Borough of Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is an inner London borough just east of the City of London and on the north bank of the River Thames.  Being close in proximity to the Tower of London, these original groups of small villages or hamlets were required to provide yeomen for the Tower of London.  In time, this area was renamed the East End and became known for its ethnic mix of Huguenot, Irish and Jewish immigrants. The Cockney dialect was woven into the fabric of the neighborhoods as was the textile industry and both still remain.  Prior to World War II, the docks located along the River Thames were the main source of employment. In Limehouse, permanent communities of foreign sailors became established, including colonies of Lascars and Africans from the Guinea Coast. Large Chinese communities at both Limehouse and Shadwell developed, established by the crews of merchantmen in the opium and tea trades, particularly Han Chinese. The area achieved notoriety for opium dens in the late 19th century.

The East End was heavily bombed during World War II causing remaining communities to migrate to other parts of London.  The docks were closed in the late 1960s causing further unemployment. Tower Hamlets has seen new waves of immigration with people from Bangladesh making Tower Hamlets their new home.  Just over one third of the population of the borough comes from a Bangladeshi background causing an area of the borough around Brick Lane to be officially called Banglatown. This area has the largest Muslim population of all the London boroughs and is home to both the East London Mosque and the London Muslim Centre. In the 1980s, the area began to regenerate.  The Docklands light railway was planned and built to help bring new industry into the area.  Wharfs and warehouses became trendy places to live and work.  The area still boasts of the largest number of warehouses of all the London boroughs.  The West India Quay became the site for the Canary Wharf high rise office development making the Isle of Dog’s area of the borough a well known landmark from all across London.

Prayer Requests for this Borough