After Queen Anne ascended the throne from 1702-14, the Tories took control following 22 years of Whig governance. Under the Acts of Settlement, which aimed to ensure the Protestant succession, a New Churches in London & Westminster Act of 1710/1711 was enacted. This established a Commission tasked with constructing fifty new churches in densely populated districts, reflecting a political and religious agenda. The imposing structures were intended to demonstrate the national religion and tower over the homes of the working class, especially in the East End where many dissenting conventicles existed due to immigration. To fund this initiative, a tax on coal was imposed, theoretically providing an infinite budget, but only twelve churches were ever completed, including St George-in-the-East. The churches exceeded their budgets, and the scheme eventually came to a halt. Architect Nicholas Hawksmoor designed six of the churches.

When St George in the East was consecrated on 19 July 1729, parts of "Wapping-Stepney" remained semi-rural, with open fields, although the area was beginning to develop. Local merchants who built houses nearby or came from further away attended church in their carriages, and access into the church was socially segregated. Ship-rigging and rope-making were the primary trades in the vicinity, with names like Cable Street and Ropewalk Gardens serving as reminders. Cable Street was once the length of the standard cable measure, 600 feet, with a ropewalk directly to the north of the church. Hovels appeared in the marshlands behind Pennington Street in the mid-18th century, which soon became completely built over.

The Pennington Street Warehouse was built in the early 19th century for the storage of imported goods such as rum, silk fabrics and ivory held in bond. The building formed part of the network of London Dock -the first enclosed commercial docks in the capital.