Bethnal Green
Encyclopedia
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End
of London
, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney
. Located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross
, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney
, Middlesex. Following population increases caused by the expansion of London during the 18th century, it was split off as the parish of Bethnal Green
in 1743, becoming part of the Metropolis in 1855 and the County of London
in 1889. The parish became a metropolitan borough in 1900 and the population peaked in 1901, entering a period of steady decline which lasted until 1981. The economic history of Bethnal Green is characterised by a shift away from agricultural provision for the City of London
to market gardening, weaving and light industry, which has now all but disappeared. The quality of the built environment had deteriorated by the turn of the 20th century and was radically reformed by the aerial bombardment of World War II
and the subsequent social housing developments. 173 people were killed at a single incident at Bethnal Green tube station
in 1943. Bethnal Green has formed part of Greater London
since 1965.
healh ('angle, nook, or corner') and blithe ('happy, blithe'), or from a personal name Blitha. Nearby Cambridge Heath
(Camprichesheth), is unconnected with Cambridge
and may also derive from an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The area was once marshland and forest which, as Bishopswood, lingered in the east until the 16th century. A settlement's dependence upon water suggests that the 'happy corner' was cleared next to the natural spring, St. Winifred's Well, in Conduit Field at the northern end of the Green. Over time, the name became Bethan Hall Green, which, because of local pronunciation as Beth'n 'all Green, had by the 19th century changed to Bethnal Green.
ballad, the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, tells the story of an ostensibly poor man who gave a surprisingly generous dowry for his daughter's wedding. The tale furnishes the parish of Bethnal Green's coat of arms. According to one version of the legend, found in Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
published in 1765, the beggar was said to be Henry, the son of Simon de Montfort
, but Percy himself declared that this version was not genuine. The Blind Beggar
public house in Whitechapel
is reputed to be the site of his begging.
Boxing has a long association with Bethnal Green. Daniel Mendoza
, who was champion of England from 1792 to 1795 though born in Aldgate
, lived in Paradise Row on the western side of Bethnal Green for 30 years. Since then numerous boxers have been associated with the area, and the local leisure centre, York Hall
, remains notable for presentation of boxing bouts.
In 1841, the Anglo-Catholic Nathaniel Woodard
, who was to become a highly influential educationalist in the later part of the 19th century, became the curate
of the newly created St. Bartholomew's in Bethnal Green. He was a capable pastoral visitor and established a parochial school. In 1843, he got into trouble for preaching a sermon
in St. Bartholomew's in which he argued that the Book of Common Prayer should have additional material to provide for confession
and absolution
and in which he criticised the 'inefficient and Godless clergy' of the Church of England
. After examining the text of the sermon, the Bishop of London
condemned it as containing 'erroneous and dangerous notions'. As a result, the bishop sent Woodard to be a curate in Clapton
.
and St. John's Church, designed by John Soane
. In Stow's Survey of London
(1598) the hamlet was called Blethenal Green, now called Bednal Green. It was one of the hamlets included in the Manor of Stepney and Hackney. Hackney later became separated.
In 1678 the owners of houses surrounding the Green purchased the land to save it from being built on and in 1690 the land was conveyed to a trust under which it was to be kept open and rent from it used for the benefit of poor people living in the vicinity. From that date until now the trust has administered the land and its minute books are kept in the London Metropolitan Archives
.
Bethnal House, or Kirby's Castle, was the principal house on the Green. One of its owners was Sir Hugh Platt (1552–1608), author of books on gardening and practical science. Under its next owner it was visited by Samuel Pepys
. It became associated with the ballad of the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (see Thomas Percy).
In 1727 it was leased to Matthew Wright and for almost two centuries it was a mad house. Its two most distinguished inmates were Alexander Cruden
, compiler of the Concordance to the Bible
, and the poet Christopher Smart
. Cruden recorded his experience in The London Citizen Grievously Injured (1739) and Smart's stay there is recorded by his daughter. Records of the asylum are kept in the annual reports of the Commissioner in Lunacy. Even today, the park where the library stands is known locally as “Barmy
Park”.
The original mansion, the White House, was supplemented by other buildings. In 1891 the Trust lost the use of Poor's Land to the London County Council. The asylum reorganised its buildings, demolishing the historic White House and erecting a new block in 1896. This building became the present Bethnal Green Library. A history of Poor's Land and Bethnal House is included in The Green (A.J. Robinson and D.H.B. Chesshyre).
, whose rector
was the Rev. Anthony Natt. A few of its houses have become University settlements. In Victoria Park Square, on the east side of the Green, No.18 has a Tudor
well in its cellar.
weaving. The population of Bethnal Green trebled between 1801 and 1831, operating 20,000 looms in their own homes. By 1824, with restrictions on importation of French silks relaxed, up to half these looms became idle and prices were driven down. With many importing warehouse
s already established in the district, the abundance of cheap labour was turned to boot, furniture and clothing manufacture. Globe Town continued its expansion into the 1860s
, long after the decline of the silk industry. Today Globe Town is presented with four globe sculptures situated in four different corners of the town and is home to a large Bangladeshi community.
throughout the 18th century. This attracted many Huguenot
and Irish
weavers to the district. Large estates of small two story cottages were developed in the west of the area to house them. A downturn in the trade in 1769 lead to the Spitalfield Riots
, and on 6 December 1769, two weavers accused of 'cutting' were hanged in front of the Salmon and Ball public house
.
In the 19th century, Bethnal Green remained characterised by its market garden
s and by weaving. Having been an area of large houses and gardens as late as the 18th century, by about 1860 Bethnal Green was mainly full of tumbledown old buildings with many families living in each house. By the end of the century, Bethnal Green was one of the poorest slums in London. Jack the Ripper
operated at the western end of Bethnal Green and in neighbouring Whitechapel
. In 1900, the Old Nichol Street Rookery
was demolished, and the Boundary Estate
opened on the site near the boundary with Shoreditch
. This was the world's first council housing, and brothers Lew Grade
and Bernard Delfont
were brought up here.
On 3 March 1943 at 8:27PM the unopened Bethnal Green tube station
was the site of a wartime disaster. Families had crowded into the underground station due to an air raid siren at 8:17, one of 10 that day. There was a panic at 8:27 coinciding with the sound of an anti-aircraft battery
(possibly the recently installed Z battery
) being fired at nearby Victoria Park
. In the wet, dark conditions the crowd was surging forward towards the shelter when a woman tripped on the stairs, causing many others to fall. Within a few seconds 300 people were crushed into the tiny stairwell, resulting in 173 deaths. Although a report was filed by Eric Linden with the Daily Mail
, who witnessed it, it never ran. The story which was reported instead was that there had been a direct hit by a German bomb. The results of the official investigation were not released until 1946. There is now a plaque at the entrance to the tube station which commemorates it as the worst civilian disaster of World War II
, and funds are being raised for a memorial.
It is estimated that during WWII, 80 tons of bombs fell on the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green
, affecting 21,700 houses, destroying 2,233 and making a further 893 uninhabitable. There were a total of 555 people killed and 400 seriously injured. Many unexploded bombs remain in the area, and on Monday 14 May 2007, builders discovered a World War II
1 m long 500 lb (226.8 kg) bomb
.
The book Family and Kinship in East London
, based on materials gathered in the 1950s
, shows an improvement in working-class life. Husbands in the sample population no longer went out to drink but spent time with the family. As a result, both birth rate and infant death rate fell drastically and local prosperity increased. It is true that the infamous gangster
s the Kray twins lived in Bethnal Green in the 1960s
. However, by the beginning of the 21st century, Bethnal Green and much of the old East End began to undergo a process of gentrification
.
The former Bethnal Green Infirmary, later the London County Council Bethnal Green Hospital, stood opposite Cambridge Heath railway station
. The hospital closed as a public hospital in the 1970s
and was a geriatric hospital under the NHS until the 1980s. Much of the site was developed for housing in the 1990s but the hospital entrance and administration block remains as a listed building. Marcus Garvey
was at one time buried here, before his body was returned to Jamaica
.
The Albion Rooms are located in Bethnal Green where Pete Doherty
and Carl Barat
of the Libertines used to live when the band was together. It became part of music history as the band would hold Guerilla Gigs in the flat that would be packed with people.
tube station at the junction of Bethnal Green Road, Roman Road and Cambridge Heath Road.
The district is associated with the E2 postcode district, but this also covers parts of Shoreditch, Haggerston
and Cambridge Heath
. Between 1986 and 1992, the name Bethnal Green was applied to one of seven neighbourhoods to whom power was devolved from the council. This resulted in replacement of much of the street signage in the area that remains in place. This included parts of both Cambridge Heath and Whitechapel (north of the Whitechapel Road) being more associated with the post code and administrative simplicity than the historic districts.
, which constitute 41 per cent of the area population, every year since 1999 the Baishakhi Mela is celebrated in Weavers Field, Bethnal Green which celebrates the Bengali New Year. The second largest are the White British
, constituting 37 per cent of the area's population. Other ethnic groups include Somalis, Black Africans
and Black Caribbeans.
and Christianity
, with 50 per cent Muslim and 34 per cent Christians.
There are many historical churches in Bethnal Green. Notable churches include, St. John on Bethnal Green located near the Bethnal Green tube station
, on Bethnal Green Road and Roman Road. The church was built from 1826 to 1828 by the architect John Soane
. Other notable churches include St Matthew - built by George Dance the Elder
in 1746. St Matthew is the mother church of Bethnal Green; the church's opening coincided with a vast population increase in the former village of Stepney
, resulting in the need to separate the area around Bethnal Green from the mother Parish of St Dunstan's, Stepney
. All but the bell tower, still standing today, was destroyed by fire and the church again suffered devastating damage during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War, resulting in the installation of a temporary church within the bombed-out building. St. Matthew's remains a major beacon of the local East End community and is frequented on Sundays
and other religious occasions by a mixture of established locals and more recent migrants to the area.
Other churches include St. Peter's Church
by Lewis Vulliamy
(1841), St James the Less by Lewis Vulliamy (1842), St James the Great by Edward Blore
(1843), and St Bartholomew by William Railton
(1844). The church attendance in Bethnal Green was 1 in 8 people since 1900, and is estimated around 100 people attend church as of today (only 10% attend regularly in the UK). Baptism
s, marriage
s and burial
s have been deposited nearly at all churches in Bethnal Green.
There are four Islamic places of worship or services in Bethnal Green for the Muslim
community. These are the Baitul Aman Mosque and Cultural Centre, Darul Hadis Latifiah
, the Senegambian Islamic Cultural Centre and the Globe Town Mosque and Cultural Centre. The London Buddhist Centre
, at 51 Roman Road, is one of the largest urban Buddhist centres in the west, and is the focus of a large Buddhist residential and business community in the area.
as its badge and emblem. The school is over a century old but underwent extensive remodelling in 1994 and added a new sports hall on its Grimsby Street former playground site in 2006. The school is linked with the nearby 18th century St. Matthew's Church on St. Matthew's Row; pupils attend mass and perform seasonal plays and performances at the church and the Parish reverend provides religious instruction at the school. The Bangabandhu Primary School, named after the father of Bangladesh
, Sheikh Mujib, a non-selective state community school
, was opened in January 1989, moved to a new building in November 1991, and has over 450 pupils. 70% of the school's pupils speak English as a second language, with a majority speaking Sylheti
, a dialect of Bengali
, at home, but the Ofsted inspectorate deemed Bangabandhu a "successful and effective school" where pupils "achieve well and make good progress".
Bethnal Green's oldest secondary school is Raine's Foundation School
, with sites on Old Bethnal Green and Approach roads, a voluntary aided Anglican school founded in 1719. The school relocated several times, amalgamating with St. Jude's School for Girls to become coeducational in 1977. Other schools in the area include Bethnal Green Technology College
, Oaklands School, and Morpeth School
.
The V&A Museum of Childhood
on Cambridge Heath Road
houses the child related objects of the Victoria and Albert Museum
.
The Bethnal Park (also known as Barmey Park) and Bethnal Green Library provide leisure facilities and information.
, Whitechapel
and Stepney Green
. In addition, there are two local mainline railway stations: Bethnal Green railway station
(not to be confused with the Tube station of the same name) and Cambridge Heath railway station
. Several bus routes also serve the area.
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
. Located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney
Stepney (parish)
Stepney was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish in the historic county of Middlesex to the east and north east of the City of London, England.-Origins:...
, Middlesex. Following population increases caused by the expansion of London during the 18th century, it was split off as the parish of Bethnal Green
Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough in the East End of London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the Bethnal Green hamlet in Stepney ancient parish. The vestry became an electing authority to the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and in 1889 it became...
in 1743, becoming part of the Metropolis in 1855 and the County of London
County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
in 1889. The parish became a metropolitan borough in 1900 and the population peaked in 1901, entering a period of steady decline which lasted until 1981. The economic history of Bethnal Green is characterised by a shift away from agricultural provision for the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
to market gardening, weaving and light industry, which has now all but disappeared. The quality of the built environment had deteriorated by the turn of the 20th century and was radically reformed by the aerial bombardment of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the subsequent social housing developments. 173 people were killed at a single incident at Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station is a station on the Central Line of the London Underground in Bethnal Green, East London. It lies between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station was opened as part of the long planned Central Line eastern extension on 4 December...
in 1943. Bethnal Green has formed part of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
since 1965.
Toponymy
The place-name Blithehale or Blythenhale, the earliest form of Bethnal Green, is derived from the Anglo-SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
healh ('angle, nook, or corner') and blithe ('happy, blithe'), or from a personal name Blitha. Nearby Cambridge Heath
Cambridge Heath
Cambridge Heath is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The earliest recorded use of the name is as Camprichthesheth in 1275.It forms part of the East End of London and is located north of Bethnal Green. The area is the location, at Patriot Square, of the former Bethnal Green Town Hall...
(Camprichesheth), is unconnected with Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and may also derive from an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The area was once marshland and forest which, as Bishopswood, lingered in the east until the 16th century. A settlement's dependence upon water suggests that the 'happy corner' was cleared next to the natural spring, St. Winifred's Well, in Conduit Field at the northern end of the Green. Over time, the name became Bethan Hall Green, which, because of local pronunciation as Beth'n 'all Green, had by the 19th century changed to Bethnal Green.
Early history
A TudorTudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
ballad, the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, tells the story of an ostensibly poor man who gave a surprisingly generous dowry for his daughter's wedding. The tale furnishes the parish of Bethnal Green's coat of arms. According to one version of the legend, found in Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Thomas Percy and published in 1765.-Sources:...
published in 1765, the beggar was said to be Henry, the son of Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
, but Percy himself declared that this version was not genuine. The Blind Beggar
Blind Beggar
The Blind Beggar is a public house on Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is notable as the former brewery tap of the Manns Albion brewery, where the first modern Brown Ale was brewed...
public house in Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
is reputed to be the site of his begging.
Boxing has a long association with Bethnal Green. Daniel Mendoza
Daniel Mendoza
Daniel Mendoza was an English prizefighter, who was boxing champion of England 1792–95.-Success:...
, who was champion of England from 1792 to 1795 though born in Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, lived in Paradise Row on the western side of Bethnal Green for 30 years. Since then numerous boxers have been associated with the area, and the local leisure centre, York Hall
York Hall
The York Hall is a health and leisure centre and one of Britain's best known boxing venues.The venue is situated on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London, England. The hall, opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200, stages boxing as well as providing a gymnasium and swimming pool.The hall is owned...
, remains notable for presentation of boxing bouts.
In 1841, the Anglo-Catholic Nathaniel Woodard
Nathaniel Woodard
Nathaniel Woodard was a priest in the Church of England. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith...
, who was to become a highly influential educationalist in the later part of the 19th century, became the curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of the newly created St. Bartholomew's in Bethnal Green. He was a capable pastoral visitor and established a parochial school. In 1843, he got into trouble for preaching a sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
in St. Bartholomew's in which he argued that the Book of Common Prayer should have additional material to provide for confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
and absolution
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
and in which he criticised the 'inefficient and Godless clergy' of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. After examining the text of the sermon, the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
condemned it as containing 'erroneous and dangerous notions'. As a result, the bishop sent Woodard to be a curate in Clapton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
.
The Green and Poor's Land
The Green and Poor's Land is the area of open land now occupied by Bethnal Green Library, the V&A Museum of ChildhoodV&A Museum of Childhood
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum , which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.-History:...
and St. John's Church, designed by John Soane
John Soane
Sir John Soane, RA was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources...
. In Stow's Survey of London
Survey of London
The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
(1598) the hamlet was called Blethenal Green, now called Bednal Green. It was one of the hamlets included in the Manor of Stepney and Hackney. Hackney later became separated.
In 1678 the owners of houses surrounding the Green purchased the land to save it from being built on and in 1690 the land was conveyed to a trust under which it was to be kept open and rent from it used for the benefit of poor people living in the vicinity. From that date until now the trust has administered the land and its minute books are kept in the London Metropolitan Archives
London Metropolitan Archives
The London Metropolitan Archives are the main archives for the Greater London area. Established in 1997, having previously been known as the Greater London Record Office, they are financed by the City of London Corporation....
.
Bethnal House, or Kirby's Castle, was the principal house on the Green. One of its owners was Sir Hugh Platt (1552–1608), author of books on gardening and practical science. Under its next owner it was visited by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
. It became associated with the ballad of the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (see Thomas Percy).
In 1727 it was leased to Matthew Wright and for almost two centuries it was a mad house. Its two most distinguished inmates were Alexander Cruden
Alexander Cruden
Alexander Cruden was the author of an early concordance to the Bible, and also served as Alexander the Corrector, a self-styled national corrector of signs, books and morals.-Early life:...
, compiler of the Concordance to the Bible
Cruden's Concordance
A Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures, generally known as Cruden's Concordance, is a concordance of the King James Bible that was singlehandedly created by Alexander Cruden...
, and the poet Christopher Smart
Christopher Smart
Christopher Smart , also known as "Kit Smart", "Kitty Smart", and "Jack Smart", was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout...
. Cruden recorded his experience in The London Citizen Grievously Injured (1739) and Smart's stay there is recorded by his daughter. Records of the asylum are kept in the annual reports of the Commissioner in Lunacy. Even today, the park where the library stands is known locally as “Barmy
Barmy
Barmy is a village in the Agsu Rayon of Azerbaijan....
Park”.
The original mansion, the White House, was supplemented by other buildings. In 1891 the Trust lost the use of Poor's Land to the London County Council. The asylum reorganised its buildings, demolishing the historic White House and erecting a new block in 1896. This building became the present Bethnal Green Library. A history of Poor's Land and Bethnal House is included in The Green (A.J. Robinson and D.H.B. Chesshyre).
Other houses on the Green
The north end of the Green is associated with the Natt family. During the 18th century they owned many of its houses. Netteswell House is the residence of the curator of the Bethnal Green Museum. It is almost certainly named after the village of Netteswell, near HarwellHarwell
Harwell may refer to:*Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England*Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village**RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, near Harwell village....
, whose rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
was the Rev. Anthony Natt. A few of its houses have become University settlements. In Victoria Park Square, on the east side of the Green, No.18 has a Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
well in its cellar.
Globe Town
To the east of Bethnal Green lies Globe Town, established from 1800 to provide for the expanding population of weavers around Bethnal Green attracted by improving prospects in silkSilk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
weaving. The population of Bethnal Green trebled between 1801 and 1831, operating 20,000 looms in their own homes. By 1824, with restrictions on importation of French silks relaxed, up to half these looms became idle and prices were driven down. With many importing warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s already established in the district, the abundance of cheap labour was turned to boot, furniture and clothing manufacture. Globe Town continued its expansion into the 1860s
1860s
The 1860s were an extremely turbulent decade with numerous cultural, social, and political upheavals in Europe and America. Revolutions were prevalent in Germany and the Ottoman Empire...
, long after the decline of the silk industry. Today Globe Town is presented with four globe sculptures situated in four different corners of the town and is home to a large Bangladeshi community.
Modern history
The silk-weaving trade spread eastwards from SpitalfieldsSpitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
throughout the 18th century. This attracted many Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
weavers to the district. Large estates of small two story cottages were developed in the west of the area to house them. A downturn in the trade in 1769 lead to the Spitalfield Riots
Spitalfield Riots
The Spitalfield Riots occurred in 1769, during a downturn in the silk weaving industry, centred on Spitalfields in the East End of London. The weavers organised to attempt to ensure that the rates of pay paid for their piece work was not cut beneath the level at which they could feed themselves,...
, and on 6 December 1769, two weavers accused of 'cutting' were hanged in front of the Salmon and Ball public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
.
In the 19th century, Bethnal Green remained characterised by its market garden
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
s and by weaving. Having been an area of large houses and gardens as late as the 18th century, by about 1860 Bethnal Green was mainly full of tumbledown old buildings with many families living in each house. By the end of the century, Bethnal Green was one of the poorest slums in London. Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
operated at the western end of Bethnal Green and in neighbouring Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
. In 1900, the Old Nichol Street Rookery
Rookery (slum)
A rookery was the colloquial British English term given in the 18th and 19th centuries to a city slum occupied by poor people...
was demolished, and the Boundary Estate
Boundary Estate
The Boundary Estate is a housing development, formally opened in 1900, in the East End of London, England. It is situated in the north western corner of Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and on the boundary with Shoreditch, in the London Borough of Hackney.The estate, constructed...
opened on the site near the boundary with Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
. This was the world's first council housing, and brothers Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
and Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont , born Boris Winogradsky, was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario....
were brought up here.
On 3 March 1943 at 8:27PM the unopened Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station is a station on the Central Line of the London Underground in Bethnal Green, East London. It lies between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station was opened as part of the long planned Central Line eastern extension on 4 December...
was the site of a wartime disaster. Families had crowded into the underground station due to an air raid siren at 8:17, one of 10 that day. There was a panic at 8:27 coinciding with the sound of an anti-aircraft battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
(possibly the recently installed Z battery
Z Battery
The Z Battery, was a short range rocket-firing anti-aircraft weapon which fired 3-inch diameter rockets, used in ground-based single and multiple launchers for the air defence of the United Kingdom in World War II.- See also :...
) being fired at nearby Victoria Park
Victoria Park, East London
Victoria Park is 86.18 hectares of open space that stretches out across part of the East End of London, England bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, such as along Old Ford Road, London E3 and Victoria Park Road E9. The park is entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets...
. In the wet, dark conditions the crowd was surging forward towards the shelter when a woman tripped on the stairs, causing many others to fall. Within a few seconds 300 people were crushed into the tiny stairwell, resulting in 173 deaths. Although a report was filed by Eric Linden with the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, who witnessed it, it never ran. The story which was reported instead was that there had been a direct hit by a German bomb. The results of the official investigation were not released until 1946. There is now a plaque at the entrance to the tube station which commemorates it as the worst civilian disaster of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and funds are being raised for a memorial.
It is estimated that during WWII, 80 tons of bombs fell on the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green
Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough in the East End of London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the Bethnal Green hamlet in Stepney ancient parish. The vestry became an electing authority to the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and in 1889 it became...
, affecting 21,700 houses, destroying 2,233 and making a further 893 uninhabitable. There were a total of 555 people killed and 400 seriously injured. Many unexploded bombs remain in the area, and on Monday 14 May 2007, builders discovered a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
1 m long 500 lb (226.8 kg) bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
.
The book Family and Kinship in East London
Family and Kinship in East London
Family and Kinship in East London was a 1957 sociological study of how the urban working class lived as a community, and the effects of the post-war governments' social housing policy on this way of life, which saw many East Londoners moved out into the new estates of Essex. The study was carried...
, based on materials gathered in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
, shows an improvement in working-class life. Husbands in the sample population no longer went out to drink but spent time with the family. As a result, both birth rate and infant death rate fell drastically and local prosperity increased. It is true that the infamous gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
s the Kray twins lived in Bethnal Green in the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
. However, by the beginning of the 21st century, Bethnal Green and much of the old East End began to undergo a process of gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
.
The former Bethnal Green Infirmary, later the London County Council Bethnal Green Hospital, stood opposite Cambridge Heath railway station
Cambridge Heath railway station
Cambridge Heath railway station is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by National Express East Anglia, on the West Anglia route, and it is in Travelcard Zone 2....
. The hospital closed as a public hospital in the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
and was a geriatric hospital under the NHS until the 1980s. Much of the site was developed for housing in the 1990s but the hospital entrance and administration block remains as a listed building. Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
was at one time buried here, before his body was returned to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
The Albion Rooms are located in Bethnal Green where Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
and Carl Barat
Carl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...
of the Libertines used to live when the band was together. It became part of music history as the band would hold Guerilla Gigs in the flat that would be packed with people.
Geography
Bethnal Green forms a part of Tower Hamlets and Hackney, centred around the Central LineCentral Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
tube station at the junction of Bethnal Green Road, Roman Road and Cambridge Heath Road.
The district is associated with the E2 postcode district, but this also covers parts of Shoreditch, Haggerston
Haggerston
Haggerston is an area and a electoral ward in the London Borough of Hackney, in northeast London, UK. It is bounded by Hackney Road on the south, Kingsland Road on the west, Middleton Road on the north with London Fields and Broadway Market on the east...
and Cambridge Heath
Cambridge Heath
Cambridge Heath is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The earliest recorded use of the name is as Camprichthesheth in 1275.It forms part of the East End of London and is located north of Bethnal Green. The area is the location, at Patriot Square, of the former Bethnal Green Town Hall...
. Between 1986 and 1992, the name Bethnal Green was applied to one of seven neighbourhoods to whom power was devolved from the council. This resulted in replacement of much of the street signage in the area that remains in place. This included parts of both Cambridge Heath and Whitechapel (north of the Whitechapel Road) being more associated with the post code and administrative simplicity than the historic districts.
Demographics
Bethnal Green has a total population of 25,440 as of the 2001 census, based on the north and south wards of Bethnal Green. The largest single ethnic group is people of Bangladeshi descentBritish Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
, which constitute 41 per cent of the area population, every year since 1999 the Baishakhi Mela is celebrated in Weavers Field, Bethnal Green which celebrates the Bengali New Year. The second largest are the White British
White British
White British was an ethnicity classification used in the 2001 United Kingdom Census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: White Scottish and Other White...
, constituting 37 per cent of the area's population. Other ethnic groups include Somalis, Black Africans
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
and Black Caribbeans.
Religion
The two main faiths of the people are IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, with 50 per cent Muslim and 34 per cent Christians.
There are many historical churches in Bethnal Green. Notable churches include, St. John on Bethnal Green located near the Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station is a station on the Central Line of the London Underground in Bethnal Green, East London. It lies between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station was opened as part of the long planned Central Line eastern extension on 4 December...
, on Bethnal Green Road and Roman Road. The church was built from 1826 to 1828 by the architect John Soane
John Soane
Sir John Soane, RA was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources...
. Other notable churches include St Matthew - built by George Dance the Elder
George Dance the Elder
George Dance the Elder was an English architect of the 18th century. He served as the City of London surveyor and architect from 1735 until his death....
in 1746. St Matthew is the mother church of Bethnal Green; the church's opening coincided with a vast population increase in the former village of Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, resulting in the need to separate the area around Bethnal Green from the mother Parish of St Dunstan's, Stepney
St Dunstan's, Stepney
St Dunstan's, Stepney is an Anglican Church which stands on a site which has been used for Christian worship for over a thousand years. It is located in Stepney High Street, in Stepney, London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-History:...
. All but the bell tower, still standing today, was destroyed by fire and the church again suffered devastating damage during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War, resulting in the installation of a temporary church within the bombed-out building. St. Matthew's remains a major beacon of the local East End community and is frequented on Sundays
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
and other religious occasions by a mixture of established locals and more recent migrants to the area.
Other churches include St. Peter's Church
St. Peter's Church
St. Peter's Church, or variations on that name including Old St. Peter's Church, may refer to:-Bermuda:* St. Peter's Church, St. George's, the oldest-surviving Anglican church outside the British Isles, and the oldest surviving Protestant church in the New World.-Ireland:* St. Peter's Church,...
by Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy was an English architect belonging to the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.-Life:Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 1791, and articled to Sir Robert Smirke...
(1841), St James the Less by Lewis Vulliamy (1842), St James the Great by Edward Blore
Edward Blore
Edward Blore was a 19th century British landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland ....
(1843), and St Bartholomew by William Railton
William Railton
William Railton was an English architect, best known as the designer of Nelson's Column. He was based in London with offices at 12 Regent Street for much of his career.He was a pupil of the London architect and surveyor William Inwood....
(1844). The church attendance in Bethnal Green was 1 in 8 people since 1900, and is estimated around 100 people attend church as of today (only 10% attend regularly in the UK). Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s and burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
s have been deposited nearly at all churches in Bethnal Green.
There are four Islamic places of worship or services in Bethnal Green for the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community. These are the Baitul Aman Mosque and Cultural Centre, Darul Hadis Latifiah
Darul Hadis Latifiah
Darul Hadis Latifiah is a Islamic education centre established in 1978 by a group of parents and community leaders, under the guidance of Abdul Latif Chowdhury , in order to meet the growing wishes of local Bangladeshi Muslim parents to educate their children in Qur'an and...
, the Senegambian Islamic Cultural Centre and the Globe Town Mosque and Cultural Centre. The London Buddhist Centre
London Buddhist Centre
The London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green, East London, is the main London base of the Triratna Buddhist Community, formerly known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. It opened in 1978, and is located in an ornate, vernacular redbrick Victorian fire station, completed in 1888, and in...
, at 51 Roman Road, is one of the largest urban Buddhist centres in the west, and is the focus of a large Buddhist residential and business community in the area.
Education
Bethnal Green has numerous primary schools serving children aged three to 11. St. Matthias School on Bacon Street, off Brick Lane, is over a century old and uses the Seal of the old Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal GreenMetropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough in the East End of London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the Bethnal Green hamlet in Stepney ancient parish. The vestry became an electing authority to the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and in 1889 it became...
as its badge and emblem. The school is over a century old but underwent extensive remodelling in 1994 and added a new sports hall on its Grimsby Street former playground site in 2006. The school is linked with the nearby 18th century St. Matthew's Church on St. Matthew's Row; pupils attend mass and perform seasonal plays and performances at the church and the Parish reverend provides religious instruction at the school. The Bangabandhu Primary School, named after the father of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Sheikh Mujib, a non-selective state community school
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
, was opened in January 1989, moved to a new building in November 1991, and has over 450 pupils. 70% of the school's pupils speak English as a second language, with a majority speaking Sylheti
Sylheti language
Sylheti is the language of Sylhet, which is also known as the Surma Valley and is located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura...
, a dialect of Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, at home, but the Ofsted inspectorate deemed Bangabandhu a "successful and effective school" where pupils "achieve well and make good progress".
Bethnal Green's oldest secondary school is Raine's Foundation School
Raine's Foundation School
Raine's Foundation School is a Church of England Voluntary Aided school in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.Henry Raine, a very rich man who lived in Wapping, decided to create a school where poor children could get an education for free, so that they could go into skilled labour when they left....
, with sites on Old Bethnal Green and Approach roads, a voluntary aided Anglican school founded in 1719. The school relocated several times, amalgamating with St. Jude's School for Girls to become coeducational in 1977. Other schools in the area include Bethnal Green Technology College
Bethnal Green Technology College
Bethnal Green Technology College or simply known as BGTC is a mixed state comprehensive school for students aged between 11-16 based in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in east London....
, Oaklands School, and Morpeth School
Morpeth School
Morpeth Secondary School is a secondary school in east London, situated in Bethnal Green with nearly 1200 pupils.The current headteacher is Sir Alasdair Uist MacDonald, under whose tenure the school has undergone a renaissance...
.
The V&A Museum of Childhood
V&A Museum of Childhood
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum , which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.-History:...
on Cambridge Heath Road
Cambridge Heath
Cambridge Heath is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The earliest recorded use of the name is as Camprichthesheth in 1275.It forms part of the East End of London and is located north of Bethnal Green. The area is the location, at Patriot Square, of the former Bethnal Green Town Hall...
houses the child related objects of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
.
The Bethnal Park (also known as Barmey Park) and Bethnal Green Library provide leisure facilities and information.
Transport
The nearest London Underground stations are Bethnal GreenBethnal Green tube station
Bethnal Green tube station is a station on the Central Line of the London Underground in Bethnal Green, East London. It lies between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station was opened as part of the long planned Central Line eastern extension on 4 December...
, Whitechapel
Whitechapel tube station
Whitechapel is a London Underground and London Overground station on Whitechapel Road in the Whitechapel neighbourhood of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London, England. The station is located on the east–west tracks shared by the District line and Hammersmith and City line and is on...
and Stepney Green
Stepney Green tube station
Stepney Green is a London Underground station on the District and Hammersmith and City lines, located on the junction of Globe Road and Mile End Road in the Stepney area of east London, United Kingdom.-History:...
. In addition, there are two local mainline railway stations: Bethnal Green railway station
Bethnal Green railway station
Bethnal Green railway station is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by National Express East Anglia, on the West Anglia route, and it is in Travelcard Zone 2...
(not to be confused with the Tube station of the same name) and Cambridge Heath railway station
Cambridge Heath railway station
Cambridge Heath railway station is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by National Express East Anglia, on the West Anglia route, and it is in Travelcard Zone 2....
. Several bus routes also serve the area.
See also
- List of people from Tower Hamlets
- List of schools in Tower Hamlets
- Stepney Historical Trust