Road · Whitechapel · E1 · Contributed by The Underground Map

JANUARY

1

2000

Whitechapel

Whitechapel is a neighbourhood whose heart is Whitechapel Road itself, named for a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary.

By the late 1500s Whitechapel and the surrounding area had started becoming 'other half' of London. Located downwind of the genteel sections of west London which were to see the expansion of Westminster Abbey and construction of Buckingham Palace, it naturally attracted the more fragrant activities of the city, particularly tanneries, breweries, foundries (including the Whitechapel Bell Foundry which later cast Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and also Big Ben), slaughterhouses and, close by to the south, the gigantic Billingsgate fish market, famous in its day for the ornately foul language of the extremely Cockney fishwomen who worked there.

Population shifts from rural areas to London from the 1600s to the mid 1800s resulted in great numbers of more or less destitute people taking up residence amidst the industries and mercantile interests that had attracted them. By the 1840s Whitechapel, along with the enclaves of Wapping, Aldgate, Bethnal Green, Mile End, Limehouse and Stepney (collectively known today as the East End), had evolved, or devolved, into classic 'dickensian' London. Whitechapel Road itself was not particularly squalid through most of this period - it was the warren of small dark streets branching from it that contained the greatest suffering, filth and danger, especially Dorset St., Thrawl St., Berners St. (renamed Henriques St.), Wentworth St. and others.

In the Victorian era the base population of poor English country stock was swelled by immigrants from all over, particularly Irish and Jewish. 1888 saw the depredations of the Whitechapel Murderer, later known as 'Jack the Ripper'. In 1902, American author Jack London, looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis's seminal book How the Other Half Lives, donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss. Riis had recently documented the astoundingly bad conditions in the leading city of the United States. Jack London, a socialist, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in the leading city of the nation that had created modern capitalism. He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety. The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitive work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw, whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who boarded and led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia.

Whitechapel remained poor (and colourful) through the first half of the 20th Century, though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage in the V2 German rocket attacks and the Blitz of World War II. Since then, Whitechapel has lost its notoriety, though it is still thoroughly working class. The Bangladeshis are the most visible migrant group there today and it is home to many aspiring artists and shoestring entrepreneurs.

Since the 1970s, Whitechapel and other nearby parts of East London have figured prominently in London's art scene. Probably the most prominent art venue is the Whitechapel Art Gallery, founded in 1901 and long an outpost of high culture in a poor neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood has gentrified, it has gained citywide, and even international, visibility and support.

Whitechapel, is a London Underground and London Overground station, on Whitechapel Road was opened in 1876 by the East London Railway on a line connecting Liverpool Street station in the City of London with destinations south of the River Thames. The station site was expanded in 1884, and again in 1902, to accommodate the services of the Metropolitan District Railway, a predecessor of the London Underground. The London Overground section of the station was closed between 2007 and 27 April 2010 for rebuilding, initially reopening for a preview service on 27 April 2010 with the full service starting on 23 May 2010.

LOCATIONS ON THE UNDERGROUND MAP

18 Folgate Street:   Dennis Severs' House in Folgate Street is a 'still-life drama' created by the previous owner as an 'historical imagination' of what life would have been like inside for a family of Huguenot silk weavers.
Al Ashraaf Secondary School:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 16. Admissions policy: Non-selective.
Aldgate:   Aldgate was a gateway through London Wall from the City of London to Whitechapel and the East End.
Aldgate East:   In a land east of Aldgate, lies the land of Aldgate East...
Aldgate Pump:   Aldgate Pump is a historic water pump, located at the junction where Aldgate meets Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street.
All Hallows-by-the-Tower:   All Hallows-by-the-Tower is the oldest church in London with a story involving Samuel Pepys, royalty and the foundation of Pennsylvania.
Altab Ali Park:   
Bevis Marks Synagogue:   Bevis Marks Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom.
Boar’s Head Theatre:   The Boar’s Head Theatre was an inn-yard theatre in the Whitechapel area.
Canon Barnett Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Christ Church CofE School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
City of London Academy, Shoreditch Park:   Free schools (Secondary) which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 19.
Collingwood Children’s Centre:   This is a children’s centre.
Columbia Market Nursery School:   Local authority nursery school (Nursery) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 5.
Columbia Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
David Game College:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 13 and 22. Admissions policy: Non-selective.
East India:   This is a children’s centre.
English Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Fenchurch Street:   Fenchurch Street railway station is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It is one of the smallest railway termini in London but in terms of platforms, one of the most intensively operated.
Geffrye Museum:   Founded in 1914, the Geffrye Museum is a museum specialising in the history of the English domestic interior.
Goodman’s Fields Theatre:   Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman’s Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel.
Great Synagogue of London:   The Great Synagogue of London was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi synagogue and Jewish life in London. It was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz.
Green Spring Academy Shoreditch:   Academy converter (Secondary) which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 19. Admissions policy: Comprehensive (secondary).
Hackney City Farm:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 13 and 17.
Haggerston Park:   
Haggerston School:   Community school (Secondary) which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 19. Admissions policy: Comprehensive (secondary).
Harry Gosling Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Holy Trinity, Minories:   Holy Trinity, Minories was a Church of England parish church outside the eastern boundaries of the City of London, but within the Liberties of the Tower of London.
Hoxton:   Hoxton is a district in the East End of London, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London.
Kobi Nazrul Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Little Oaks Sure Start Children’s Centre:   This is a children’s centre.
London East Academy:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 16.
London Metal Exchange:   The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the futures exchange with the world’s largest market in options and futures contracts on base and other metals.
Madani Secondary Girls’ School:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 18.
Montefiore Children’s Centre:   This is a children’s centre.
New City College:   Further education (16 plus) which accepts students between the ages of 14 and 99.
Osmani Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Petticoat Lane Market:   Petticoat Lane Market is a fashion and clothing market in the East End.
Portsoken:   Portsoken is one of 25 wards in the City of London, each electing an alderman to the Court of Aldermen and commoners (the City equivalent of a councillor) elected to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation.
Randal Cremer Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Sebright Children’s Centre:   This is a children’s centre.
Shoreditch:   Shoreditch is a place in the London Borough of Hackney. It is a built-up district located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north east of Charing Cross.
Sir John Cass’s Foundation Primary School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Spitalfields:   Spitalfields is near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane.
St Anne’s Catholic Primary School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
St Botolph’s:   St. Botolph’s without Aldgate, located on Aldgate High Street, has existed for over a thousand years.
St Katharine Cree:   St Katharine Cree is a Church of England church on the north side of Leadenhall Street near Leadenhall Market.
St Matthias Church of England Primary School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
St Paul’s Whitechapel Church of England Primary School:   Voluntary aided school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Stewart Headlam Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Swanlea School:   Community school (Secondary) which accepts students between the ages of 11 and 18. Admissions policy: Comprehensive (secondary).
The Complete Works Independent School:   Other independent school which accepts students between the ages of 5 and 16.
Thomas Buxton Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Tower Gateway:   Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway station near to the Tower of London.
Tower Hill:   Tower Hill is an elevated spot outside the Tower of London and just outside the limits of the City of London.
Tower of London:   In the late 1070s, William the Conqueror began to build a massive stone tower at the centre of his London fortress. Nothing like it had ever been seen before.
Toynbee Hall:   Toynbee Hall is a building which is the home of a charity of the same name.
Virginia Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.
Whitechapel:   Whitechapel is a neighbourhood whose heart is Whitechapel Road itself, named for a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary.
William Davis Primary School:   Community school (Primary) which accepts students between the ages of 3 and 11.

PHOTOS OF THE AREA

London in 1457:   Goulston Street is a thoroughfare running north-south from Wentworth Street to Whitechapel High Street.
Wentworth Street (1901):   Turn-of-the-century fashion in east London.

NEARBY STREETS AND BUILDINGS ON THE UNDERGROUND MAP

Adler Street, E1 · Alderman Stairs, E1W · Alderman Stairs, SE1 · Aldgate Bus Garage, EC3N · Aldgate High Street, EC3N · Aldgate, EC3N · Alie Street, E1 · America Square, EC3N · Angel Alley, E1 · Anning Street, EC2A · Arcadia Court, E1 · Arnold Circus, E2 · Artillery Lane, E1 · Artillery Passage, E1 · Arts Quarter, E1 · Assam Street, E1 · Audrey Street, E2 · Austin Street, E2 · Back Alley, EC3N · Back Church Lane, E1 · Back Mews, SE4 · Bacon Street, E1 · Bacon Street, E2 · Barnet Grove, E2 · Barnsley Street, E1 · Baroness Road, E2 · Basing House Yard, E2 · Bateman’s Row, EC2A · Batemans Row, EC2A · Batty Street, E1 · Baxendale Street, E2 · Bell Lane, E1 · Bethnal Green Road, E1 · Bevis Marks, EC3A · Bishops Square, E1 · Black Lion Yard, E1 · Blossom Street, E1 · Blue Anchor Yard, E1 · Boundary Passage, E1 · Boundary Street, E2 · Bowl Court, E1 · Bowmans Mews, E1 · Boyd Street, E1 · Brady Street, E1 · Braham Street, E1 · Braithwaite Street, E1 · Brick Lane, E1 · Brick Lane, E2 · Brune House, E1 · Brune Street, E1 · Brunswick House, E2 · Brushfield Street, E1 · Brushfield Street, EC2M · Buckfast Street, E2 · Buckhurst Street, E1 · Buckle Street, E1 · Burr Close, E1W · Burslem Street, E1 · Buxton Street, E1 · Byward Street, EC3R · Calvert Avenue, E2 · Calvin Street, E1 · Cambridge Heath Road, E1 · Camperdown Street, E1 · Carlisle Avenue, EC3N · Cartwright Street, E1 · Casson Street E.1, E1 · Casson Street, E1 · Castlemain Street, E1 · Celia Blairman House, E1 · Central House, E1 · Chamber Street, E1 · Chambord Street, E2 · Chance Street, E1 · Cheshire Street, E2 · Chicksand Street, E1 · Chilton Street, E2 · Christian Street, E1 · Cleeve Workshops, E2 · Club Row, E1 · Club Row, E2 · Cobb Street, E1 · Code Street, E1 · College East, E1 · Collingwood Street, E1 · Columbia Road, E2 · Commercial St, E1 · Commercial Street, E1 · Coney Way, SW8 · Cooper?s Row, EC3N · Coopers Row, EC3N · Coppergate House, E1 · Corbet Place, E1 · Cottons Gardens, E2 · Court Street, E1 · Coverley Close, E1 · Crabtree Close, E2 · Creechurch Lane, EC3A · Cremer Business Centre, E2 · Cremer Street, E2 · Crescent, EC3N · Cresent, EC3N · Crispin Place, E1 · Crispin Street, E1 · Crofts Street, E1 · Crosswall, EC3N · Crutched Friars, EC3N · Cudworth Street, E1 · Cutler Street, E1 · Cutler Street, EC3A · Darling Row, E1 · Davenant Street, E1 · Deal Street, E1 · Delta Street, E2 · Dereham Place, EC2A · Devonshire Square, E1 · Devonshire Square, EC2M · Diss Street, E2 · Dock Street, E1 · Dorset Street, E1 · Dove Row, E2 · Dray Walk, E1 · Drysdale Place, E2 · Drysdale Street, N1 · Dukes Place, EC3A · Dukes Place, EC3A · Dukes Place, EC3N · Dunloe Street, E2 · Durant Street, E2 · Durward Street, E1 · East Flank, SE18 · East Mount Street, E1 · East Smithfield, E1W · East Smithfield, EC3N · East Tenter Street, E1 · Ebor Street, E1 · Edith Street, E2 · Edith Street, N1 · Elder Street, E1 · Elwin Street, E2 · Ensign Street, E1 · Ensign Street, SE3 · Ezra Street, E2 · Fairchild Place, EC2A · Fairchild Street, EC2A · Fairclough Street, E1 · Falkirk Street, N1 · Fashion Street, E1 · Fellows Court, E2 · Fenchurch Buildings, EC3M · Fenchurch Place, EC3M · Fieldgate Street, E1 · Flank Street, E1 · Fletcher Street, E1 · Fleur De Lis Street, E1 · Flower and Dean Street, E1 · Folgate Street, E1 · Forbes Street, E1 · Fordham Street, E1 · Fournier Street, E1 · French Place, E1 · Frying Pan Alley, E1 · Fulbourne Street, E1 · Gascoigne Place, E2 · Geffrye Court, N1 · Geffrye Street, E2 · George Street, E1 · Gibraltar Walk, E2 · Glassworks Studios, E2 · Golding Street, E1 · Goldman Close, E2 · Goodman?s Yard, E1 · Goodmans Yard, E1 · Goring Street, EC3A · Gorsuch Place, E2 · Gosset Street, E2 · Goulston Street, E1 · Gower’s Walk, E1 · Gowers Walk, E1 · Granary Road, E1 · Granby Street, E2 · Gravel Lane, E1 · Greatorex Street, E1 · Greenfield Road, E1 · Grimsby Street, E2 · Gun Street, E1 · Gunthorpe Street, E1 · Hackney Road, E2 · Hanbury Street, E1 · Hare Walk, N1 · Harrow Place, E1 · Hassard Street, E2 · Haydon Street, E1 · Haydon Street, EC3N · Headlam Street, E1 · Hebden Court, E2 · Hemming Street, E1 · Heneage Lane, EC3A · Heneage Street, E1 · Henriques Street, E1 · Hereford Street, E2 · Hermitage Court, E1W · Holywell Lane, EC2A · Hooper Street, E1 · Hopetown Street, E1 · Horatio Street, E2 · Houndsditch, EC3A · How’s Street, E2 · Hunton Street, E1 · Ibex House, EC3N · India Street, EC3N · Ion Square, E2 · Irongate House, EC3A · Ivory House, E1W · Jewry Street, EC3N · Kent Street, E2 · Kent Stret, E2 · Kerbela Street, E2 · Key Close, E1 · King John Court, EC2A · Kings Arms Court, E1 · Kingsland Road, E2 · Kirton Gardens, E2 · Knighten Street, E1W · Knighton Street, E1W · Lamb Street, E1 · Langdale Street, E1 · Leman Street, E1 · Leyden Street, E1 · Library Square, E1 · Ligonier Street, E2 · Little Paternoster Row, E1 · Little Somerset Street, E1 · Lloyd?s Avenue, EC3N · Lloyds Avenue, EC3N · Lolesworth Close, E1 · London Fruit Exchange, E1 · Long Street, E2 · Mail Coach Yard, E2 · Mail Coach Yard, N1 · Manningtree Street, E1 · Mansell Street, E1 · Mansell Street, EC3N · Marlow Workshops, E2 · Merceron Street, E1 · Mews Street, E1W · Middlesex Street, E1 · Middlesex Street, EC3A · Mill Yard, E1 · Minories, EC3N · Minories, EC3N · Mitre Avenue, E17 · Mitre Square, EC3A · Mitre Street, EC3A · Monmouth House, E1 · Monteagle Court, N1 · Monthope Road, E1 · Mulberry Street, E1 · Muscovy Street, EC3R · Myrdle Street, E1 · Nazrul Street, E2 · Nesham Street, E1W · New Goulston Street, E1 · New Inn Broadway, EC2A · New Inn Square, EC2A · New Inn Street, EC2A · New Inn Yard, EC2A · Nicholl Street, E2 · North Tenter Street, E1 · Norton Folgate, E1 · Norton Folgate, EC2M · Nuttall Street, E2 · Nuttall Street, N1 · Old Castle Street, E1 · Old Montague Street, E1 · Old Nichol Street, E2 · Ormsby Street, E2 · Orton Street, E1W · Osborn Street, E1 · Osborne Street, E1 · Osbourne Street, E1 · Padbury Court, E2 · Parfett Street, E1 · Parliament Court, E1 · Pearson Street, E2 · Pedley Street, E1 · Pelter Street, E2 · Pepys Street, EC3N · Pereira Street, E1 · Perseverance Works, E2 · Petty Wales, EC3N · Philchurch Place, E1 · Pier Head, E1W · Pinchin Street, E1 · Plough Yard, EC2A · Plumbers Row, E1 · Pomell Way, E1 · Ponler Street, E1 · Portsoken Street, E1 · Prescot Street, E1 · Princelet Street, E1 · Printing House Yard, E2 · Puma Court, E1 · Pump Track, IG7 · Quaker Street, E1 · Quilter Street, E2 · Railway Arches, EC2A · Railway Arches, EC3N · Ravenscroft Street, E2 · Redchurch Street, E2 · Regal Close, E1 · Rhoda Street, E2 · Rivington Place, EC2A · Roberta Street, E2 · Rochelle Street, E2 · Romford Street, E1 · Rose Court, E1 · Royal Mint Court, EC3N · Royal Mint Place, E1 · Royal Mint Street, E1 · Saint Katharine’s Way, E1W · Saint Katherine’s Way, E1W · Sale Street, E2 · Sampson Street, E1W · Sandy’s Row, E1 · Sandys Row, E1 · Saracen?s Head Yard, EC3N · Savage Gardens, EC3N · Scarborough Street, E1 · Scawfell Street, E2 · Sclater Street, E1 · Scott Street, E1 · Seething Lane, EC3N · Selby Street, E1 · Settles Street, E1 · Shacklewell Street, E2 · Shipton Street, E2 · Shoreditch High Street, E1 · Shoreditch High Street, E8 · Shoreditch High Street, EC1V · Shoreditch High Street, EC2A · Shorter Street, E1 · Shorter Street, EC3N · Silwex House, E1 · South Tenter Street, E1 · Spellman Street, E1 · Spelman House, E1 · Spelman Street, E1 · Spital Square, E1 · Spital Street, E1 · Spring Walk, E1 · St Anthony’s Close, E1W · St Botolph Street, EC3A · St Clare House, EC3N · St Clare Street, EC3N · St James’s Passage, EC3A · St James’s Place, EC3A · St Katharines Way, E1W · St Katharine’s Way, E1W · St Mark Street, E1 · St Matthews Row, E2 · St. Botolph Street, EC3A · Stamp Place, E2 · Stanway Street, N1 · Star Place, E1W · Stepney Green Court, E1 · Stockholm Way, E1W · Stoney Lane, E1 · Stothard Place, EC2M · Stringer House, N1 · Strouts Place, E2 · Strype Street, E1 · Stutfield Street, E1 · Sunbury Workshops, E2 · Surma Close, E1 · Swanfield Street, E2 · Tea Building, E1 · Tent Street, E1 · Tenter Ground, E1 · The Arches, EC2A · The Queen?s Steps, EC3N · The Queen’s Steps, EC3N · Thomas More Square, E1W · Thomas More Street, E1W · Thrawl Street, E1 · Three Colts Corner, E2 · Three Colts Lane, E1 · Three Colts Lane, E2 · Thurtle Road, E2 · Tower Bridge Approach, E1W · Tower Bridge Approach, EC3N · Tower Bridge, E1W · Tower Hill Terrace, EC3N · Tower Hill, EC3N · Tower Walk, E1W · Toynbee Street, E1 · Trahorn Close, E1 · Trinity Square, EC3N · Turin Street, E2 · Turville Street, E2 · Umberston Street, E1 · Underwood Road, E1 · Union Central, E2 · Union Walk, E2 · Vallance Road, E1 · Vaughan Way, E1W · Victoria Avenue, EC2M · Victoria Yard, E1 · Vine Court, E1 · Vine Street, EC3N · Virginia Road, E2 · Virginia Street, E1W · Warner Place, E2 · Waterson Street, E2 · Wear Place, E2 · Weaver Street, E1 · Wellclose Square, E1 · Wellington Row, E2 · Wentworth Street, E1 · West Tenter Street, E1 · Weymouth Terrace, E2 · Wheler Street, E1 · Whiston Road, E2 · Whitby Street, E1 · White Church Lane, E1 · White Kennet Street, E1 · White Kennett Street, E1 · White Kennett Street, EC3A · Whitechapel High Street, E1 · Whitechapel Market, E1 · Whitechapel Road, E1 · Whitechapel Street, E1 · Whites Row, E1 · Wicker Street, E1 · Widegate Street, E1 · Wilkes Street, E1 · Wimbolt Street, E2 · Winthrop Street, E1 · Wodeham Gardens, E1 · Wood Close, E2 · Woodseer Street, E1 · Yorkton Street, E2 ·