114-874: The East End of London , often referred to within the London area simply as the East End , is the historic core of wider East London , east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames . It does not have universally accepted boundaries on its north and east sides, though the River Lea is sometimes seen as the eastern boundary. Parts of it may be regarded as lying within Central London (though that term too has no precise definition). The term "East of Aldgate Pump "
228-516: A byword for wider East London , before East London grew further still, east of the River Lea and into Essex . The contrast between the east and west ends was stark, in 1797 the Prussian writer and historian Archenholz wrote: (The east)...especially along the shores of the Thames, consists of old houses, the streets there are narrow, dark, and ill paved; inhabited by sailors and other workmen... and by
342-546: A byword for wider East London, before East London grew further still, east of the River Lea and into Essex . The area was notorious for its deep poverty, overcrowding and associated social problems. This led to the East End's history of intense political activism and association with some of the country's most influential social reformers. Another major theme of East End history has been migration, both inward and outward. The area had
456-585: A change to the boundaries of these two constituencies were published by the Boundary Commission in July 2023. The borough was formed by the merger of the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney , Shoreditch and Stoke Newington , with the boundaries of these very closely based on the Ancient Parishes of the same name; these areas have been consistently defined for many centuries. Historically, the River Lea formed
570-528: A city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from the rest of London. The majority of the rail network in East London was built within fifty years from 1839. The first through the area was the Eastern Counties Railway from Mile End to Romford, extended to Shoreditch in 1840. The London and Blackwall Railway built a line from Minories to Blackwall the same year and
684-460: A diplomat. The village of Hackney flourished from the Tudor to late Georgian periods as a rural retreat. The first documented " hackney coach "—the forerunner of the more generic " hackney carriage "—operated in London in 1621. Current opinion is that the name "hackney", to refer to a London taxi, is derived from the village name. (Hackney, associated with high-stepping horses and horse-drawn carriages,
798-526: A goods yard, in 1881, to bring imports from Eastern ports. With the introduction of containerisation, the station declined, suffered a fire in 1964 that destroyed the station buildings, and it was finally demolished in 2004 for the extension of the East London Line . In the 19th century, the area north of Bow Road became a major railway centre for the North London Railway , with marshalling yards and
912-584: A great part of the Jews. The contrast between this and the west is astonishing Writing of the period around 1800, Rev. Richardson commented on the estrangements between the east and west: The inhabitants of the extreme east of London knew nothing of the western localities and vice-versa. There was little communication or sympathy between the two ends of London. …and thus the householders of Westminster were as distinct from householders of Bishopsgate Without , Shoreditch and all those localities which stretch towards
1026-531: A local landmark that remained until it was demolished to improve access for the London City Airport . The first railway (the " Commercial Railway ") to be built, in 1840, was a passenger service based on cable haulage by stationary steam engines that ran the 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from Minories to Blackwall on a pair of tracks. It required 14 mi (22.5 km) of hemp rope , and "dropped" carriages as it arrived at stations, which were reattached to
1140-553: A maintenance depot serving both the City and the West India docks. Nearby Bow railway station opened in 1850 and was rebuilt in 1870 in a grand style, featuring a concert hall. The line and yards closed in 1944, after severe bomb damage, and never reopened, as goods became less significant, and cheaper facilities were concentrated in Essex. The River Lea was a constraint to eastward expansion, but
1254-464: A series forming the basis for London Labour and the London Poor (1851), that the trades in the area included tailors, costermongers , shoemakers, dustmen, sawyers, carpenters, cabinet makers and silkweavers. He noted that in the area: roads were unmade, often mere alleys, houses small and without foundations, subdivided and often around unpaved courts. An almost total lack of drainage and sewerage
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#17330847682291368-625: A series of transportation milestones achieved in Walthamstow. In 1885, John Kemp Starley designed the first modern bicycle, while in 1892 Frederick Bremer built the first British motorcar in a workshop in his garden. The London General Omnibus Company built the first mass-produced buses there, the B-type from 1908 onwards and in 1909, A V Roe successfully tested the first all-British aeroplane on Walthamstow Marshes . The East End has historically suffered from poor housing stock and infrastructure. From
1482-504: A strong pull on the rural poor from other parts of England, and attracted waves of migration from further afield, notably Huguenot refugees, Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews , and, in the 20th century, Bengalis . The closure of the last of the Port of London's East End docks in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration, with Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park among
1596-439: A weak correlation with woodland cover, especially in the early post-Conquest Period. By the time of the earliest reliable maps, in the 18th century, the area covered by the modern borough was an agricultural area characterised by enclosed farmland with small hamlets and very little woodland. There were a number of commons, most of which survived to become the basis of modern parks. Many of the major roads were present by this time,
1710-736: A weakly or partially understood extent and it is not unusual for perceptions of place to overlap or change over time. The area of the former parish and borough of Stoke Newington includes the Woodberry Down area, while the former parish and borough of Shoreditch includes Hoxton and Haggerston . The former parish and borough of Hackney is much larger and includes Hackney Central , Hackney Downs , West Hackney , Dalston , De Beauvoir Town , Shacklewell , Stamford Hill , London Fields , Upper and Lower Clapton , Hackney Wick and Homerton . The London Borough of Hackney covers an area of 19.06 km (7.36 sq mi), rising westward from
1824-564: Is reputed to have established a palace at Bow and Henry VIII established a hunting lodge at Bromley Hall . The rural population of the area grew considerably in the Medieval period, despite reductions caused by the Norman Conquest and the Black Death. The pattern of agricultural settlement in south-east England was typically of dispersed farmhouses, rather than nucleated villages. However
1938-507: Is a London borough in Inner London , England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street , which lies 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Charing Cross . The borough is named after Hackney , its principal district. Southern and eastern parts of the borough are popularly regarded as being part of east London that spans some of the traditional East End of London with the northwest belonging to north London. Its population
2052-473: Is estimated to be 281,120. The London Plan issued by the Greater London Authority assigns whole boroughs to sub-regions for statutory monitoring, engagement and resource allocation purposes. The most recent (2011) iteration of this plan assigns Hackney to the 'East' sub-region, while the 2008 and 2004 versions assigned the borough to "North" and "East" sub-regions respectively. The modern borough
2166-503: Is generally the lowest elevated of London's four cardinal points because of the wide Thames that runs here; the only hills here are in northern areas distant from the river in the boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. In Tower Hamlets, the population peaked in 1891 and growth was restricted to the outer boroughs. By 1971 the population was declining in every borough. By the 2011 United Kingdom census, this had reversed and every borough had undergone some growth in population. At
2280-641: Is governed by a London borough council local authority. Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham and Redbridge are members of the East London Waste Authority . Some local government functions are held by the Greater London Authority , made up of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . East London is located in the lower Thames valley. The major rivers of East London are the Thames that forms
2394-497: Is in some respects to be call'd a part of it. This town is so remarkable for the retreat of wealthy citizens, that there is at this time near a hundred coaches kept in it; tho' I will not join with a certain satyrical author, who said of Hackney, that there were more coaches than Christians in it. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1792, replacing the nearby former 16th-century parish church dedicated to St Augustine (pulled down in 1798). Notable residents from
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#17330847682292508-466: Is recorded at Ratcliff in 1354, with shipfitting and repair carried out in Blackwall by 1485 and a major fishing port developed downstream at Barking to provide fish for the City. These and other factors meant that industries relating to construction, repair, and victualling of naval and merchant ships flourished in the area but the City of London retained its right to land the goods, until 1799. Growth
2622-567: Is regarded as the symbolic start of the East End. On the river, the Tower Dock inlet, just west of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge marks the beginning of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and its older predecessors. Beyond these reference points, the East End has no official or generally accepted boundaries; views vary as to how much of wider East London lies within it. In extending from
2736-509: Is sometimes used as a synonym for the area. The East End began to emerge in the Middle Ages with initially slow urban growth outside the eastern walls, which later accelerated, especially in the 19th century, to absorb pre-existing settlements. The first known written record of the East End as a distinct entity, as opposed to its component parts, comes from John Strype 's 1720 Survey of London , which describes London as consisting of four parts:
2850-577: Is the root of the French word haquenée , a term used for a small breed of horse, and the Sardinian achetta horse.) Construction of the railway in the 1850s ended Hackney's rural reputation by connecting it to other parts of the city and stimulating development. London's first Tudor theatres were built at Shoreditch . The Gunpowder Plot was first exposed nearby in Hoxton . In 1727 Daniel Defoe said of
2964-488: Is to add to Tower Hamlets the former parish and borough of Shoreditch (including Hoxton and Haggerston ), which is now the southern part of the modern London Borough of Hackney . Other commentators prefer a definition broader still, encompassing districts such as West Ham , East Ham , Leyton , Walthamstow , parts or all of Hackney (the district, rather than the larger modern borough) and Ilford . The wider East London area might be said to comprise, or approximate to,
3078-458: Is uncertain, but is known to be an ancient name. The concept of East London as a distinct area is a relatively recent innovation. John Strype 's map of 1720 describes London as consisting of four parts: The City of London , Westminster , Southwark and That Part Beyond the Tower . From the late 19th century the term East End of London was used to describe areas immediately adjacent to the City in
3192-767: The Elizabeth line . There are road tunnels at Rotherhithe and Blackwall , with the Woolwich Ferry further east. There are foot tunnels to Greenwich and Woolwich . In 1870, the Tower Subway cable railway tunnel was converted to pedestrian use; it was closed in 1898, following the opening of Tower Bridge. A cable car service opened in 2012. 51°33′N 0°6′E / 51.550°N 0.100°E / 51.550; 0.100 ( East London ) London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( / ˈ h æ k n i / HAK -nee )
3306-518: The Essex side of the city, as they are from the inhabitants of Holland or Belgium. The East End has always contained some of London's poorest areas. The main reasons for this include: In medieval times trades were carried out in workshops in and around the owners' premises in the City. By the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666 these were becoming industries, and some were particularly noisome, such as
3420-634: The Great Fire of London , and Captain Cook moved from Shadwell to Stepney Green , where a school and assembly rooms had been established (commemorated by Assembly Passage , and a plaque on the site of Cook's house on the Mile End Road). Mile End Old Town also acquired some fine buildings, and the New Town began to be built. By 1882, Walter Besant was able to describe East London as a city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from
3534-630: The Hackney Marshes to straighten a meander of the natural river. In Roman times and for a long time after, the River Lea was an estuary, tidal as far as Hackney Wick . At Hackney Wick the Hackney Brook met the Lea ; the confluence was very wide when flooded. Hackney Brook was fully culverted in 1860 by the Metropolitan Board of Works . The New River was opened in 1613, diverting water from
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3648-605: The London Olympics in 2012 , with several of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park venues falling within its boundaries. In the 13th century the name appears as Hackenaye or Hacquenye , but no certain derivation is advanced. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Place Names (fourth edition) discusses the origin of the name. The first surviving records of the place name are as Hakney (1231) and Hakeneye (1242 and 1294). The "ey" suffix almost certainly refers to an island;
3762-734: The Metropolitan Building Act of 1844 led to growth over that river into West Ham . The Act restricted the operation of dangerous and noxious industries from in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the Lea . Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the banks of the river. The building of the Royal Docks consisting of the Royal Victoria Dock (1855), able to berth vessels of up to 8000 tons; Royal Albert Dock (1880), up to 12,000 tons; and King George V Dock (1921), up to 30,000 tons, on
3876-507: The Moorfields countryside. These boundaries remained consistent after urbanisation and so might be said to delineate east and north London. The boundary line, with very slight modifications, has also become the boundary between the modern London Boroughs of Hackney and Islington . Building accelerated in the late 16th century, and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape. Writing in 1603, John Stow described
3990-585: The Northern and Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge and Tottenham with the Eastern Counties at Stratford. The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway started passenger service on their line from Stratford to Canning Town, Custom House and North Woolwich in 1847. This made Stratford a significant railway junction and location of railway works. The East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway connected Kingsland with Bow and Poplar in 1850 and
4104-596: The Peabody Trust were formed to provide homes for the poor and to clear the slums generally. Expansion by the railway companies, such as the London and Blackwall Railway and Great Eastern Railway , caused large areas of slum housing to be demolished. The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), gave local authorities, notably London County Council , new powers and responsibilities and led to
4218-673: The River Lea was considered to separate the territories of the Catuvellauni to the west of the river from the Trinovantes to the east. The Romans built the Roman road , Ermine Street , which runs through the modern borough under the names Shoreditch High Street and Kingsland Road , among others. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the River Lea separated the core territories of the East Saxons (on
4332-444: The River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of railways in the 19th century encouraged the eastward expansion of the East End of London and a proliferation of new suburbs. The industrial lands of East London are today an area of regeneration, which are well advanced in places such as Canary Wharf and ongoing elsewhere. The etymology of London
4446-462: The SS Great Eastern , designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott Russell & Co , of Millwall . The 692 ft (211 m) vessel was too long to fit across the river, and so the ship had to be launched sideways. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch, after this, shipbuilding on the Thames went into a long decline. Ships continued to be built at
4560-512: The South Hornsey exclaves of Hornsey , with a population about 20,000, with Stoke Newington. While this still created a borough of only about 50,000 inhabitants, and thus "the smallest borough in London, the anomaly would be a gradually diminishing one, because the population in this district was rapidly increasing. When dividing London up into boroughs they could not avoid creating some anomalies as to size." The modern London Borough of Hackney
4674-546: The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Blackwall and Canning Town until the yard closed in 1913, shortly after the launch of the Dreadnought Battleship HMS Thunderer (1911) . Heading eastward from the Tower of London lie six and a half mile of former docklands; the most central of the docks – just east of the Tower, is St Katharine Docks , built in 1828 to accommodate luxury goods. This
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4788-685: The Tower Division , which had owed military service to the Constable of the Tower (in his ex-officio role as Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets ) for time immemorial, having its roots in the Bishop of London's historic Manor of Stepney . This made the Constable an influential figure in the civil and military affairs of the early East End. Later, as London grew further, the fully urbanised Tower Division became
4902-587: The Tudor period , the lands of religious orders were seized by the Crown and put up for sale. Thus Hackney became a retreat for the nobility around Hackney Central and Homerton . Henry VIII 's Palace was by Lea Bridge roundabout , where BSix Sixth Form College stands today. Sutton House , on Homerton High Street, is the oldest surviving dwelling in Hackney, originally built in 1535 as Bryck Place for Sir Ralph Sadleir ,
5016-584: The West Indies was unloaded directly into quayside warehouses. Ships were limited to 6000 tons. The old Brunswick Dock, a shipyard at Blackwall became the basis for the East India Company 's East India Docks established there in 1806. The Millwall Docks were created in 1868, predominantly for the import of grain and timber. These docks housed the first purpose built granary for the Baltic grain market ,
5130-565: The estuary marshes helped extend the continuous development of London across the Lea into Essex. The railways gave access to a passenger terminal at Gallions Reach and new suburbs created in West Ham , which quickly became a major manufacturing town, with 30,000 houses built between 1871 and 1901. Soon afterwards, East Ham was built up to serve the new Gas Light and Coke Company and Bazalgette's grand sewage works at Beckton . The years 1885–1909 saw
5244-430: The 16th century and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape. Until about 1700, London did not extend far beyond the walled boundaries of the City of London. However, the population in the parishes to the east of the City of London was rising and this led to a need to break up the large ancient parish of Stepney into smaller units to provide adequate religious and civil administration. It
5358-673: The 17th, 18th and 19th centuries included Robert Aske , William Cecil , Samuel Courtauld , Samuel Hoare , Joseph Priestley and Thomas Sutton . Many grand houses stood in Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill ; the latter neighbourhood became a center of Hackney's many Orthodox Jewish residents from the 1930s. Alfred Hitchcock made many of his first films in Hoxton at the Gainsborough Studios in Poole Street. The interwar era saw
5472-452: The 1950s, the area was a microcosm of the structural and social changes affecting the UK economy . The closure of docks, cutbacks in railways and loss of industry contributed to a long-term decline, removing many of the traditional sources of low- and semi-skilled jobs. East London East London is the northeastern part of London , England, east of the ancient City of London and north of
5586-439: The 2021 census Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge surpassed their earlier population peaks. The total population of this area in 2021 was 1.9 million people. The population change between 1801 and 2021 was as follows: The City of London and West London are connected to South London by more than thirty bridges, but East London is only connected by Tower Bridge at its innermost edge. The reasons for this include
5700-404: The City of London, Westminster , Southwark , and "That Part beyond the Tower". The relevance of Strype's reference to the Tower was more than geographical. The East End was the urbanised part of an administrative area called the Tower Division , which had owed military service to the Tower of London since time immemorial. Later, as London grew further, the fully urbanised Tower Division became
5814-402: The East End as a distinct entity, rather than a collection of parishes, when he describes London as consisting of four parts: the City of London, Westminster , Southwark , and "That Part beyond the Tower" . The relevance of Strype's reference to the Tower was more than geographical. The East End (including the Tower and its Liberties ) was the urbanised part of an administrative area called
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#17330847682295928-566: The East End rather than in the crowded streets of the City. In 1817 the Lower Moorfields was built on and the gap with Finsbury was fully closed, and in the late 19th century development across the Lea in West Ham began in earnest. As time went on, large estates began to be split up, ending the constraining effect of short-term copyhold. Estates of fine houses for captains, merchants and owners of manufacturers began to be built. Samuel Pepys moved his family and goods to Bethnal Green during
6042-764: The Lea catchment to create a source of drinking water for London. The New River still passes through the borough, close to Finsbury Park and flows towards Islington . Another man-made feature, the Regents Canal also crosses the borough to the south of De Beauvoir Town in the west, joining the Hertford Union Canal below Victoria Park. Much of Hackney retains an inner-city character, but in such places as Dalston large housing estates have been joined by newly developed gated communities . In South Hackney , near Victoria Park , terraced Georgian , Victorian and Edwardian housing still survives. Light industries in
6156-447: The Lea to reach 30 m (98 ft) above sea level at Clapton Common and Stamford Hill . The area around Victoria Park , in the south of the borough lies about 15 metres (49 feet) above sea level. After the Norman Conquest the area became part of the Forest of Middlesex , which covered much of the county , but this gives rise to misunderstanding, as in this context "Forest" is a legal term referring to royal hunting rights and had
6270-510: The Thames and east of the City of London that stretched as far as Chingford and Epping Forest, which was similar to the definition used by Robert Sinclair in 1950 that stretched east to include Barking and Dagenham. This broadly matched the Metropolitan Police District east of the city and north of the Thames at that time, and now corresponds to the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest in Greater London . The East End of London ,
6384-517: The Tower division of Middlesex. Charles Booth in 1889 defined East London as the County of London between the City of London and the River Lea . In 1902, Booth considered this area to be the "true East End", and his attention had been drawn eastward over the Lea into the Borough of West Ham , which was then outside London, and geographically in Essex, but under the authority of neither; in 1857 Charles Dickens termed it "London-over-the-Border". Walter Besant described East London as an area north of
6498-422: The Tower, and St Katherine's on the Thames. Bromley was home to St Leonards Priory and Barking Abbey , important as a religious centre since Norman times was where William the Conqueror had first established his English court. Further east the Cistercian Stratford Langthorne Abbey became the court of Henry III in 1267 for the visitation of the Papal legates , and it was here that he made peace with
6612-455: The Walthamstow line in 1873 and extended to Chingford. The London and Blackwall built an extension to Millwall and North Greenwich on the Isle of Dogs in 1872 and the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was extended to Beckton in 1873, and Gallions in 1880. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Barking with Dagenham, Hornchurch and Upminster in 1885, and Romford with Upminster in 1893. The final piece of original railway works
6726-519: The area around the River Lea employ over 3,000 people. The Lea and Hackney Marshes are underlain by alluvium soils; and the higher ground between Homerton and Stamford Hill is formed on a widening bed of London Clay . Brickearth deposits are within tongues of clay extending beneath Clapton Common, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington High Street. The centre and south-western districts lie on river terrace deposits of Taplow Gravel. Victoria Park and Well Street Common lie on flood plain gravel. This data
6840-413: The barons under the terms of the Dictum of Kenilworth . It became the fifth largest Abbey in the country, visited by monarchs and providing a retreat (and a final resting place) for the nobility. Edward I held his parliament at Stepney in 1299. The lands east of the City have sometimes been used as hunting grounds for bishops and royalty. The Bishop of London had a palace at Bethnal Green , King John
6954-415: The basis of a later unit called the Tower Division, or Tower Hamlets which extended as far north as Stamford Hill . It is thought that the manor was held by the Bishop of London , in compensation for his duties in maintaining and garrisoning the Tower of London . The oldest recorded reference to this obligation is from 1554, but it is thought to pre-date that by centuries. These landholdings would become
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#17330847682297068-405: The basis of the Ancient Parishes and City Wards which, by occasional fission and mergers, developed into the administrative units of today. Five monastic institutions, centres of learning and charity, were established just outside the walls: Bedlam , Holywell Priory , The New Hospital of St Mary without Bishopsgate , the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate , Eastminster near
7182-657: The boundary between the predecessor counties of Middlesex and Essex . Within these parish areas are a large number of sub-districts, some of which have sub-districts of their own. These sub-districts are generally based on former hamlets that expanded and merged as the area urbanised. These sub-districts have never been administrative units so have never had any formal boundaries, however a degree of informal definition has developed. The sub-districts typically take Metropolitan Borough \ Ancient Parish boundaries where available, and can also have informal customary boundaries such as road and railways. Despite this, many areas have only
7296-468: The building of social housing by the LCC and the borough council in the area including the Kingsmead Estate, Morningside Estate, Banister House and Nisbet House. The borough also includes housing projects developed by high-profile postwar architects including The Beckers (1958) by Sir Frederick Gibberd , Granard House (1959) by Colin St John Wilson and Pitcairn House (1962) by Eric Lyons . Following extensive post-war development and immigration since
7410-700: The building of new philanthropic housing such as Blackwall Buildings and Great Eastern Buildings. By 1890, official slum clearance programmes had begun. These included the creation of the world's first council housing, the LCC Boundary Estate , which replaced the neglected and crowded streets of Friars Mount, better known as The Old Nichol Street Rookery. Between 1918 and 1939 the LCC continued replacing East End housing with five- or six-storey flats, despite residents preferring houses with gardens and opposition from shopkeepers who were forced to relocate to new, more expensive premises. The Second World War brought an end to further slum clearance. Industries associated with
7524-482: The cable for the return journey, the train "reassembling" itself at the terminus. The line was converted to standard gauge in 1859, and steam locomotives adopted. The building of London termini at Fenchurch Street (1841), and Bishopsgate (1840) provided access to new suburbs across the River Lea , again resulting in the destruction of housing and increased overcrowding in the slums. After the opening of Liverpool Street station (1874), Bishopsgate railway station became
7638-597: The civic and ceremonial duties previously undertaken by the (non-political) mayor prior to 2002. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly , the borough forms part of the North East constituency. The constituency returned Sem Moema AM as the directly elected Assembly Member in 2021. The borough comprises two parliamentary constituencies: Hackney North and Stoke Newington (represented by Diane Abbott MP) and Hackney South and Shoreditch (represented by Meg Hillier MP); both are Privy Counsellors and Labour Party Members of Parliament . Final recommendations for
7752-449: The civil parishes continued to be based on the same ancient parish areas. 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 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 . Shoreditch
7866-462: The defence of Aldgate and the nearby walls. The land inside and outside Bishopsgate seems to have been the responsibility of the Bishop of London (the Bishop of the East Saxons ), who was promoting building in the underdeveloped eastern side of the walled area, and who may also have had a role in defending Bishopsgate itself. Apart from parts of Shoreditch, the rest of the area was part of the Bishop of London's Manor of Stepney . The Manor's lands were
7980-404: The dictionary favours the interpretation that Hackney means "Haka's island", with Haka being a notable local person and the island (or inaccessible place surrounded by marshes) lying close to the River Lea . This was once a much wilder place than today. The dictionary suggests that the Hack element may also derive from: Given the island context, the "hatch" option is unlikely to be correct, so
8094-404: 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 silk industry's decline. During the 19th century, building on an ad hoc basis could not keep up with the expanding population's needs. Henry Mayhew visited Bethnal Green in 1850 and wrote for the Morning Chronicle , as a part of
8208-572: The east side) from the Middle Saxons (on the western, Hackney side) they often controlled. This continuity of this natural boundary from pre-Roman period may be a result of the differing Saxon groups taking control of pre-defined territories. After both areas were brought under the control of Alfred the Great , the river became the boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex (Hackney) and Essex (modern Newham , Waltham Forest and Redbridge ). In
8322-534: The favoured "Haka's Island" or the "Island on the bend" seem more likely. The place name will have originally referred to just the island or possibly both the island and the manor of the same name based around it. Subsequently, the name Hackney was applied to the whole ancient parish of Hackney. In the Iron Age and probably until after the Roman period (as the Romans used tribal territories as administrative sub-divisions),
8436-452: The late 20th century, population pressure has increased and the area's many Georgian and Victorian terraces are being gentrified, warehouses are being converted to housing, and new flats are being built. In the 1980s and beyond, Hackney was described as the poorest borough in Britain - although it has been questioned whether this may have in fact been Glasgow , at the time. The council used
8550-505: The line of the former walls, the area is taken to include the small ancient extramural City wards of Bishopsgate Without and the Portsoken (as established until 21st century boundary reviews). The various channels of the River Lea are sometimes viewed as the eastern boundary. Beyond the small eastern extramural wards, the narrowest definition restricts the East End to the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets . A more common preference
8664-451: The longstanding presence of that open space separating the emerging East End from the western and small northern suburb must have helped shape the different economic character of the areas and perceptions of their distinct identity (see map below). Shoreditch's boundary with the parish of St Luke's (which, like its predecessor St Giles-without-Cripplegate served the Finsbury area) ran through
8778-491: The lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs . In this area the three parishes each became a borough: Hackney , Shoreditch and Stoke Newington . There were some rationalisations to boundaries, notably that Shoreditch absorbed part of the tiny Liberty of Norton Folgate (with the rest going to neighbouring Stepney ). Stoke Newington was smaller than the desired size for the new boroughs, and there were proposals to re-merge Stoke Newington and Hackney, or to detach
8892-447: The marshy area of Pimlico . These docks imported tobacco, wine, wool and other goods into guarded warehouses within high walls (some of which still remain). They were able to berth over 300 sailing vessels simultaneously, but by 1971 they closed, no longer able to accommodate modern shipping. The West India Docks were established in 1803, providing berths for larger ships and a model for future London dock building. Imported produce from
9006-520: The modern borough broadly corresponds to the three ancient parishes of Hackney , Shoreditch and Stoke Newington , which had all historically been part of the Ossulstone hundred of the county of Middlesex . For some administrative functions, Ossulstone was divided into four divisions. Stoke Newington was part of the Finsbury division . Hackney and Shoreditch were both part of the Tower division , which
9120-501: The most successful examples. Paradoxically, while some parts of the East End are undergoing rapid change and are amongst the areas with the highest mean salary in the UK, it also continues to contain some of the worst poverty in Great Britain. The East End lies east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames . Aldgate Pump on the edge of the City
9234-473: The northern part of Hackney and join it with Stoke Newington. These proposals were rejected due to the experience of "intolerable and interminable feuds" between the districts when they were previously "forced together". The First Lord of the Treasury , Arthur Balfour recognised that there was "great ill-feeling and mutual ill-will... between the inhabitants of the two districts". It was therefore decided to merge
9348-472: The old core of modern East London, began with the medieval growth of London beyond the city walls , along the Roman roads leading from Bishopsgate and Aldgate , and also along the river. Growth was much slower in the east, and the modest extensions there were separated from the much larger suburbs in the west by the marshy open area of Moorfields adjacent to the wall on the north side, which discouraged development in that direction. Urbanisation accelerated in
9462-508: The phrase 'Britain's Poorest Borough' in official materials. It was described in this way as late as 2001 and in Parliament in 2010. This picture has now changed: the 2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation found that Hackney was the 22nd most deprived borough in England, down from 11th in 2015 and 2nd in 2010, whilst Hackney has also featured prominently in discussions of gentrification . It
9576-469: The presence of the city and maritime trades as a market for goods and services led to a thriving mixed economy in the countryside of the Manor of Stepney. This led to large settlements, inhabited mostly by tradesmen (rather than farmers) to develop along the major roads forming hamlets such as Mile End and Bow. These settlements would expand and merge with the development radiating out from London itself. Geography
9690-455: The processing of urine for the tanning industry, or required large amounts of space, such as drying clothes after process and dying in fields known as tentergrounds . Some were dangerous, such as the manufacture of gunpowder or the proving of guns. These activities came to be performed outside the City walls in the near suburbs of the East End. Later, when lead-making and bone-processing for soap and china came to be established, they too located in
9804-537: The rest of the capital. As the area became built up and more crowded, the wealthy sold their plots for subdivision and moved further afield. Into the 18th and 19th centuries, there were still attempts to build fine houses, for example Tredegar Square (1830), and the open fields around Mile End New Town were used for the construction of estates of workers' cottages in 1820. This was designed in 1817 in Birmingham by Anthony Hughes and finally constructed in 1820. Globe Town
9918-557: The road now known as the A10 was Roman, and others, like many in England, may be older. With the obvious exception of the urbanisation of the area, the greatest changes have been to the waterways and wetlands of the area. The River Lea , the area's primary geographic feature, has lost its grazing marshes and seen the River Lee Navigation created in 1770. This is an artificial channel of the river, passing through Hackney Cut and across
10032-470: The sea developed throughout the East End, including rope making and shipbuilding. The former location of roperies can still be identified from their long straight, narrow profile in the modern streets, for instance Ropery Street near Mile End . Shipbuilding for the navy is recorded at Ratcliff in 1354, with shipfitting and repair carried out in Blackwall by 1485. On 31 January 1858, the largest ship of that time,
10146-497: The southern boundary; the Lea which forms the boundary of Tower Hamlets/Hackney with Newham/Waltham Forest; the Roding which approximately forms the boundary of Newham with Barking and Dagenham/Redbridge; and the Beam which forms the boundary of Barking and Dagenham with Havering. The marshes along the Thames which once stretched from Wapping to Rainham are almost completely gone. East London
10260-421: The squalid riverside development, extending nearly as far as Ratcliff , which had developed mostly within his lifetime. The polluted nature of the area was noted by Sir William Petty in 1676, at a time when unpleasant smells were considered a vector of disease. He called for London's centre of gravity to move further west from the City towards Westminster , upwind what he called "the fumes steams and stinks of
10374-428: The two eastern wards of the City, the former Tower Division and those parts of London east of the Lea. The East End developed along the Thames, and beyond Bishopsgate and Aldgate , the gates in the city wall that lay east of the little Walbrook river. These gates, first built with the wall in the late second or early third centuries, secured the entrance of pre-existing roads (the modern A10 and A11/A12 ) into
10488-480: The urban footprint was constrained in 1878 by the protection of Epping Forest and later the implementation of the Metropolitan Green Belt . The density of development increased during the interwar period , and new industries developed, such as Ford at Dagenham . The industries declined in the later part of the 20th century (and earlier), but East London is now an area of regeneration. London Docklands
10602-456: The villages of Hackney All these, except the Wyck-house, are within a few years so encreas'd in buildings, and so fully inhabited, that there is no comparison to be made between their present and past state: Every separate hamlet is encreas'd, and some of them more than treble as big as formerly; Indeed as this whole town is included in the bills of mortality, tho' no where joining to London, it
10716-561: The walled area. The walls were such a constraint to growth, that the position of the gates has been fundamental to the shaping of the capital, especially in the then suburbs outside the wall. The walled City was built on two hills separated by the Walbrook , Ludgate Hill to the west and Cornhill (of which Tower Hill is a shoulder), to the east. During the Anglo-Saxon period the two sides were under separate administration and had distinct economies, character, customs and regulations. Even beyond
10830-500: The walls, the Walbrook separated landholdings, with the Soke of Cripplegate to the west and the Soke of Bishopsgate to the east. The western side was more populous and prosperous, it had the cathedral, the royal palace (which later moved to Westminster) and its large market, Westcheap, was focussed on land-based trade. The east was poorer and more sparsely settled; its smaller market, Eastcheap,
10944-558: The whole easterly pyle" . In 1703 Joel Gascoyne published his map of the parish of St Dunstan Stepney, which occupied much of the East End area. He was commissioned to do so by the Vestry (local government) of the parish, who needed such a map for administrative purposes. The map shows Stepney divided into Hamlets , these were territorial sub-divisions, rather than small villages, and later became independent daughter parishes in their own right. In 1720 John Strype gives us our first record of
11058-580: The widening of the River Thames as it gets further east, and also the need, until relatively recently, to avoid impediments to the river traffic of the strategic London Docklands . Until the end of the 20th century the East was connected to the South by just one railway line, the East London Line . The Jubilee Line Extension opened in 1999, was supplemented by extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and
11172-407: Was a major factor influencing the character of the developing East End; prevailing winds flow, like the river, west to east. The flow of the river led to the maritime trades concentrating in the east and the prevailing wind encouraged the most polluting industries to concentrate eastwards. Metal working industries are recorded between Aldgate and Bishopsgate in the 1300s and ship building for the navy
11286-468: Was built by clearing the slums that lay in the area of the former Hospital of St Katharine . They were not successful commercially, as they were unable to accommodate the largest ships, and in 1864, management of the docks was amalgamated with that of the London Docks. The London Docks were built in 1805, and the waste soil and rubble from the construction was carried by barge to west London, to build up
11400-474: Was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 . It covered the combined area of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. The local authority is Hackney Council, which meets at Hackney Town Hall and has its main offices in the adjoining Hackney Service Centre. Since 2002 the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Hackney . A speaker fulfils
11514-731: Was defined in the 1980s as the area of redevelopment under the control of the London Docklands Development Corporation . The Thames Gateway extends into East London with two areas of activity: the Lower Lea Valley around the Olympic site and London Riverside adjacent to the Thames. There are seven London boroughs that cover areas of Greater London to the north of the Thames and east of the City of London. They are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Each London borough
11628-452: Was established from 1800 to provide for the expanding population of weavers around Bethnal Green, attracted by improving prospects in silk weaving. Bethnal Green's population trebled between 1801 and 1831, with 20,000 looms being operated in people's own homes. By 1824, with restrictions on importation of French silks relaxed, up to half these looms had become idle, and prices were driven down. With many importing warehouses already established in
11742-468: Was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney with the much smaller Metropolitan Boroughs of Stoke Newington and Shoreditch . Hackney is bounded by Islington to the west, Haringey to the north, Waltham Forest to the north-east, Newham to the east, Tower Hamlets to the south-east and the City of London to the south-west. Hackney was one of the host boroughs of
11856-645: Was governed by its vestry , whilst Hackney and Stoke Newington were initially grouped into the Hackney District with a single board covering the two parishes. This proved unpopular, especially in more affluent Stoke Newington. After four unsuccessful attempts, the Hackney District was dissolved in 1894 under the Metropolis Management (Plumstead and Hackney) Act 1893, and its two parishes were then each governed separately by their own vestries. In 1900
11970-632: Was made worse by the ponds formed by the excavation of brickearth. Pigs and cows in back yards, noxious trades like boiling tripe, melting tallow, or preparing cat's meat, and slaughter houses, dustheaps, and 'lakes of putrefying night soil ' added to the filth A movement began to clear the slums. Burdett-Coutts built Columbia Market in 1869 and the Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 passed in 1876 to provide powers to seize slums from landlords and to provide access to public funds to build new housing. Philanthropic housing associations such as
12084-416: Was much slower in the east, than in the large western suburb , with the modest eastern suburb separated from the much smaller northern extension by Moorfields adjacent to the wall on the north side. Moorfields was an open area with a marshy chararacter due to London's Wall acting as a dam, impeding the flow of the Walbrook and restricting development in that direction. Moorfields remained open until 1817, and
12198-423: Was noteworthy in that the men of the area owed military service to the Tower of London . The ancient parishes provided a framework for both civil (administrative) and ecclesiastical (church) functions, but during the 19th century there was a divergence into distinct civil and ecclesiastical parish systems. The ecclesiastical parishes were gradually sub-divided to better serve the needs of a growing population, while
12312-494: Was ranked as inner London's "greenest borough" and London Transport's "best bike borough 2006", with 62 parks and open spaces , covering 815 acres (3.3 km ). Seven Hackney parks have now achieved Green Flag status. One, Abney Park , became scheduled in 2009 as one of Britain's historic parks and garden at risk from neglect and decay. Hackney Marshes play host to the largest collection of football pitches in Europe. Part of it
12426-407: Was renamed North London Railway in 1853. In 1854 the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Forest Gate on the Eastern Counties with Barking and Rainham. The East London Railway was opened in 1869. The Great Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge with Walthamstow in 1870, and in 1872 built a connection from the Eastern Counties line at Bethnal Green to Hackney Downs. This was connected to
12540-488: Was sited near the river to allow it to specialise in seaborne trade. These intramural distinctions would persist, if less markedly, and influence the development that subsequently occurred beyond the walls. Beyond the wall, the landholdings which would ultimately shape modern administrative divisions were in place before Domesday. The land outside Aldgate was held by the Cnichtengild , a fighting organisation responsible for
12654-521: Was taken between 1971 and 2000 at the nearest national weather station in Greenwich ; around 7 miles (11.3 km) south of Hackney Town Hall: In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 14,609. This rose steadily throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 95,000 in the middle of that century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased — reaching nearly 374,000 by
12768-592: Was the construction of the Great Eastern loop line to connect Woodford with Ilford via Fairlop in 1903. Areas further east developed in the Victorian and Edwardian eras after the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. Development of suburban houses for private sale was later matched by the provision of large-scale social housing at Becontree in the 1920s and Harold Hill after the Second World War . However,
12882-451: Was the industries associated with the River Thames , such as shipbuilding and the docks, that encouraged growth in the east, and by 1650, Shadwell was a developed maritime settlement. The docks in Tower Hamlets started to reach capacity in the early 19th century, and in 1855 the Royal Victoria Dock was opened in Newham. By 1882, Walter Besant and others, were able to describe East London as
12996-625: Was used as a site for events of the 2012 Summer Olympics . There are 1,300 listed buildings in Hackney , including the Hackney Empire , Tudor Sutton House , and the Grade I medieval St Augustine's Tower , the borough's oldest building. The borough contains 25 conservation areas including Clapton Square and urban open-spaces including Clapton Common and Clissold Park . Conservation areas also protect large areas of Georgian and Victorian housing , and areas of industrial heritage . The area of
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