Tower Hamlets
Taking in Spitalfields, Bow and, to the south, the Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets’ story dates back to Roman times.
The imprint of the many migrant communities who’ve made the area their home is everywhere – perhaps most notably in Brick Lane Jamme Masjid. Now a mosque, it was built in 1743 as a French Protestant church, before becoming a synagogue in 1898.
Tower Hamlets’ diverse influences are part of the draw for numerous creative people. Artists Gilbert & George and Tracey Emin are among those to have lived in the borough.
Tourists flock to bustling markets on Columbia Road and Petticoat Lane – and to explore the streets once roamed by Jack the Ripper.
But it’s also where bankers go to work among the sleek glass towers of Canary Wharf. And where Victoria Park opened in 1845 for the benefit of the East End working class – one of the first public parks in London.
The Roman Road market in 1968
2,420 Results
A black builder poses for the camera during the topping out of new flats in Treby Street, Mile End (negative)
Grant, Henry
C. 1960
A boy and a policeman on 'Petticoat Lane', East London (silver gelatin print)
Mayne, Roger
1956
A boy walks beside the Bridge Road high wall, West India Docks (photograph)
Monck, Margaret, Monck, Margaret
1931-1940
A correct account of the Horrid Murder of Catherine Reilly by her own Husband, With the Inquest held on the body (criminal broadside)
Quick, John Vandenburg
1832
A couple sitting on the wall walk of the Tower of London (silver gelatin print)
Rice, Jim
1979
A disabled beggar and a young woman in Sclater Street, Spitalfields (silver gelatin print)
Fear, Sally
1975-04
A food convoy under military escort during the 1926 General Strike, Royal Victoria Docks (gelatin silver print)
Avery, John Henry
1926
A girl sleeping in a sponsored cot at Queen's Hospital, Hackney Road (glass plate)
Brain, Philip
C. 1910
A group of girls at an Irish dance class (silver gelatin print)
Cardwell, Keith
1992-1993
A group of Muslim men and a young girl in Whitechapel (silver gelatin print)
Cardwell, Keith
1992
A group of people celebrating the 1953 Coronation off Chisenhale Road, East London (silver gelatin print)
Henderson, Nigel
1953
A Jewish street vendor on Bethnal Green Road, East London (silver gelatin print)
Henderson, Nigel
C. 1952
A magician performs card tricks at Petticoat Lane street market (cellulose acetate negative)
Grant, Henry
1952
A man walks through Brick Lane market carrying a chair on his head (pigment print)
Baldesare, Paul
2008
