We would like to say a big “thank you” to our heritage partners in Tower Hamlets
The Tower of London
Did you know there used to be lions, tigers and elephants living at the Tower of London? And did you know that Pocahontas visited Sir Walter Raleigh when he was imprisoned at the Tower?
Read the ID1000 articles:
“The Virginian Princess: The True Story of Pocahontas in London” and
Visit the Tower of London website and read what Wikipedia has to say about the Tower
Museum in Docklands
Have you ever heard of Lascars? They were sailors from India, China and many parts of the British Empire who came to London as crew on cargo ships. Under the East India Company, thousands of Lascars worked the trade routes backwards and forwards on British ships. Many of them eventually settled in London, contributing to the multi-racial nature of London’s population.
Visit the Museum
in Docklands website and see their Lascars
education pack
Read what Wikipedia has to say about Lascars
Visit the Port
Cities London website
Wilton’s Music Hall
Did you know that Wilton’s is the world’s oldest and last-surviving music hall? Champagne Charlie was a favourite on the bill, and it is rumoured that the first ever Can-Can was performed there – and promptly banned! Wilton’s was also the headquarters for the anti-fascist protestors in the famous 1936 Battle of Cable Street, when Oswald Mosley tried to lead a fascist march through the streets of the East End.
Frances Mayhew, the Director of Wilton’s, told us the story of this enchanting slice of East End history.
Visit the Wilton’s website and read what Wikipedia has to say about Wilton’s and the Battle of Cable Street
Royal London Hospital Museum
Did you know that Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, lived out his final years at the London Hospital, and that his bones are still kept there? And did you know that the London Hospital was founded in 1740, and has been on its present site in the Whitechapel Road since 1757?
Visit the Museum website and read what Wikipedia has to say about Joseph Merrick
Christ Church Spitalfields
Do you know who the Huguenots were? They were French Protestants who fled France to escape Catholic persecution. Many of them settled in Spitalfields in East London, where they worked as silk-weavers. Queen Anne was worried about the “godless thousands” and their “non-conformist worshipping ways”, so in 1711 the Fifty New Churches Act was passed to provide additional churches for the growing population of London. Christ Church Spitalfields was one of these, and is the masterpiece of architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, who was a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren.
Visit the Christ Church website and see what Wikipedia has to say about the Huguenots and Nicholas Hawksmoor
London Metropolitan Archives
Did you know that the London Metropolitan Archives holds a document that dates from 1067, a charter signed by William the Conqueror? It is the largest local authority record office in the whole country, and holds a massive 72km of records.
Visit the LMA website
Jewish East End heritage
Did you know that Jews first came to England with William the Conqueror? And in the nineteenth century, many Jews fled persecution in eastern Europe and settled in Spitalfields, as the Huguenots had before them, making an indelible contribution to the vibrant multi-cultural nature of Tower Hamlets.
Blue Badge Guide Harry Jackson told us the story of the Jewish community in London’s East End.
Read the ID1000 article, “The Exodus: Tales From London’s Jewish History” Visit the websites of Harry Jackson, the Jewish East End Celebration Society and the Jewish Museum
Information about the Jewish migrant community can also be found on the Moving Here and Port Cities websites
Multi-ethnic heritage and links to the slave trade
Have you heard of the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor? It was a charitable organisation set up in 1786 to provide support for poor people of African and Asian origin living in London. It later played a crucial role in the scheme to transport these “Black Poor” to set up a British colony in Sierra Leone.
Writer and historian Steve Martin told us the story of the non-white population of London.
Read the ID1000 articles, “Back to Africa: England’s Plan to Settle Freed Slaves in Sierra Leone”, “La Amistad: When Slaves Turned the Tables on Their Brutal Captors” and “Cinque’s Tale: A Personal Story from the Amistad”
Read the Wikipedia articles on the Black Poor, the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor and the Sierra Leone Company
Asian heritage
Did you know that the Jamme Masjid Mosque on Brick Lane started out as a Huguenot church, then became a Methodist chapel and a Jewish synagogue before it became a mosque?
We had sessions on storytelling and identity from storyteller Vayu Naidu and writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli. Visit Vayu Naidu’s website
Read about the Jamme Masjid Mosque on Icons: A Portrait of England Information about the Asian migrant community can also be found on the Moving Here and Port Cities websites