Origin and scope of the name

The term East End was first applied to the districts immediately to the east of, and entirely outside, the medieval walled City of London. These included Whitechapel and Stepney. By the late 19th century the East End roughly corresponded to the metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Bethnal Green, Poplar and Shoreditch, which correspond to the modern boroughs of Tower Hamlets and part of Hackney. The East End is an informal designation, and has no fixed boundaries, but it is however to the north of the River Thames.

The invention about 1880 of the term East End was rapidly taken up by the new halfpenny press, and in the pulpit and the music hall ... A shabby man from Paddington, St Marylebone or Battersea might pass muster as one of the respectable poor. But the same man coming from Bethnal Green, Shadwell or Wapping was an East Ender, the box of Keating's bug powder must be reached for, and the spoons locked up. In the long run this cruel stigma came to do good. It was a final incentive to the poorest to get out of the East End at all costs, and it became a concentrated reminder to the public conscience that nothing to be found in the East End should be tolerated in a Christian country.

Since 1900 development has spread far into districts which were formerly in the county of Middlesex, but are now in Greater London. Parts or all of Newham and Redbridge (both formerly in the county of Essex) are sometimes considered to be in the East End, however the River Lee is often considered to be the eastern boundary of the area and this definition would exclude the borough but place it at the heart of East London. The common extension of the term further afield is probably due to the diaspora of East Enders who have escaped poverty and the destruction of WWII. Moving away, in particular to the new towns, such as Harlow, and the new estates in Dagenham that grew up to service the new post-war industries.

East London, but particularly the East End boroughs, will undergo major changes with the regeneration and redevelopment to be associated with the 2012 Olympics, announced on 6 July 2005.

History

Brick Lane

The East End came into being as the separate villages east of London spread and the fields between them were built upon, a process which occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. From the beginning, the East End has always contained some of the poorest areas of London. The main reasons for this include

the medieval system of copyhold, that prevailed throughout the East End, into the 19th century. Essentially, there was little point in developing land that was held on short leases.

the undesirability of living in the direction of the prevailing wind from the city centre in the days of open fires

the low paid employment in the docks and related industries; made worse by the trade practices of outwork, piecework and casual labour

and the relocation of the ruling court and national political epicentre to Westminster, on the opposite western side of the City of London.

Throughout history the area has absorbed waves of immigrants who have each added a new dimension to the culture and history of the area, most notably the French protestant Huguenots, the Irish, the Jews and the Bangladeshi community. Much of the East End has changed and the common image of it no longer exists as the majority of the old style cockneys have moved to Essex and beyond.

Community tensions have been raised by racist events such as an anti-semitic Fascist march in 1936 (blocked by residents at the Battle of Cable Street), recent anti-Asian violence and more recently anti-white violence, including a council seat win for the British National Party in 1993 (since lost), and a 1999 bombing in Brick Lane.

In 1884 the Settlement movement was founded, with settlements such as Toynbee Hall and Oxford House encouraging university students to live and work in the slums to experience life and try to alleviate some of the poverty and misery in the East End. In 1888 the matchgirls of Bryant and May, in Bow struck for better working conditions. This combined with the many dock strikes in the same era, made the East End a key element in the foundation of modern socialist and trade union organisations; and the Suffragette movement.

1888 was also the year, the area became notorious as the site of the crimes of Jack the Ripper. In 1911 it was the site of the Sidney Street Siege, and in the 1960s it was the area most associated with gangster activity, most notably that of the Krays.

Traditionally the home of London's docks and a large part of its industry, especially industries based on processing foodstuffs and other imported raw materials, the area was a continuous target during the blitz of World War II. Much of what little housing remained was removed as part of 'slum clearance' programmes. Post war, specifically 1960s, architecture dominates the housing estates of the area. From the mid 20th century, the docks declined in use and were finally closed in 1980. London's main port is now at Tilbury further down the Thames estuary, outside the boundary of Greater London.

Today

Redevelopment of Isle of Dogs

The East End is now home to various urban regeneration projects, most notably Canary Wharf, a huge commercial and housing development on the Isle of Dogs. Many of the 1960s tower blocks have been demolished or have been renovated. The area around Old Spitalfields market and Brick Lane has been extensively regenerated and is famous, amongst other things, as London's curry capital, as well as being the home of a number of London's art galleries, including the famous Whitechapel Gallery.

The area remains, however, one of the poorest in Britain and contains some of the capital's worst deprivation. This is in spite of rising property prices, and the extensive building of luxury apartments, centred largely around the dock areas and alongside the Thames. To quote 'Find A Property' (uk-based property website), on the Isle of Dogs:

'Memories of bitter disputes with the dictatorial London Docklands Development Corporation and high profile bankruptcies will fade with the proliferation of new gleaming office blocks, but unfulfilled promises to rejuvenate the deprived districts of Poplar and Millwall will haunt the district a lot longer. Whilst the glass towers continue to hold the reflection of grim council estates, the Isle of Dogs will remain two worlds apart, and be the poorer for it.'

With rising costs elsewhere in the capital, the East End has become a desirable place for business.

ANNOTATIONS

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Date: 2015-12-24; view: 728