Wikipedia

East London

This article is about a part of London, England, United Kingdom. For the city in Eastern Cape, seeEast London, South Africa.For other uses, seeEast London (disambiguation).

East Londonis the northeastern part ofLondon,England, east of the ancientCity of Londonand north of theRiver Thamesas it begins to widen. East London developed asLondon's docklandsand the primary industrial centre. The expansion of railways in the 19th century encouraged the eastward expansion of theEast End of Londonand a proliferation of new suburbs. The industrial lands of East London are today an area of regeneration, which are well advanced in places such asCanary Wharfand ongoing elsewhere.

The men of early East London garrisoned theTower of London

History

edit
Further information:History of London
TheAldgate Pumpis the symbolic start of theEast Endand East London as a whole

Toponymy

edit

Theetymology of Londonis uncertain, but is known to be an ancient name.[1]The concept of East London as a distinct area is a relatively recent innovation.John Strype's map of 1720 describes London as consisting of four parts: TheCity of London,Westminster,SouthwarkandThat Part Beyond the Tower.[2]From the late 19th century the termEast End of Londonwas used to describe areas immediately adjacent to the City[1]in the Tower division of Middlesex.

Charles Boothin 1889 defined East London as theCounty of Londonbetween the City of London and theRiver Lea.[3]In 1902, Booth considered this area to be the "true East End", and his attention had been drawn eastward over the Lea into theBorough of West Ham,which was then outside London, and geographically in Essex, but under the authority of neither; in 1857 Charles Dickens termed it "London-over-the-Border".Walter Besantdescribed East London as an area north of the Thames and east of the City of London that stretched as far as Chingford and Epping Forest,[4]which was similar to the definition used by Robert Sinclair in 1950 that stretched east to include Barking and Dagenham.[5]This broadly matched theMetropolitan Police Districteast of the city and north of the Thames at that time, and now corresponds to the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest inGreater London.

Emergence

edit
Main article:East End of London

TheEast End of London,the old core of modern East London, began with the medieval growth of London beyond thecity walls,along the Roman roads leading fromBishopsgateandAldgate,and also along the river. Growth was much slower in the east, and the modest extensions there were separated from the much larger suburbs in the west by the marshy open area ofMoorfieldsadjacent to the wall on the north side, which discouraged development in that direction. Urbanisation accelerated in the 16th century and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape.

Growth

edit

Until about 1700, London did not extend far beyond the walled boundaries of the City of London. However, the population in the parishes to the east of the City of London was rising and this led to a need to break up the large ancient parish ofStepneyinto smaller units to provide adequate religious and civil administration. It was the industries associated with theRiver Thames,such as shipbuilding and the docks, that encouraged growth in the east, and by 1650,Shadwellwas a developed maritime settlement.[2]The docks in Tower Hamlets started to reach capacity in the early 19th century, and in 1855 theRoyal Victoria Dockwas opened in Newham. By 1882,Walter Besantand others, were able to describe East London as a city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from the rest of London.[6]

Railway expansion

edit

The majority of the rail network in East London was built within fifty years from 1839. The first through the area was theEastern Counties Railwayfrom Mile End to Romford, extended to Shoreditch in 1840.[7]TheLondon and Blackwall Railwaybuilt a line from Minories to Blackwall the same year and theNorthern and Eastern Railwayconnected Lea Bridge and Tottenham with the Eastern Counties at Stratford. TheEastern Counties and Thames Junction Railwaystarted passenger service on their line from Stratford to Canning Town, Custom House and North Woolwich in 1847.[8]This made Stratford a significant railway junction and location of railway works. TheEast & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railwayconnected Kingsland with Bow and Poplar in 1850 and was renamed North London Railway in 1853.[9]

In 1854 theLondon, Tilbury and Southend Railwayconnected Forest Gate on the Eastern Counties with Barking and Rainham. TheEast London Railwaywas opened in 1869. TheGreat Eastern Railwayconnected Lea Bridge with Walthamstow in 1870, and in 1872 built a connection from the Eastern Counties line at Bethnal Green to Hackney Downs. This was connected to the Walthamstow line in 1873 and extended to Chingford. The London and Blackwall built an extension to Millwall and North Greenwich on the Isle of Dogs in 1872 and the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was extended to Beckton in 1873, and Gallions in 1880. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Barking with Dagenham, Hornchurch and Upminster in 1885,[10]and Romford with Upminster in 1893.[11]The final piece of original railway works was the construction of the Great Eastern loop line to connect Woodford with Ilford via Fairlop in 1903.

Areas further east developed in the Victorian and Edwardian eras after the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. Development of suburban houses for private sale was later matched by the provision of large-scale social housing atBecontreein the 1920s andHarold Hillafter theSecond World War.However, the urban footprint was constrained in 1878 by the protection ofEpping Forestand later the implementation of theMetropolitan Green Belt.The density of development increased during theinterwar period,andnew industriesdeveloped, such asFord at Dagenham.

Industrial decline and regeneration

edit

The industries declined in the later part of the 20th century (and earlier), but East London is now an area of regeneration.London Docklandswas defined in the 1980s as the area of redevelopment under the control of theLondon Docklands Development Corporation.The Thames Gateway extends into East London with two areas of activity: theLower Lea Valleyaround the Olympic site andLondon Riversideadjacent to the Thames.

Governance

edit
Further information:Local government in London

There are sevenLondon boroughsthat cover areas of Greater London to the north of the Thames and east of the City of London. They are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Each London borough is governed by aLondon borough councillocal authority. Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham and Redbridge are members of theEast London Waste Authority.[12]Some local government functions are held by theGreater London Authority,made up of theMayor of Londonand theLondon Assembly.

Borough Barking and Dagenham Hackney Havering Newham Redbridge Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest
Location
Local authority Barking and Dagenham LBC Hackney LBC Havering LBC Newham LBC Redbridge LBC Tower Hamlets LBC Waltham Forest LBC
London Assemblyconstituency City and East North East Havering and Redbridge City and East Havering and Redbridge City and East North East
Inner/Outer London Outer Inner Outer Outer[13][notes 1] Outer Inner Outer
Major centres[notes 2][14] Barking Dalston Romford Stratford,East Ham Ilford Canary Wharf Walthamstow

Geography

edit
Further information:Geography of London

East London is located in the lower Thames valley. The major rivers of East London are theThamesthat forms the southern boundary; theLeawhich forms the boundary of Tower Hamlets/Hackney with Newham/Waltham Forest; theRodingwhich approximately forms the boundary of Newham with Barking and Dagenham/Redbridge; and theBeamwhich forms the boundary of Barking and Dagenham with Havering. The marshes along the Thames which once stretched from Wapping to Rainham are almost completely gone.[15]East London is generally the lowest elevated of London's fourcardinal pointsbecause of the wide Thames that runs here; the only hills here are in northern areas distant from the river in the boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

Demography

edit
Further information:Demographics of London

In Tower Hamlets, the population peaked in 1891 and growth was restricted to the outer boroughs. By 1971 the population was declining in every borough. By the 2011 United Kingdom census, this had reversed and every borough had undergone some growth in population. At the 2021 census Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge surpassed their earlier population peaks. The total population of this area in 2021 was 1.9 million people. The population change between 1801 and 2021 was as follows:[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Borough Barking and Dagenham Hackney Havering Newham Redbridge Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest
Location
Population (2021) 218,869 259,146 262,052 351,036 310,260 310,306 278,425
Population (2001) 165,700 207,200 224,700 249,500 241,900 201,100 222,000
Population (1901) 25,080 374,132 24,853 338,506 77,621 578,143 154,146
Population (1801) 1,937 14,609 6,370 8,875 4,909 130,871 6,500
Population peak 2021 (218,869) 1911 (379,120) 2021 (262,052) 1931 (454,096) 2021 (310,260) 1891 (584,936) 1931 (280,094)

Transport

edit
Further information:Transport in London

River crossings

edit

The City of London andWest Londonare connected toSouth Londonby more than thirty bridges, but East London is only connected byTower Bridgeat its innermost edge. The reasons for this include the widening of theRiver Thamesas it gets further east, and also the need, until relatively recently, to avoid impediments to the river traffic of the strategicLondon Docklands.

Until the end of the 20th century the East was connected to theSouthby just one railway line, theEast London Line.TheJubilee Line Extensionopened in 1999, was supplemented by extensions to theDocklands Light Railwayand theElizabeth line.

There are road tunnels atRotherhitheandBlackwall,with theWoolwich Ferryfurther east. There are foot tunnels toGreenwichandWoolwich.In 1870, theTower Subwaycable railway tunnel was converted to pedestrian use; it was closed in 1898, following the opening of Tower Bridge.

Acable carservice opened in 2012.

Notes

edit
  1. ^Inner London for statistics
  2. ^Metropolitan and major centres in theLondon Plan

References

edit
  1. ^abAnthony David Mills (2001).Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-280106-6.Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2023.Retrieved15 December2013.
  2. ^abJohn Marriott (2011).Beyond the Tower: A History of East London.
  3. ^Descriptive Map of London Poverty, Charles Booth, 1889
  4. ^East London, Sir Walter Besant, Century Company, 1901
  5. ^East London: The east and north-east boroughs of London and Greater London (County book series), Robert Sinclair, 1950
  6. ^All Sorts and Conditions of Men, Walter Besant 1882.
  7. ^T. F. T. Baker, ed. (1998)."A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11 – Stepney, Bethnal Green".Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2012.Retrieved7 October2012.
  8. ^W. R. Powell, ed. (1973)."A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6".Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2012.Retrieved7 October2012.
  9. ^T. F. T. Baker, ed. (1995)."A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10 – Hackney".Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2012.Retrieved7 October2012.
  10. ^W. R. Powell, ed. (1966)."A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5".Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2012.Retrieved7 October2012.
  11. ^W. R. Powell, ed. (1978)."A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7".Archivedfrom the original on 25 October 2012.Retrieved7 October2012.
  12. ^"We are responsible for the disposal of waste from the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge".East London Waste Authority.Archivedfrom the original on 2 January 2023.Retrieved2 January2023.
  13. ^"List of inner/outer London boroughs | London Councils".londoncouncils.gov.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 3 April 2019.Retrieved1 April2018.
  14. ^"London Plan Annex Two: London's Town Centre Network"(PDF).Greater London Authority.Archived(PDF)from the original on 21 March 2023.Retrieved2 January2023.
  15. ^Nikolaus Pevsner (2005).London 5: East.
  16. ^"Barking and Dagenham".Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.Retrieved6 October2012.
  17. ^"Hackney District: Total Population".A Vision of Britain Through Time.Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.
  18. ^"Havering District: Total Population".A Vision of Britain Through Time.Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.
  19. ^"Newham".Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.Retrieved6 October2012.
  20. ^"Redbridge".Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.Retrieved6 October2012.
  21. ^"Tower Hamlets".Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.Retrieved6 October2012.
  22. ^"Waltham Forest".Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2014.Retrieved6 October2012.
edit

51°33′N0°6′E/ 51.550°N 0.100°E/51.550; 0.100(East London)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_London&oldid=1259594777"