68-664: The Virginia Quay Settlers Monument is a public monument in Tower Hamlets , London, to the first settlers of the Colony of Virginia who departed from here in 1606. The monument has its origins in a plaque erected on the Brunswick Dock master's house in 1928. The house was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War and in 1951 the plaque was incorporated into a monument erected during development of
136-638: A mariner's astrolabe sculpted by Wendy Taylor . The monument is currently located on the riverside facing the Millennium Dome . Virginia Quay was originally known as Blackwall, a small and isolated settlement in marshy surroundings. A causeway led to the Blackwall Stairs, a slipway and staircase providing access to the river. It was used as a departure point for several explorers including Martin Frobisher for his second expedition to
204-493: 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
272-508: A confirmed date of 1554, salvaged from the wreck of the San Esteban . A disk-type astrolabe dated between 1496 and 1501, now the world's oldest, was discovered in 2014 by the marine scientist David L. Mearns on the wreck site of a Portuguese nau Esmeralda , which sank off the coast of Oman in 1503. The astrolabe was confirmed by laser scanning, which revealed a series of 18 gradations marking 5-degree intervals, and has been named
340-515: 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
408-763: A polished granite plinth with an inscription noting the work done and the relocation of the monument. The renovated monument was unveiled by the US ambassador to Britain Philip Lader in a ceremony supported by the Jamestowne Society and featuring a marchpast by pike and musket re-enactors. The site originally had three flagpoles which were used to fly two flags of the United States and the Union Flag ; it now has four flagpoles which fly one of each of
476-651: 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
544-412: A ring graduated in degrees. Early instruments were only graduated for 90°; later instruments were graduated for the full 360° circle around the limb . The sole purpose of the spokes was to support the pivot point for the alidade . In order to lower the centre of gravity of the device and thus increase its period of motion as a means of stabilizing it, extra brass was usually added to the bottom of
612-474: A sea astrolabe comes from Martín Cortés de Albacar ’s Arte de Navegar published in 1551, although the basic principle is the same as that of the archipendulum used in constructing the Egyptian pyramids . There is strong evidence that the mariner's astrolabe was derived directly from the planispheric astrolabe , as the earliest examples retain some of the markings (e.g. umbra recta and umbra versa ) of
680-401: A ship or in high winds, other materials, such as wood or ivory , were not desirable though some wood sea astrolabes were made. Early sea astrolabes were made from sheets of brass. Due to their light weight, they tended to perform poorly at sea. Heavier cast brass frames began to be made in the mid-sixteenth century and were considerably better. As the accuracy of the instrument is related to
748-509: 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
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#1732793997803816-615: Is 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
884-580: 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,
952-1011: 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
1020-856: 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
1088-553: 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
1156-540: 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
1224-724: 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
1292-594: The north-west passage and associated with shipbuilding in the area. The site was the location for the departure of the expedition that founded the Colony of Virginia in the modern-day United States. The expedition's three vessels, the Susan Constant , Discovery and the Godspeed left from this point on 19 December 1606. The expedition went on to found Jamestown , the first permanent English settlement in
1360-531: The sextant and then global positioning systems (GPS) starting in the 1980s. Although their heavy brass construction permits their longevity in marine environments, mariner's astrolabes are very rare today. In 2017, only 108 were known to exist. The biggest collection remains in museums in Portugal. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History in Texas, United States, contains a mariner's astrolabe with
1428-553: 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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#17327939978031496-685: The Americas . Blackwall became the site of the Brunswick (East India Export) Dock in 1806. In 1928 a bronze plaque was erected on the dock master 's house (Brunswick House, located around 100 yards (91 m) west of the current location of the monument) by an organisation named by Historic England as both the Society for the Protection of West Virginia Artefacts and the Association for
1564-472: 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
1632-600: 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
1700-624: 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
1768-575: The Preservation of Virginia Antiquities . The plaque recorded the departure from this site of "105 adventurers". It names the captains of the ships ( Christopher Newport , Bartholomew Gosnold and John Ratcliffe ) and mentions the founding of Jamestown in April 1607 by Captain John Smith , Edward Maria Wingfield and Robert Hunt . It also noted that Jamestown was the site, on 30 July 1619, of
1836-460: The Sodré astrolabe. It has been proposed that the Sodré astrolabe is a transitional instrument between the classic planispheric astrolabe from which the first mariner's astrolabes made of brass were adapted and the open‐wheel type astrolabe that came into use sometime before 1517. Mariner's astrolabes were made of brass . Since weight was advantageous when using the instrument on the heaving deck of
1904-479: 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
1972-590: The alidade. If observing the Sun, it was both safer and easier to allow the shadow of one of the alidade's vanes to be cast onto the opposite vane. It played a key part of the Age of Discovery , which Portugal initiated. Portuguese sailors trained British and other sailors – one of the most famous was the Italian-born Christopher Columbus – in how to use this instrument, which became the key to
2040-585: 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
2108-558: 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
Virginia Quay Settlers Monument - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-508: The area of the modern borough, which owed military service to 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
2244-415: The astrolabe, the navigator would hold the instrument by the ring at the top. This caused the instrument to remain in a vertical plane. The navigator would then align the plane of the astrolabe to the direction of the object of interest. The alidade was aligned to point at the object and the altitude was read. If observing a dim object such as a star, the navigator would observe the object directly through
2312-466: 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
2380-564: 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
2448-428: 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 –
2516-606: 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
2584-406: The country's largest financial districts, in 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)
2652-554: 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
2720-734: The first democratic assembly held in America (the House of Burgesses ). Brunswick House was damaged by German bombing during the Second World War and was later demolished. The plaque was saved and in 1951 added to a monument which was donated by the Port of London Authority . During this time the East India Export Dock was being backfilled to provide land for the Brunswick Wharf Power Station . The monument
2788-625: The flags plus the flag of England and the flag of Virginia . Barratt themed their development around the association with Virginia. The streets were named after Jamestown, Newport and the Pilgrims . Later housing developments by the Ballymore Group at nearby New Providence Wharf also use Virginia-themed names. The monument was granted statutory protection as a grade II listed building by Historic England on 9 March 2017. The organisation considers that as well as its own significance
Virginia Quay Settlers Monument - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-559: 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
2924-509: 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 ,
2992-452: 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
3060-880: 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
3128-546: 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
3196-424: The instrument inside the ring. This is clearly evident in the lower left instrument seen in the photograph above. The alidade was free to rotate about a pin through the centre of the instrument. The vanes of the alidade were either slotted or pierced with a hole to allow the user to align the alidade. The astrolabe had a ring attached to the top of the instrument to allow it to hang vertically. In order to use
3264-444: 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
3332-438: The maritime growth and conquest of the other European Colonial Empires. The mariner's astrolabe needed to be suspended vertically in order to measure the altitude of the celestial object. This meant it could not be used easily on the deck in windy conditions. It could not easily be used to measure the angle between two objects, which was necessary for longitude calculations by the lunar distance method (though that technique
3400-692: The monument has value in association with the statue of Pocahontas further downriver at Gravesend , Kent, (Pocahontas has been closely associated with Smith). Other nearby listed structures are also mentioned in the listing, including the Blackwall Engineering Dry Dock and the Blackwall Pier and entrance lock (belonging to the former East India Dock basin). 51°30′28.5″N 0°0′1.3″E / 51.507917°N 0.000361°E / 51.507917; 0.000361 Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets
3468-556: 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
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#17327939978033536-488: The prior device without having the same components. The mariner's astrolabe would have replaced or complemented instruments such as the cross staff or quadrant as a navigator's instrument. The mariner's astrolabe was used until the middle or, at the latest, the end of the 17th century. It was replaced by more accurate and easier-to-use instruments such as the Davis quadrant . By the late 18th century, mariners began using
3604-403: The radius of the divided circle, these were made as large as practical. Since the large plate form of the planispheric astrolabe makes it sensitive to the wind, the mariner's astrolabe is made with a frame form. The openings in the frame allow wind to pass through, inducing less motion in the instrument. The essential function of the device was to measure angles. Thus the instrument featured
3672-401: 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
3740-465: The site into the Brunswick Wharf Power Station . The monument was designed by Harold Brown and consisted of rough-hewn granite blocks from the walls of the West India Docks surmounted by a bronze sculpture of a mermaid. The mermaid was later stolen. The monument was refurbished by Barratt Homes during redevelopment in 1999. A polished granite plinth was added and the mermaid replaced by
3808-427: 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
3876-543: 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
3944-534: 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
4012-417: Was adapted for marine navigation by Martin Behaim , a mariner not considered a trustworthy source by some historians . In any event, the instrument was certainly known by the end of the 15th century. Nevertheless, the creation and perfecting of the mariner's astrolabe is attributed to Portuguese navigators during the beginning of Portuguese discoveries . The earliest known description of how to make and use
4080-452: Was an inclinometer used to determine the latitude of a ship at sea by measuring the sun's noon altitude (declination) or the meridian altitude of a star of known declination. Not an astrolabe proper, the mariner's astrolabe was rather a graduated circle with an alidade used to measure vertical angles. They were designed to allow for their use on boats in rough water and/or in heavy winds, which astrolabes are ill-equipped to handle. It
4148-460: 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
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#17327939978034216-419: 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
4284-448: 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 . Mariner%27s astrolabe The mariner's astrolabe , also called sea astrolabe ,
4352-438: Was designed by Harold Brown and consisted of a pile of rough granite blocks "hewn from the old quay wall of the historic West India Docks ". It was topped by a bronze statue of a mermaid sat in a shell. The granite was meant to represent the resilience of the first settlers and the mermaid represented the "call of the sea". The monument was unveiled by the United States ambassador to Britain Walter Sherman Gifford . The mermaid
4420-446: Was invented by the Portuguese people , a nation known for its maritime prowess that dominated the sea for multiple centuries. In the sixteenth century, the instrument was also called a ring . Many dates can be found for the appearance of the first Mariner's astrolabes. The earliest date, 1295, is offered by the Majorcan astronomer Ramon Llull . Later dates center around the late 15th century, with Samuel Purchas claiming that it
4488-475: Was later stolen; it was recovered from auction around 2007 but not reinstated. The power station was demolished in 1988–89 and the site was later developed by Barratt Homes . In 1999 Barratt resited the monument onto a paved terrace on the riverbank, opposite the Millennium Dome . The missing mermaid was replaced by a bronze sculpture of a mariner's astrolabe , a navigation instrument the expedition would have used, designed by Wendy Taylor . Barratt also added
4556-408: 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
4624-411: 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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