the Tower Hamlets Militia endured, becoming known in the late 19th century as the Tower Hamlets Militia (Queen's Own Light Infantry) and using

2106-705: The Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets) , a historic ‘county within a county’, under the leadership of the Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets (the post was always filled by the Constable of the Tower of London) . The military loyalty to the Tower meant local men served in the Tower garrison and Tower Hamlets Militia, rather than the Middlesex Militia. The role of the Tower Division ended when Spitalfields became part of

2187-602: The UK Parliament since 2010 by Rushanara Ali of the Labour Party . The Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum , which is constitituted of Spitalfields residents, business operators, community organisations and other local interests, is intended to help local people influence neighbourhood planning policies. The Romans had a cemetery to the east of the Bishopsgate thoroughfare, which roughly follows

2268-655: The White Tower as its cap badge at this time and used the Tower of London moat for training and drilling. Machine Gun elements of this unit were sent to the 2nd Boer War and earned a battle honour at Colenso . In 1904 the 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Brigade (THVRB) was transferred from The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) regiment to the Royal Fusiliers a historic regiment originally formed in 1685 primarily from Tower Hamlets men. In 1908 London's reserve infantry forces were re-organised to form

2349-498: The curry capital of London. By 1981, at least 60% of households were of minority ethnic origin. Another development, from the 1960s onwards, has been a campaign to save the housing stock of old merchant terraces west of Brick Lane from demolition. Many have been conserved by the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust which has led to gentrification and a large increase in property prices. In

2430-652: The dissenting Huguenots, who had built ten chapels in the area. More humble weavers dwellings were congregated in the Tenterground . The Spitalfields Mathematical Society was established in 1717. In 1846, it merged with the Royal Astronomical Society. Spitalfields Market was established in 1638 when Charles I gave a licence for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold in what was then known as Spittle Fields. The market currently receives around 25,000 visitors every week. Huguenots of Spitalfields

2511-552: The " parishes , townships , precincts and places" of the Tower Division for inclusion within the Metropolitan Police District , while the Militia (Tower Hamlets) Act 1796 specified how many men each component should supply to the division's militia . From 1832 to 1885 there was a Parliamentary Borough named "Tower Hamlets", after the Tower Division. From 1832 to 1868 it occupied the same boundaries as

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2592-518: The 21st century, large office blocks were built between Bishopsgate and Spitalfields Market, affecting the character of the area. Conservationists secured the preservation of Old Spitalfields Market and the provision of shopping, leisure amenities and a plaza (urban square) beside the blocks, but permission was granted to developers, to demolish the Fruit and Wool exchange on the edge of old Spitalfields market, in order to erect office buildings. Since 1998

2673-561: The Abyss (1903), the journalistic memoir by Jack London ; Hawksmoor (1985) by Peter Ackroyd ; Rodinsky's Room (1999) by Iain Sinclair and Rachel Lichtenstein ; Brick Lane (2003) by Monica Ali ; and The Quincunx (1991) by Charles Palliser . 19th-century Spitalfields is the setting for the film From Hell , a fictional retelling of the story of Jack the Ripper. In December 2009 an anonymous Spitalfields resident started

2754-629: The Constable away, Skippon led a force of 500 men of the London Trained Bands under the cover of darkness, to the narrow streets of St Katharines district, by the riverside, just east of the Tower. Skippon and his men approached the Iron Gate , a small now lost feature (its site, on the east bank of the moat, is under the Tower Bridge Approach Road), outside the moat which protected a postern which opened out from

2835-609: The Develin Tower. The Tower was protected by a force of Hamleteers, but Skippon knew the areas political loyalties were with Parliament. Skippon believed he could seize the fortress in a coup de main by persuading the Hamleteers to let his force into the Tower, hold it and thereby transform the strategic and political situation in the capital. Skippon called on the Sergeant on the Iron Gate to let his men through so that

2916-526: The Hamleteer contribution to the Tower's garrison seems to have varied greatly. Records from 1610 show a modest 9 men per night on duty, but in 1641, a tight of great tension, 552 Hamleteers are recorded as guarding the Tower on a nine-night rota. The size of the contribution varied according to which area's men were on duty: on one evening Whitechapel provided 45 men, while on another Hackney , Bow , Bromley-by-Bow and Old Ford together provided 85. In

2997-732: The Hamlets area, with the Constable of the Tower also having responsibility for the upkeep of the local part of the Thames and Lea . Tower Hamlets units are recorded as being present at the Tilbury muster in August 1588, when Elizabeth I reviewed the English troops available to face the expected Spanish invasion . It was there that the Queen delivered her famous Tilbury address . The size of

3078-547: The Severs as an "historical imagination" of what life would have been like inside for a family of Huguenot silk weavers. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has its headquarters nearby, at 37 Spital Square, a Georgian terraced house once inhabited by Huguenots and Russian Jewish leatherworkers. In 2009, Raven Row, a non-profit contemporary art centre, opened to the public at 56 Artillery Lane. Constructed in

3159-487: The Tower Division, with the best known MP for the area being Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda , a well known shipbuilder and an officer in the 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps . After 1868, population growth saw the constituency split in two; the southern part of the area kept the name Tower Hamlets while Hackney , Shoreditch and Bethnal Green became part of a new Hackney constituency. The southern, Tower Hamlets constituency, persisted until 1885. The name "Tower Hamlets"

3240-641: The Tower Hamlets is estimated to have 2-3000 men, while the strength of the reserve Yellow regiment of the Auxiliaries of the Tower Hamlets is not known. Under Skippon's leadership, the Tower Hamlets Trained Bands saw action at Basing House (1643), Cropredy Bridge (1644), Newbridge (1644) and on their own territory, when the Yellow regiment fought at Bow Bridge in 1648. Regimental Flag designs varied but some versions featured

3321-399: The Tower Hamlets Militia, which could be deployed in the field in the event of invasion or rebellion. There was no peacetime standing army in England until the interregnum , and when regular units were formed they were typically raised from wider geographical districts than the Tower Hamlets; however, the area has provided some examples of regular forces. The earliest surviving reference to

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3402-626: The Tower of London's White Tower with the Traitors' Gate watergate in the foreground. The troops wore buff sleeveless jackets to mark them out as a Trained Band, soldiers with higher status and value than ordinary Militia. In 1685, during the Monmouth Rebellion , King James II raised a force of infantry from the Tower of London garrison; the Tower Hamlets Militia. The Regiment was formed of two companies of Militia and one of miners and

3483-416: The Tower would fall into Parliament's hands. The Serjeant would not let them in, and the force waited for some time in the hope that he could be talked round. The Sergeant refused a second attempt to persuade him and Skippon's force dispersed when the Constable returned from parliament just before 10pm. It seemed that the historic local bonds proved more powerful than the highly charged political affiliations of

3564-535: The White Tower as its cap badge. An invasion scare of 1857 saw the creation of the Volunteer Force which included both Engineer and Rifle Volunteer Corps and which in the case of the Tower Hamlets supplemented the existing militia. These Volunteer units were raised by members of the community with the permission of their county's Lord Lieutenant , but as Tower Hamlets was effectively a 'county within

3645-622: The area has formed part of the Spitalfields and Banglatown electoral ward. The name reflecting the areas strong links with Bangladesh. In September 2015, a demonstration against gentrification in London took the form of a protest at Cereal Killer Cafe , a hipster café on Brick Lane which serves cereal. Spitalfields has a very strong sense of local community, with the Spitalfields Community Group aiming to represent

3726-551: The creation of the Liberty, and as the Hamlets are described as "owing" service there must have been a customary duty long before that date. Some believe the relationship goes back to the time of the Conqueror, but others suggest it came later in the medieval period when the Hamlets had a higher population. It is thought that duty had its origin in the rights and obligations of the Manor of Stepney which once covered most or all of

3807-474: The day. Under normal circumstances Skippon would have been put on trial and executed for his actions, but Parliament swiftly exonerated him. Before the outbreak of the first English Civil War, parliament had managed to use political pressure to get the King to install a Constable, Sir John Conyers, sympathetic to their cause. Knowing his position in London was weak, the King fled the capital before war broke out in

3888-475: The extent to which the civil autonomy mirrored the military autonomy, and for how long. Unlike the other divisions, the Tower Division was outside the jurisdiction of the Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, with the Constable of the Tower exercising lieutenancy powers, usually with the ex-officio title of Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets . This began when the right of the Constable to exact guard duty

3969-623: The garden operator for a peppercorn rent and provided start-up funding. Londonewcastle gained planning consent for a development of "affordable housing, townhouses and apartments" on the site in November 2015. Construction on the Fleet Street Hill Project was intended to commence in 2016 but, as of June 2019, no work has begun on the site. Dennis Severs' House in Folgate Street is a "still-life drama" created by

4050-488: The historic Old Spitalfields Market , Brick Lane Market and Petticoat Lane Market . The area has a long attracted migrants from overseas, including many Jews, whose presence gained the area the 19th century nickname of Little Jerusalem . It was a Hamlet (autonomous area) of the large ancient parish of Stepney in Middlesex , and became an independent parish in 1729. Just outside the City of London , it formed part of

4131-401: The import of cheaper French silks. This left the many weavers in Spitalfields, as well as neighbouring Bethnal Green and Shoreditch , unemployed and indigent. New trades such as furniture and boot making came to the area, and the large windowed Huguenot houses were found suitable for tailoring, attracting a new population of Jewish refugees drawn to live and work in the textile industry. By

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4212-527: The inhabitants of the Tower Hamlets having a duty to provide a guard for the Tower of London dates from 1554, during the reign of Mary I . Sir Richard Southwell and Sir Arthur Darcye were ordered by the Privy Council in that year to muster the men of the Hamlets "whiche owe their service to the Towre, and to give commaundement that they may be in aredynes for the defence of the same. This was long before

4293-517: The late 17th century. The main local industry at that time was weaving, and many of the weavers were Huguenot refugees from France. Spitalfields' historic association with the silk industry was established by French Protestant (Huguenot) refugees who settled in the area after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. By settling outside the bounds of the City of London , they hoped to avoid

4374-410: The later 19th century, inner Spitalfields became known as the worst criminal rookery in London and common lodging-houses in the Flower and Dean Street area were a focus for the activities of robbers and pimps. In 1881 Flower and Dean Street was described as being "perhaps the foulest and most dangerous street in the metropolis". Another claimant to the distinction of being the worst street in London

4455-416: The lead-up to the war, London and the eastern counties were broadly in sympathy with Parliament and against the King , with the Tower Hamlets being notably ardent in its parliamentary sympathies. This wasn't always a militant radicalism though, as evidenced when the war-weary poor of Stepney, seeking compromise with the King, partially demolished a parliamentarian strongpoint in the Lines of Communication ,

4536-452: The line of Ermine Street : the main highway to the north from Londinium. The cemetery was noticed by the antiquarian John Stow in 1576 and was the focus of a major archaeological excavation in the 1990s, following the redevelopment of Spitalfields Market. In 2013, Janet Montgomery of Durham University undertook lead isotope analysis of tooth enamel , identifying the first person from Rome known to have been buried in Britain. She

4617-410: The lineage of Tower Hamlets units sometimes unclear. The Cardwell Reforms of 1871 saw the volunteer element of the armed forces re-organised and given more supervision and support from central government. The local engineer unit became known at this time as the 2nd Tower Hamlets (East London) Engineer Volunteers . The infantry units retained their local identity but became reserve forces attached to

4698-418: The market for silk. The riots ended in an Irish and a Huguenot weaver being hanged in front of the Salmon and Ball public house at Bethnal Green . Price controls on amounts master weavers could pay journeymen for each piece were established, removing incentives to pay higher wages during good times. During bad times workers had no work. As the price was per piece, there was no incentive for using machinery, as

4779-402: The master weavers controlling the silk industry, and grand urban mansions built around the newly created Bishops Square which adjoins the short section of the main east–west street known as Spital Square. Christ Church, Spitalfields on Fournier Street , designed by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor , was built during the reign of Queen Anne to demonstrate the power of the established church to

4860-542: The master would have to pay for the machine and still pay the same price per piece to journeymen. By 1822 labour rates were so above market labour rates, that much of the employment in silk manufacture had moved away. Remaining manufacture focussed on expensive fashion items, which required proximity to court and had higher margins. In 1729, Spitalfields was detached from the parish of Stepney , and became an independent parish; by this time parish areas had both civil and ecclesiastical (church) functions. The area's parish church

4941-544: The monasteries which had provided extensive charitable work on a voluntary basis, were dissolved by Henry VIII, creating increased hardship. The government responded by making parish areas take on civil functions, primarily a new Poor Law intended to fill the gap left by monasteries. Stepney was a very large and populous parish, and by the late 17th century it had devolved its civil parish functions to autonomous areas called Hamlets (in this context meaning territorial sub-divisions, rather than small villages), of which Spitalfields

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5022-497: The name The Cloak & Dagger Club (the name of the band's first EP). "Secrets in Mirrors" was pre-loaded in the Walkman NW-E013 model. Spitalfields Spitalfields ( / ˈ s p ɪ t əl f iː l d z / ) is an area in London , England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets . It is in East London and situated in the East End . Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street and Brick Lane . It has several markets, including Spitalfields Market ,

5103-404: The new County of London in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965. Nearly all (except a tiny area north of the railway, in Weaver's Ward) of the district is part of the Spitalfields & Banglatown ward, which elects two councillors to Tower Hamlets Borough Council . Spitalfields is in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, represented in the House of Commons of

5184-450: The parish of Stepney – and its daughter parishes – rather than to the usual meaning of a small village. In contemporary terms, the Liberty covered inner East London , the area now administered by the eponymous modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets together with most of the modern London Borough of Hackney ( Shoreditch and Hackney proper ). The Liberty was seen as synonymous with East London until East London extended further, east of

5265-424: The people who both live and work, this is to build a better sense of community as well as improve the quality of life of its members and their neighbours in Spitalfields. and the Spitalfields Music who strengthen the local community through musical events. The Spitalfields Housing Association also works closely with residents by providing good quality community services. A community garden, Nomadic Community Gardens,

5346-588: The restrictive legislation of the City guilds . The Huguenots brought with them little, apart from their skills, and an Order in Council of 16 April 1687 raised £200,000 to relieve their poverty. In December 1687, the first report of the committee set up to administer the funds reported that 13,050 French refugees were settled in London, primarily around Spitalfields, but also in the nearby settlements of Bethnal Green , Shoreditch , Whitechapel and Mile End New Town . The late 17th and 18th centuries saw an estate of well-appointed terraced houses, built to accommodate

5427-409: The role of the hundred . The other three divisions of the hundred were named Finsbury , Holborn and Kensington . The Tower Division was different from the other divisions in that, as well as taking on hundred responsibilities, it also took on the responsibilities – judicial, civil and military – normally exercised at county level, making the Tower Hamlets a "county within a county", comparable to

5508-403: The silk trade. The 18th century saw periodic crises in the silk industry, brought on by imports of French silk – in a lull between the wars between the two rivals; and imports of printed calicos . The depression in the trade and the prices paid to weavers led to protests. In 1769, the Spitalfield riots occurred when attempts were made to disperse protest meetings by weavers during the downturn in

5589-401: The special jurisdiction of the Tower of London as one of its Tower Liberties . Other parts of the priory area were used for residential purposes by London dwellers seeking a rural retreat and by the mid-17th century further development extended eastward into the erstwhile open farmland of the Spital Field. Spitalfields consisted mainly of fields and nursery gardens until its development in

5670-461: The summer. The Tower proved an extremely valuable asset to Parliament throughout the war. In the early years of the English Civil War both Parliament and the King relied on local Militias such as that of the Tower Hamlets. Generally speaking these forces were county based and very reluctant to leave their home areas. A notable few organised "Trained Bands" of more highly motivated and reliable men willing to spend more time training – Tower Hamlets had

5751-409: The tiny extra-parochial area called the Liberty of Norton Folgate . Although the chapel and monastic buildings were mostly demolished in the time of Henry VIII, the Liberty remained an autonomous area outside of any parish. The adjacent outer precincts, to the south, were re-used for artillery practice by the gunners of the Tower of London . The area, known as the Old Artillery Ground was placed under

5832-508: Was Christ Church, Spitalfields , with St Stephen Spitalfields added later. The church of St Stephen Spitalfields was built in 1860 by public subscription but was demolished in 1930. The adjacent vicarage is all that remains. By the Victorian era , the silk industry had entered a long decline and the old merchant dwellings had degenerated into multi-occupied slums. Spitalfields became a by-word for urban deprivation, and, by 1832, concern about

5913-508: Was Dorset Street , which was highlighted by the brutal killing and mutilation of a young woman, Mary Jane Kelly , in her lodgings here by the serial killer, Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888. The murder was the climax of a series of murders that became known as the Whitechapel Murders . The renewed focus on the area's poverty helped prompt the decision to demolish some local slums in 1891–94. Deprivation continued and

5994-433: Was a 25-year-old woman, buried in a lead-lined stone sarcophagus around the middle of the 4th century A.D., and accompanied by grave goods of jet and glass . In 1197, a priory , The New Hospital of St Mary without Bishopsgate , latterly known as St Mary Spital , was founded by Walter Brunus and his wife Roisia, and built on the site of the cemetery. It was one of the biggest hospitals in medieval England and had

6075-595: Was also heavily involved in the conflict. In 1926 the Poplar and Stepney Rifles was renamed the 17th London Regiment (Tower Hamlets Rifles). In 1937 the London Regiment was abolished and the Tower Hamlets Rifles were transferred back to The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) regiment, seeing action in North Africa and Italy. The increasing importance of aerial warfare saw the former 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment being transferred to

6156-498: Was an active campaigner for Spitalfields, and continues to live in the area. Writer Jeanette Winterson turned a derelict Georgian house into an organic food shop, Verde's, as part of the Slow Food movement. Spitalfields figures in a number of works of literature, including A New Wonder, a Woman Never Vexed (performed 1610–14; printed 1632) by William Rowley , a dramatisation of the foundation of St Mary Spital; The People of

6237-480: Was an unelected body, responsible for certain infrastructure functions. Spitalfields became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1900 and was abolished as a civil parish in 1921. It became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 1965. 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

6318-461: Was brought to notice by social commentators such as Jack London in his The People of the Abyss (1903). He highlighted 'Itchy Park', next to Christ Church, Spitalfields, as a notorious rendezvous for homeless people. In the late 20th century the Jewish presence diminished and was replaced by an influx of Bangladeshi immigrants, who also worked in the local textile industry and made Brick Lane

6399-406: Was extended in 1605 to the raising of a militia, the Tower Hamlets Militia. Counties were the principal way in which military forces were raised and the creation of the liberty and exemption from county based obligations saw East London made a distinct military unit. The Metropolitan Board of Works was established in 1855 in order to lead on the provision of infrastructure in the capital, and this

6480-664: Was known as the Ordnance Regiment and was soon renamed the Royal Fusiliers , after the fusil, the type of musket they were equipped with. The Tower Hamlets Militia helped form the Fusiliers and subsequent Tower Hamlets reserve units would come under the organisational wing of the regiment. The regiment later became known as the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) and The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) before merging with other Fusilier regiments to form

6561-647: Was one. In 1729, the Hamlet of Spitalfields became an independent daughter parish. The area's parish church was Christ Church, Spitalfields , with St Stephen Spitalfields (demolished in 1930) added later. In 1855, the parish became part of the Whitechapel District within the Metropolitan Board of Works area. Spitalfields Vestry nominated twelve members to the Whitechapel District Board of Works. The Board of Works

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