The Changing Urban Geography of the Inner East End and the City of London Essay Example for Free

The Changing Urban Geography of the Inner East End and the City of London Essay Tower Hamlets have been inhabited for 2000 years, with a detailed history going back to the Roman invasion of 43AD. The world famous Tower of London stands on the River Thames on the western boundary of the borough. It dates from the reign of William the Conqueror in the 11th century and in the past 900 years it has been used as a fortress, royal palace, zoo and state prison. Much of borough was marshland at this time. As London expanded and the pressure for development intensified, the land was gradually drained and reclaimed. A cluster of small communities was established, known locally as the hamlets around the tower which is the origin of the boroughs name. The areas population spread south from Spitalfields and Whitechapel as works to prevent flooding of the Thames allowed many new houses and wharves to be built at Blackwall, Poplar, Shadwell and Wapping. These areas grew as centres of shipbuilding and repair. Lime kilns to make mortar for the building industry were established, giving their name to Limehouse. The construction of Bow Bridge over the River Lee in Henry 1s reign improved access to the tide mills on the east bank. It wasnt until the 16th century that the area really began to thrive. During that century Whitechapel was a bustling suburb of London, becoming a centre for trades, such as metalworking, brick making and tanning, not allowed in the City because of danger, noise and smell. The dissolution of the monasteries by 1536 freed land for building and London grew rapidly. The split between east and west London became marked with the west attracting courtiers, gentry and professional classes and the east the trades, industry and commerce. Shipbuilding spread rapidly along the riverside and became concentrated on the Isle of Dogs. Some say it was so named because Henry VIII exercised his hunting dogs there but it may well have originated from Isle of Docks. Factories and rows of terraced houses consumed the rural landscape of the 18th century, except for pockets of land saved for parks and gardens, in particular, Victoria Park, Stepney Green, Bethnal Green Gardens and Island Gardens, which remain to this day. The maritime character of the hamlets around the Tower was transformed in appearance during the 19th century, with the building of huge warehouses and high walled docks. The West India Dock, which opened in 1802, was the first enclosed dock built on the Thames for cargo handling and within 26 years the East India, London and St. Katharine Docks were all working. As the workshops, docks and factories of East London made a major contribution to the development of London as world trading centre, it was very much at the expense of workers who endured damaging working conditions. Two famous East London strikes played an important part in organising unskilled workers into unions. In 1888, Annie Besant led the match girls at Bryant and Mays factory in Bow, in their fight for better conditions. The following year saw Ben Tillet, Tom Mann and John Burns lead the dockers strike to raise wages to 5d per hour, less than 3p in todays currency. Philanthropists of every description were drawn to the East End. Dr Barnardo trained at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and founded his first home for orphans in Hope Place, Stepney in 1866. The first Ragged Day School was set up in canal-side warehouses at Mile End and is now a museum about the East End and the lives of its children. Salvation Army founder William Booth began preaching on the Mile End Waste in 1865. In 1869 the Baroness Burdett-Coutts built a gigantic covered market called Columbia, in Bethnal Green. Of the many political figures in the boroughs history, George Lansbury Councillor, Mayor of Poplar, Member of Parliament and Leader of the Labour Party from 1931 to 1935 did much to try and improve conditions for local people. Sylvia Pankhurst headed the militant East London branch of the Suffragette movement based on Old Ford Road. The borough is historically famous for providing refuge to those fleeing persecution. In the 18th century, the area was occupied by the silk weavers largely descended from the Huguenot refugees (French Protestants escaping from Catholic persecution in France). A hundred years later, Jews fleeing the pogroms in Eastern Europe founded a thriving community. At the same time, a Chinese community was established in Limehouse as a result of merchant trading. Throughout its history, Tower Hamlets has continued its trend of welcoming people of different faiths and cultures. During the 20th century newcomers from Bangladesh settled in Spitalfields and the surrounding areas, along with Somali and Vietnamese refugees. With its culture and cuisine, the predominant Bangladeshi community gives such life and vitality to the area that it has been dubbed Banglatown. This is in stark contrast to the mid 20th century period when much of the area was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The borough suffered more than any other part of London during the war twenty four thousand homes and much of its industry were destroyed. The post war period was also a difficult time as the traditional dock industries fell into rapid decline, leaving substantial areas of land and buildings vacant and derelict. But Tower Hamlets has a history of responding to the demands of time. After several decades of failed schemes and plans, part of the borough (all of the Isle of Dogs and most of Wapping) was designated an economic development zone. As a result the years since 1980 have seen massive expansion of new industries and employment, and an extraordinary landscape-changing transformation has taken place. Empty warehouses have been converted and derelict sites have been replaced by towering office blocks and contemporary housing complexes, many with award-winning glass and steel designs. The borough has altered greatly over the centuries, but much of its history survives today in the original street patterns, place names, architectural heritage and the absorption of people from many different backgrounds into todays growing community. The Tower hamlets were built in 1963 when the boroughs of Stepney, Poplar and Bethnal Green were merged together. This area is nowadays known as the East End of London. The fresh Docklands and Riverside developments are slowly changing the area away from being just a working-class area. For the last 400 years the residents in this area have generally been craftsmen, labourers and those who worked for the richer city dwellers. The Tower Hamlets became an extremely important industrial area, in the unloading, storing and processing of goods coming into London. However the working conditions in these areas have traditionally been very appalling. The major industry during the Second World War in this area was the docks, but the Tower Hamlets were extremely badly damaged during the Blitz. This had a disastrous effect on the docks, and this saw the decline of them. The London City Council produced a post-war rebuilding scheme, even after a huge amount of people had migrated out of the area. This resulted in the area becoming more residential than industrial. The area in the borough contained post-war Edwardian and Victorian terraces, and at this time it was not very aesthetically pleasing, and did not attract a great deal of visitors to the area. The Tower of London however, is a huge place in Britains history dating back to 1067, and holds the Crown Jewels. The Tower Bridge is continually refurbished for the reason that it attracts a huge number of tourists the whole year round. After the closing of the docks, a enormous urban generation took place, which meant that some of the area was rebuilt completely and to a very high standard, an example of this being Canary Wharf, which holds numerous high rise office buildings. There are now also attractive housing developments and a much better service and leisure infrastructure. Spittalfields Spitalfields lies at the heart of the East End of London and is famous for its bustling street markets. Many people are drawn to Spitalfields for the wide variety of eateries found around the markets. Brick Lane is known for its curry restaurants, and with its predominant Bangladeshi community. The area is historically famous for providing refuge to those fleeing persecution. In the 18th century, the area was occupied by the silk weavers largely descended from the Huguenot refugees (French Protestants escaping from Catholic persecution in France). A hundred years later, jews fleeing the pogroms in Eastern Europe, founded a thriving community. Nowhere is the unique history of the area better depicted than in the history of the local mosque. The mosque in Brick Lane has been a place of worship for different faiths for hundreds of years. It was first built as church by the Huguenots but changed use to become a synagogue when a jewish community replaced the protestant population. This shows how the immigrants who came into this area has changed considerably. First it was the Hugenos who came in 1700s to Fournier Street and brought the silk industry with them. They came due to the persecution of French protestants in France in the late 1600s. The Eastern European Jews who migrated in the 1881 due to persecution changed the area to a synagogue, while the Bangladeshis built it into a mosque in the 1950s. By the middle of the 20th century the jewish community had mostly moved on and the building was converted again, this time into a mosque to serve the Bangladeshi community. With its culture and cuisine the Bangladeshi influence gives a cosmopolitan feel to Spitalfields. The influence is so striking that the area has been dubbed Bangla Town. Architecturally, the narrow lanes and alleyways of Spitalfields typify the bustling street life of Charles Dickens London. Spitalfields covered market was built in 1682 and is a fine example of the hamlets architecture. It now houses a lively crafts and antique market with an international and organic The nearby Brick Lane Market developed during the 18th century for farmers selling their livestock and produce outside the city boundary. Today the market offers wide array of fruit and vegetables, clothes and household goods. Petticoat Lane Market is renowned for its clothing and leather goods. To the south of Spitalfields is Whitechapel Road, which is world famous as the only East End street on the Monopoly board. More locally the road is famous for the East London Mosque, The Royal London Hospital and museum and the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. However on the topic of housing, Spitalfields is not of very high standard. The inner city, which is predominantly Bangladeshi, has a very low owner occupation rate, but this has increased dramatically in the last 30 years, showing how much it has come forward in the last few decades in terms of both size and standard. A reason for this is the law introduced which allowed people to buy from the council, which allowed the houses to be refurbished through gentrification. Despite this, Spittalfields is still a rather poor area, with high housing densities, no central heating and other serious characteristics of deprivation. Former Bishops Gate goods yard is a very rundown area and shows the great decline in the area. It has been in decline for the last 25 years and is now used as a car park, which is typical for areas around the area. The new Church on Commercial Street is a strong reflection of the change in land use of the area as a large majority of churches were bombed during the Second World War and this is being redeveloped. As we go further into the city of London away from the East End we see that there are increasing more new office blocks being developed with 10 -12% in Canary Warf and many in Exchange Square. The reason for this is because companies save a lot of money, over 100% in fact making Exchange Square a popular area. Also, because of limited space, the law has come out allowing only British based companies to buy shares so many companies move to London and so land values are increased. Also an illustration of change in land use is Devonshire Square where East India Company Warehouses, which was a major trade company, are being converted into offices. This is unusually not near the docks but reason for its placement is due to the large space available. Also the buildings have had conversion to higher ceilings for air conditioning and cables for IT which again highlights the modernisation of the area. The Guild Hall is the heart of Londons government. It has had a lot of refurbishment since the 12th century and is the wealthiest local authority in Britain. It receives à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6 million per annum from Natwest Bank from tax. It has responsibility for numerous things such as many open spaces around London (e.g. Burnham Beeches), for hygiene in markets, control of London University and controls part of London and Heathrow. These reasons show how this area of London is so significant and important. A very important wealthy area is the area of Guild Hall. The Big Bang attracted many foreign companies, which brought more wealth into the London economy. Over $450 billion a day pass through London in the foreign exchange which is obviously a huge amount of money, showing London is a very important city of the world. This proves the fact that London is the worlds second largest economic city, and earns $1.8 trillion in stocks shares. One of the reasons for this is because London is in the centre of the worlds time zones, so it open when other leading cities are open, such as New York and Tokyo, which is very advantageous. As well as that, London is the centre of the car manufacturing, which is the world largest manufacturing industry. The stocks and shares began in the Mansion Square, and the Bank of England is also located here. The London Mayors Office is also situated here. We appreciate how much the land use and people in London have changed over time, and the reasons for this actually occurring.