In 1802, the East India Company obtained parliamentary approval to construct a new road connecting the new West India Dock Gate to Church Lane in Whitechapel. The proposed road roughly followed the path of an existing route known as White Horse Lane, which was already indicated on maps of that era. Construction of the initial segment of the road took place in 1803, across what had previously been known as Stepney Field. James Walker was the engineer.
The transformation of this road into a residential neighbourhood began with the establishment of sugar refineries in St George-in-the-East. This led to the construction of small houses to accommodate the workers in the sugar industry. Along the Stepney section of the road, an appealing residential area for the more affluent residents was developed, including terraces and places. For a time, the Commercial Road had an aura of prosperity, bolstered by the emergence of shops.
During the 1820s and 1830s, the increasing flow of traffic along the road gradually diminished its charm for the residents. Because this increasing heavy traffic, a granite stoneway was laid from 1829-30 to carry the load – users had to pay a toll to use it. Charles Dickens provided a description of the Commercial Road as it existed prior to being paved in 1855:
“Pleasantly wallowing in the abundant mud of that thoroughfare and greatly enjoying the huge piles of buildings belonging to the sugar refiners, the little masts and vanes in small back gardens in back streets, the neighbouring canals and docks, the India vans lumbering along their stone tramway, and the pawnbrokers’ shops where hard-up mates had pawned so many sextants and quadrants that I should have bought a few cheap if I had the least notion how to use them.”
Commercial Road was extended west (the stretch from Church Lane) to meet Whitechapel High Street at ’Gardiner’s Corner’ in 1870. This work was undertaken by the Metropolitan Board of Works.
In 1874, the road was renumbered.
