88-631: Wapping ( / ˈ w ɒ p ɪ ŋ / ) is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End . Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between St Katharine Docks to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This position gives the district a strong maritime character. The area was historically composed of two parishes, St George in
176-545: A borough in London , England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London , the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of the regenerated London Docklands area. The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745. Some of the tallest buildings in London occupy Canary Wharf , one of the country's largest financial districts, in
264-493: A concentration of poor people and immigrants throughout the area. These problems were exacerbated by the construction of St Katharine Docks (1827) and the central London railway termini (1840–1875) with many displaced people moving into the area following the clearance of former slums and rookeries . Over the course of a century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease and criminality. The area
352-522: A considerable black presence in late 18th century Wapping, on account of the many black and mulatto (mixed race) people, often seamen, being baptised at the two parish churches of St John's and in particular St George in the East. There appears to also have been a sizeable black population in the areas to the west, the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate (both the Portsoken and East Smithfield areas of
440-515: A decline in work in the docks, and the closure of many traditional industries. The Abercrombie Plan for London (1944) began an exodus from London towards the new towns . This decline began to reverse with the establishment of the London Docklands Development Corporation bringing new industries and housing to the brownfield sites along the river. Also contributing was new immigration from Asia beginning in
528-490: A government quango with the task of redeveloping the Docklands. The London Docks were largely filled in and redeveloped with a variety of commercial, light industrial and residential properties. St John's Church, Wapping (1756) was located on what is now Scandrett Street. Only the tower and shell survived wartime bombing, and have now been converted to housing. The "Wapping dispute" or "Battle of Wapping" was, along with
616-469: A little after ten o'clock, Colley, Cole, and Blanche, the three sailors convicted of the murder of Captain Little, were brought out of Newgate, and conveyed in solemn procession to Execution Dock, there to receive the punishment awarded by law. On the cart on which they rode was an elevated stage; on this were seated Colley, the principal instigator in the murder, in the middle, and his two wretched instruments,
704-474: A modern church interior was constructed inside the existing walls for the active congregation and a new flat built under each corner tower. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original cemetery, which was passed to Stepney Council to maintain as a public park in mid-Victorian times. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the crypt of the church was used as a public air raid shelter and
792-532: A new printing plant for all its titles in Wapping, and when the print unions announced a strike it activated this new plant with the assistance of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU). The plant was nicknamed "Fortress Wapping" when the sacked print workers effectively besieged it, mounting round-the-clock pickets and blockades in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to thwart
880-464: A public house on the way to the gallows. An execution at the dock usually meant that crowds lined the river's banks or chartered boats moored in the Thames to get a better view of the hanging. Executions were conducted by the hangmen who worked at either Tyburn or Newgate Prison. With a particular cruelty reserved for those convicted of acts of piracy, hanging was done with a shortened rope . This meant
968-651: A religion and 6.9% did not state their religious views. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Tower Hamlets according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses. There are 21 active churches, affiliated with the Church of England , which include Christ Church of Spitalfields , St Paul's Church of Shadwell and St Dunstan's of Stepney ; and there are also churches of many other Christian denominations. There are more than 40 mosques and Islamic centres in Tower Hamlets. The most famous
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#17327662345181056-468: A sightseeing boat route between Westminster and Greenwich , which call at Wapping. The Ornamental Canal runs through the area, mostly in the centre, to Shadwell Basin . People who were born in Wapping include: People who lived in Wapping: Wapping has been used as the setting for a number of works of fiction, including: Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is
1144-530: A slow death from strangulation on the scaffold as the drop was insufficient to break the prisoner's neck. It was called the Marshal's dance because their limbs would often be seen to 'dance' from slow asphyxiation. Unlike hangings on land, such as at Tyburn, the bodies of pirates at Execution Dock were not immediately cut down following death. Customarily, these corpses were left hanging until at least three tides had washed over their heads. This practice stopped at
1232-458: A store for imported tobacco. In 1990, it was converted into a shopping centre at a development cost of £47 million with the intention to create the " Covent Garden of the East End"; the scheme was unsuccessful though and went into administration. Since the mid-1990s, the building has been almost entirely unoccupied; it is now occasionally used for filming, and for large corporate and commercial events. Three venerable public houses are located near
1320-509: A top-end estate agency recommends that 'extreme luxury' and ultra-modern residential properties are to be found at Canary Riverside, West India Quay, Pan Peninsula and Neo Bankside. Tower Hamlets is the earliest borough where the first skyscrapers were built and since 2014 it saw the completion of over seventy skyscrapers, more than any other place in the UK The End Child Poverty coalition published that Tower Hamlets has
1408-588: Is St John's Old School, founded c.1695 for the new parish and rebuilt together with the church in 1756. The Execution Dock was located on the Thames . It was used by the Admiralty for over 400 years (as late as 1830) to hang pirates that had been convicted and sentenced to death by the Admiralty court . The Admiralty only had jurisdiction over crimes on the sea, so the dock was located within their jurisdiction by being located far enough offshore as to be beyond
1496-580: Is also a major centre of hipster subculture. The earliest reference to the name "Tower Hamlets" was in 1554, when the Council of the Tower of London ordered a muster of "men of the hamlets which owe their service to the tower". This covered a wider area than the present-day borough, and its military relationship with the Tower is thought to have been several centuries earlier than the 1554 record. In 1605,
1584-546: Is first known to be recorded in 1597 and continued to be recorded in Stepney parish rolls in the 1600's. Knock Fergus (the hill of Fergus) is an old name for Carrickfergus in County Antrim . In the 20th century Irish migration to Wapping slowed and by the middle of the century the local Irish community had been assimilated. In 1702, a French-speaking church established at Milk Alley, next to St Johns Church, close to
1672-1011: Is the East London Mosque , one of the first mosques in Britain allowed to broadcast the adhan , and one of the biggest Islamic centres in Europe . The Maryam Centre, a part of the mosque, is the biggest Islamic centre for women in Europe. Opened in 2013, it features a main prayer hall, ameliorated funeral services, education facilities, a fitness centre and support services. The East London Mosque has been visited by several notable people, including Prince Charles , Boris Johnson , many foreign government officials and world-renowned imams and Muslim scholars. Other notable mosques are Brick Lane Mosque , Darul Ummah Masjid, Esha Atul Islam Mosque, Markazi Masjid, Stepney Shahjalal Mosque and Poplar Central Mosque. Other notable religious buildings include
1760-789: The Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue , the Congregation of Jacob Synagogue, the London Buddhist Centre , the Hindu Pragati Sangha Temple, and the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat. The Great Synagogue of London , which was destroyed during the Second World War, is located just outside the borough's boundaries, in the City . The borough hosts the world headquarters of many global financial businesses, employing some of
1848-553: The Lieutenant of the Tower was given the right to muster the militia and the area east of the tower came to be a distinct military unit, officially called Tower Hamlets (or the Tower Division) . The Hamlets of the Tower paid taxes for the militia in 1646. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End. The population of the area grew enormously in the 19th century, leading to extreme overcrowding and
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#17327662345181936-540: The London County Council . Aerial bombing in World War II devastated much of the East End, with its docks, railways and industry forming a continual target. In the separate boroughs making up today's Tower Hamlets a total of 2,221 civilians were killed and 7,472 were injured, with 46,482 houses destroyed and 47,574 damaged. This led to some dispersal of the population to outlying suburbs. New housing
2024-457: The Manor and Parish of Stepney . By the 17th century, it formed two autonomous Hamlets, a Hamlet in this context refers to an autonomous area of a parish rather than a small village. The northern Hamlet was known as Wapping-Stepney , as it was the part of Wapping within Stepney, the riverside part was known as Wapping-Whitechapel as it was the part within the parish of Whitechapel , a parish which
2112-632: The Royal Navy captain had stayed at the Inn. The couple initially settled in Shadwell , attending St Paul's church , but later moved to Mile End . Although they had six children together, much of their married life was spent apart, with Cook absent on his voyages and, after his murder in 1779 at Kealakekua Bay , she survived until 1835. Said to be England's first, the Marine Police Force
2200-696: The Scottish privateer William Kidd . He was hanged on the Wapping foreshore in 1701 after being found guilty of murder and piracy. Although the pub occupies a 17th-century building, it was only established in the 1980s. The local station is Wapping on the London Overground 's East London line ; it is in Travelcard Zone 2 . There are regular direct services to Dalston Junction , Highbury & Islington , West Croydon , Crystal Palace , New Cross and Clapham Junction . The narrowness of
2288-724: The Thames Barrier , further east, has reduced that risk. Regent's Canal enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at Limehouse Basin . A stretch of the Hertford Union Canal leads from the Regent's canal, at a basin in the north of Mile End , to join the River Lea at Old Ford . A further canal, Limehouse Cut , London's oldest, leads from locks at Bromley-by-Bow to Limehouse Basin. Most of
2376-534: The Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets) . The role of the Tower Division ended when Wapping became part of the new County of London in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965. The draining of Wapping Marsh, and the consolidation of a river wall along which houses were built, were finally achieved by 1600 after previous attempts had failed. (See Embanking of
2464-445: The Tower of London . The local authority is Tower Hamlets London Borough Council . In 2017, a joint study by Trust for London and New Policy Institute found Tower Hamlets to be the 2nd most deprived London borough (after Barking and Dagenham ) based on an average calculated across a range of indicators; with high rates of poverty, child poverty , unemployment and pay inequality compared to other London boroughs. However, it has
2552-529: The Tower of London . The procession was led by the High Court Marshal (or his deputy) on horseback. He carried a silver oar that represented the authority of the Admiralty. Prisoners were transported in a cart to Wapping; with them was a chaplain who encouraged them to confess their sins. Just like the execution procession to Tyburn , condemned prisoners were allowed to drink a quart of ale at
2640-432: The miners' strike of 1984–85 , a significant turning point in the history of the trade union movement and of UK industrial relations. It started on 24 January 1986 when some 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike after protracted negotiation with their employer, News International (parent of Times Newspapers and News Group Newspapers, and chaired by Rupert Murdoch ). News International had built and clandestinely equipped
2728-553: The 1970s. According to the 2001 UK Census the population of the borough is approximately 196,106. According to the ONS estimate, the population is 237,900, as of 2010. Crime in the borough increased by 3.5% from 2009 to 2010, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police , having decreased by 24% between 2003/04 and 2007/08. Tower Hamlets has one of the smallest White British populations of any local authority in
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2816-460: The Baptist was built in 1617, and it was here that Thomas Rainsborough was buried. Wapping was constituted as a parish in 1694. Wapping's proximity to the river gave it a strong maritime character for centuries, well into the 20th century. It was inhabited by sailors, mastmakers, boatbuilders, blockmakers, instrument-makers, victuallers and representatives of all the other trades that supported
2904-658: The East , and the much smaller St John's . Urbanisation of the shoreline began in earnest after the draining of Wapping marsh, and the consolidation of the river wall in the late 16th century. Many of the original buildings were demolished during the construction of the London Docks and Wapping was further seriously damaged during the Blitz . As the London Docklands declined after the Second World War ,
2992-472: The East End. This brought the attentions of social reformers during the mid-18th century and led to the formation of unions and workers associations at the end of the century. The radicalism of the East End contributed to the formation of the Labour Party and demands for the enfranchisement of women . Official attempts to address the overcrowded housing began at the beginning of the 20th century under
3080-600: The Labour Party. For the 2019 general election , the borough was split into two constituencies : Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , the subsequent general election will see Tower Hamlets elect MPs in three constituencies. These are; The data below were taken between 1971 and 2000 at the weather station in Greenwich , around 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the borough's former town hall, at Mulberry Place : By 1891, Tower Hamlets – roughly
3168-624: The Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London . From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards . In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs , including the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green , the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar and the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney . The modern borough
3256-533: The Spaniard Blanche, and the Mulatto Cole, on each side of him; and behind, on another seat, two executioners. Colley seemed in a state resembling that of a man stupidly intoxicated, and scarcely awake, and the two discovered little sensibility on this occasion, nor to the last moment of their existence, did they, as we hear, make any confession. They were turned off about a quarter before twelve in
3344-588: The Stairs. By Pelican Stairs is the Prospect of Whitby , formerly the Devil's Tavern, which has a much-disputed claim to be the oldest Thames-side public house still in existence. Be that as it may, there has been an inn on the site since the reign of Henry VIII and it is certainly one of the most famous public houses in London. It is named after a then-famous collier that used to dock regularly at Wapping. A replica of
3432-531: The Thames has meant it has long attracted people from around the world. In the 15th century, the population of the area included a number of foreigners, in particular seamen from the Low Countries . There was a sizeable Irish presence in Wapping from the 16th century onward. It is probably under their influence a stretch of Cable Street , and the area around it, become called Knock Fergus . The Irish name of Knock Fergus (sometimes spelled Knock Vargis )
3520-479: The United Kingdom. No ethnic group forms a majority of the population; a plurality of residents are white (45%), a little over two thirds of whom are White British. 32% of residents are Bangladeshi , which is the largest ethnic minority group in the borough, with Asians as a whole forming 41% of the population. A smaller proportion are of Black African and Caribbean descent (7%), with Somalis representing
3608-585: The ancient civil parish of Stepney – was already one of the most populated areas in London. Throughout the nineteenth century, the local population increased by an average of 20% every ten years. The building of the docks intensified land use and caused the last marshy areas in the south of the parish to be drained for housing and industry. In the north of the borough, employment was principally in weaving, small household industries like boot and furniture making and new industrial enterprises like Bryant and May . The availability of cheap labour drew in many employers. To
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3696-438: The area became run down, with the great warehouses left empty. Some were demolished, but others such as Tobacco Dock survive. The area underwent further change during the 1980s when warehouses started to be converted into luxury flats. Rupert Murdoch moved his News International printing and publishing works into Wapping in 1986, resulting in a trade union dispute that became known as the " Battle of Wapping ". Formerly, it
3784-558: The area from Tudor times . The area attracted large numbers of rural people looking for employment. Successive waves of foreign immigration began with Huguenot refugees creating a new extramural suburb in Spitalfields in the 17th century. They were followed by Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews and, in the 20th century, Bangladeshis . Many of these immigrants worked in the clothing industry. The abundance of semi- and unskilled labour led to low wages and poor conditions throughout
3872-466: The borough has one of the lowest proportions of population over the age of 65 or older in England and Wales, at 5.6%. Tower Hamlets is a religious diverse borough with various places of worship . According to the 2021 census, 39.9% of the population was Muslim , 22.3% Christian , 2.0% Hindu , 1.0% Buddhist , 0.4% Jewish , 0.3% Sikh , 0.5% followed some other religion, 26.6% were not affiliated to
3960-564: The borough have high levels of racial segregation . The Times reported in 2006 that 47 per cent of secondary schools were exclusively non-white, and that 33 per cent had a white majority. About 60 per cent of pupils entering primary and secondary school are Bangladeshi. 78% of primary-school pupils speak English as a second language . The council runs several Idea Stores in the borough, which combine traditional library and computer services with other resources, and are designed to attract more diverse members. The flagship Whitechapel store
4048-428: The borough. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the local education authority for state schools within the borough. In January 2008, there were 19,890 primary-school pupils and 15,262 secondary-school pupils attending state schools there. Private-school pupils account for 2.4 per cent of schoolchildren in the borough. In 2010, 51.8 per cent of pupils achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs including Mathematics and English –
4136-606: The canal tow-paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists. The borough includes open spaces such as Victoria Park , King Edward Memorial Park , Mile End Park , Island Gardens and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park . Areas within the borough include: The Canary Wharf complex within Docklands on the Isle of Dogs forms a group of some of the tallest buildings in Europe . One Canada Square
4224-420: The construction of the docks and giant warehouses along the riverfront. Squeezed between the high walls of the docks and warehouses, the riverside area became isolated from the rest of London, although some relief was provided by Brunel's Thames Tunnel to Rotherhithe . The opening of Wapping tube station on the East London line in 1869 provided a direct rail link to the rest of London. Wapping's position by
4312-469: The dock in 1701. During his execution, the rope broke and Kidd was hanged on the second attempt. His remains were gibbeted by the river Thames at Tilbury for three years. George Davis and William Watts, convicted for piracy for the Cyprus mutiny , were the final hangings at the dock on 16 December 1830. Execution Dock was also popular in literature. Proof of this is the classic tale Peter Pan , in which
4400-501: The east. The River Lea also forms the boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex . The borough's Thames frontage extends from the Tower Dock inlet, immediately west of the Tower of London , through several miles of former docklands, including the Isle of Dogs peninsula, to the confluence of the Thames and Lea at Blackwall . Areas along the Thames and Lea flood plains were historically frequently flooded, but
4488-462: The end of the 18th century. In the cases of the most notorious offenders, the Admiralty would order that their bodies be tarred and hung in chains at either Cuckold's Point or Blackwall Point , on the River Thames, as a warning to all seafarers of the fate awaiting those who turned to piracy. An account from The Gentleman's Magazine , dated 4 February 1796, gives a vivid portrayal of a typical execution at London's Execution Dock. This morning,
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#17327662345184576-559: The former Royal Mint building in East Smithfield . The local authority is Tower Hamlets Council, based at Tower Hamlets Town Hall on Whitechapel Road . Since 2010 the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets . Since 2000, the borough lies within the City and East constituency, one of fourteen constituencies which make up the London Assembly , and is represented by Unmesh Desai of
4664-631: The headquarters of the Marine Support Unit, and is open to the public by appointment. In 1811, the Ratcliff Highway murders took place nearby at The Highway and Wapping Lane. The area's strong maritime associations changed radically in the 19th century when the London Docks were built to the north and west of the High Street. Wapping's population plummeted by nearly 60% during that century, with many houses destroyed by
4752-509: The highest paid workers in London, but also has high rates of long-term illness and premature death and the 2nd highest unemployment rate in London. Canary Wharf is home to the many of the world and European headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms including Barclays , Citigroup , Clifford Chance , Credit Suisse , Infosys , Fitch Ratings , HSBC , J.P. Morgan , KPMG , MetLife , Morgan Stanley , RBC , Skadden , State Street and Thomson Reuters . Savills ,
4840-452: The highest proportion of Muslims of any English local authority and was the only location where Muslims outnumbered Christians . The borough has more than 40 mosques, Islamic centres and madrasahs , including the East London Mosque , Britain's largest. Whitechapel and Brick Lane 's restaurants, neighbouring street market and shops provide the largest range of Bangladeshi cuisine , woodwork, carpets and clothes in Europe. The Lane
4928-880: The highest proportion of children in poverty of any local authority in the UK at 49% (and as high as 54.5% in the Bethnal Green South ward). Surveys and interviews conducted by the Child Poverty Action group for the council found that the Universal Credit system was deeply unpopular with low-income families in the borough and that most claimants who have used the system found it difficult to understand and experienced frequent payment errors. The East London Advertiser and Social Streets provide local news in print and online. There are also several Bengali print and online newspapers published in
5016-546: The highest results in the borough's history – compared to the national average of 53.4 per cent. Seventy-four per cent achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs for all subjects (the same as the English average); the figure in 1997 was 26 per cent. The percentage of pupils on free school meals in the borough is the highest in England and Wales . In 2007, the council rejected proposals to build a Goldman Sachs -sponsored academy . Schools in
5104-794: The low-tide mark in the river. Anybody who had committed crimes on the seas, either in home waters or abroad, would eventually be brought back to London and tried by the High Court of the Admiralty . Capital punishment was applied to acts of mutiny that resulted in death, for murders on the High Seas, and specific violations of the Articles of War governing the behaviour of naval sailors, including sodomy. Those sentenced to death were usually brought to Execution Dock from Marshalsea Prison (although some were also transported from Newgate Prison ). The condemned were paraded across London Bridge and past
5192-535: The low-tide mark. It was used to kill the notorious Captain Kidd . Many prisoners would be executed together as a public event in front of a crowd of onlookers after being paraded from the Marshalsea Prison across London Bridge and past the Tower of London to the dock. Tobacco Dock is a Grade I listed warehouse, adjacent to The Highway. It was constructed in approximately 1811 and served primarily as
5280-444: The lowest gap for educational outcomes at secondary level. Tower Hamlets is the first London borough in which the earliest skyscrapers were built, and since 2014 it saw the completion of 71 skyscrapers, more than any other place in the country. Demographically, Tower Hamlets has a large population of British Bangladeshis , forming the largest single ethnic group in the borough at 32%. The 2011 census showed Tower Hamlets to have
5368-442: The midst of an immense crowd of spectators. On the way to the place of execution, they were preceded by the Marshall of the Admiralty in his carriage, the Deputy Marshall, bearing the silver oar, and the two City Marshals on horseback, Sheriff's officers, etc. The whole cavalcade was conducted with great solemnity. The infamous Captain Kidd , who had been convicted of piracy and murder, was taken from Newgate Prison and executed at
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#17327662345185456-418: The move. In 2005, News International announced the intention to move the print works to regional presses based in Broxbourne (the world's largest printing plant, opened March 2008), Liverpool and Glasgow . The editorial staff were to remain, however, and there was talk of redeveloping the sizeable plot that makes up the printing works. Perhaps Wapping's greatest attraction is the Thames foreshore itself and
5544-427: The old Execution Dock gibbet is maintained on the adjacent foreshore, although the actual site of Execution Dock was nearer to the Town of Ramsgate . This also is on the site of a 16th-century inn and is located next to Wapping Old Stairs to the west of the Prospect ; by Wapping Pier Head – the former local headquarters of the Customs and Excise . Situated halfway between the two is the Captain Kidd , named after
5632-415: The parish, and possibly also in St Katharine's Precinct , a densely populated little district that was swept away to build St Katharine Docks . Wapping was devastated by German bombing in the Second World War and by the post-war closure of the docks. It remained a run-down and derelict area into the 1980s, when the area was transferred to the management of the London Docklands Development Corporation ,
5720-487: The platforms means that the station does not fully meet the safety standards for an underground station, but is permitted to operate under a derogation from His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate . Formerly on the London Underground , the Metropolitan and the District Railways were the first lines to serve the station on 1 October 1884, but the station was last served by District trains on 31 July 1905. The East London line closed as an Underground route on 22 December 2007; it
5808-556: The population growth. This migration peaked at the end of that century and population growth entered a long decline through to the 1960s, as people moved away eastwards to newer suburbs of London and Essex . The area's population had neared 600,000 around the end of the nineteenth century, but fell to a low of less than 140,000 by the early 1980s. The metropolitan boroughs suffered very badly during World War II , during which considerable numbers of houses were destroyed or damaged beyond use due to heavy aerial bombing . This coincided with
5896-472: The seafarer. Wapping was also the site of ' Execution Dock ', where pirates and other water-borne criminals faced execution by hanging from a gibbet constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they had been submerged three times by the tide. The Bell Inn, by the execution dock, was run by Samuel Batts, whose daughter, Elizabeth , married James Cook at St Margaret's Church, Barking , Essex on 21 December 1762, after
5984-401: The second-largest minority ethnic group. Those of mixed ethnic backgrounds form 4%, while other ethnic groups form 2%. The White British proportion was recorded as 31.2% in the 2011 UK Census, a decrease from 42.9% in 2001. In 2018, Tower Hamlets had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of heart disease of all London boroughs, along with Newham . The 2021 census found that
6072-404: The shore in western Wapping. The church was established to support a community of French speaking seafarers originating in Jersey and Guernsey who had been joined by Huguenot refugees from France. There seems to have been a good relationship with the rest of the population as it received financial support from the Rector of St Johns, when it was in financial difficulty, and its long term future
6160-423: The south of the borough. A part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is in Tower Hamlets. It was formed in 1965 by merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney , Poplar , and Bethnal Green . 'Tower Hamlets' was originally an alternative name for the historic Tower Division ; the area of south-east Middlesex , focused on (but not limited to) the area of the modern borough, which owed military service to
6248-427: The south, employment was in the docks and related industries – such as chandlery and rope making. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the district now recognised as Tower Hamlets was characterised by overcrowding and poverty. The construction of the railways caused many more displaced people to settle in the area, and a massive influx of Eastern European Jews at the latter part of the nineteenth century added to
6336-501: The term for a shore scavenger in the 18th and 19th centuries was a mudlark. St George in the East , on Cannon Street Road, is one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches . The church was hit by a bomb during the Blitz and the original interior was destroyed by the fire, but the walls and distinctive pepper-pot towers remained intact. In 1964,
6424-519: The tidal Thames ). The settlement developed along that river wall, hemmed in by the river to the south and the now-drained Wapping Marsh to the north This gave it a peculiarly narrow and constricted shape, consisting of little more than the axis of Wapping High Street and some north–south side streets. John Stow , the 16th-century historian, described it as a "continual street, or a filthy strait passage, with alleys of small tenements or cottages, built, inhabited by sailors' victuallers". A chapel to St. John
6512-477: The venerable public houses that face onto it. A number of the ' watermen's stairs ', such as Wapping Old Stairs and Pelican Stairs (by the Prospect of Whitby), give public access to a littoral zone (for the Thames is tidal at this point) littered with flotsam, jetsam and fragments of old dock installations. The area is popular with amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters. This activity is known as mudlarking ;
6600-480: The worst poverty in Britain. The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the hundred of Ossulstone in county of Middlesex . Ossulstone was subsequently divided into four divisions, one of which was the Tower Division , also known as the Tower Hamlets, which covered a larger area than the modern borough, also including parts of Hackney . From at least the 17th century the Tower Division
6688-534: Was a liberty with judicial and administrative independence from the rest of the county. The liberty appears to have arisen from much older obligations on inhabitants of the area to provide military service to the Constable of the Tower of London . From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works , which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889
6776-457: Was a site on the River Thames near the shoreline at Wapping , London , that was used for more than 400 years to execute pirates , smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts . The "dock" consisted of a scaffold for hanging . Its last executions were in 1830. The British Admiralty 's legal jurisdiction was for all crimes committed at sea. The dock symbolised that jurisdiction by being located just beyond
6864-410: Was believed that the name Wapping recorded an Anglo-Saxon settlement linked to a personal name Waeppa ("the settlement of Waeppa's people"). More recent scholarship discounts that theory: much of the area was marshland, where early settlement was unlikely, and no such personal name has ever been found. It is now thought that the name may derive from wapol , a marsh. Wapping was historically part of
6952-510: Was built in the 1950s for those that remained. The closure of the last of the East End docks in the Port of London in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration and the formation of the London Docklands Development Corporation . The Canary Wharf development, improved infrastructure, and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park mean that the East End is undergoing further change, but some of its districts continue to see some of
7040-670: Was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 . It was a merger of the old boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney, and was named Tower Hamlets after the historic liberty. Tower Hamlets is in East London, north of the River Thames . The City of London lies to the west, the London Borough of Hackney to the north, while the River Lea forms the boundary with the London Borough of Newham to
7128-545: Was designed by David Adjaye , and cost £16 million to build. Mile End Stadium within Mile End Park hosts an athletics stadium and facilities for football and basketball . Two football clubs, Tower Hamlets F.C. (formerly Bethnal Green United) and Sporting Bengal United F.C. , are based there, playing in the Essex Senior Football League . Execution Dock Execution Dock
7216-667: Was formed in 1798 by magistrate Patrick Colquhoun and a Master Mariner, John Harriott , to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and the lower reaches of the river. Its base was (and remains) in Wapping High Street and it is now known as the Marine Support Unit . The Thames Police Museum, dedicated to the history of the Marine Police Force, is currently housed within
7304-405: Was fully occupied when the aforementioned bomb struck; there were no casualties and everyone was evacuated safely, thanks to the air raid wardens and fire brigade . St John's Church, Wapping , the oldest church in Wapping, built in 1756 by Joel Johnson, was also hit by a bomb during WWII . The distinctive lead-topped tower remains and the former churchyard is a public park. Adjoining the church
7392-511: Was once characterised by rural settlements clustered around the City walls or along the main roads, surrounded by farmland, with marshes and small communities by the River, serving the needs of shipping and the Royal Navy . Until the arrival of formal docks, shipping was required to land goods in the Pool of London , but industries related to construction, repair, and victualling of ships flourished in
7480-495: Was previously also a part of the parish of Stepney. These Hamlets later became independent parishes, with Wapping-Stepney becoming known as St-George-in-the-East (in 1729) and Wapping-Whitechapel known as St John of Wapping (in 1694). The latter occupied a very narrow strip along nearly all of Wapping's riverside. The Wapping parishes were part of the historic (or ancient) county of Middlesex , but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by
7568-652: Was rebranded and reopened on 27 April 2010 when it became part of the Overground system. London bus services are operated by London Central and Stagecoach London . Routes include the 100 , D3 and night bus N551; these connect Wapping with East and Central London . Wapping is connected to the National Road Network by The Highway A1203 east–west, which passes to the north of the area. The Thames Path passes west–east through Wapping for cyclists and walkers. Thames River Services operate
7656-483: Was settled by an intervention from Queen Anne who provided it with an allowance. Starting in the 16th century, and accelerating later, parts of Wapping attracted large number of German migrants, with many of these people, and their descendants working in the sugar industry. The area north of The Highway (formerly St George's Highway) and west of Cannon Street became known – together with neighbouring parts of Whitechapel – as Little Germany . There appears to have been
7744-528: Was the first to be constructed and is the third tallest in London. Nearby are the HSBC Tower , Citigroup Centres and One Churchill Place , headquarters of Barclays Bank . Within the same complex are the Heron Quays offices. Part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , developed for the London 2012 Olympics , lies within the borders of Tower Hamlets. The Embassy of China in London will move into
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