fbpx
Wikipedia

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally an alternative name for the historic Tower Division; the area of south-east Middlesex, focused on (but not limited to) the area of the modern borough, which owed military service to the Tower of London.

Tower Hamlets
Motto: 
From Great Things to Greater
Tower Hamlets shown within Greater London
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionLondon
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Created1 April 1965
Admin HQClove Crescent, Blackwall
Government
 • TypeLondon borough council
 • BodyTower Hamlets London Borough Council
 • LeadershipMayor & Cabinet (Aspire)
 • Executive mayorLutfur Rahman (Aspire)
 • London AssemblyUnmesh Desai (Labour) AM for City and East
 • MPsRushanara Ali (Labour)
Apsana Begum (Labour)
Area
 • Total7.63 sq mi (19.77 km2)
 • Rank311th (of 309)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total310,306
 • Rank39th (of 309)
 • Density41,000/sq mi (16,000/km2)
 • Ethnicity[1]
32% Bangladeshi
31.2% White British
12.4% Other White
3.7% Black African
3.2% Chinese
2.7% Indian
2.3% Other Asian
2.1% Black Caribbean
1.5% Other Black
1.5% White Irish
1.2% Asian & White
1.2% Other Mixed
1.1% Black Caribbean & White
1% Pakistani
1% Arab
0.6% Black African & White
0.1% White Gypsy or Irish Traveller

1.3% Other
Time zoneUTC (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcodes
E, EC
ONS code00BG
GSS codeE09000030
PoliceMetropolitan Police
Websitewww.towerhamlets.gov.uk

The borough lies on the north bank of the River Thames immediately east of the City of London, and includes much of the redeveloped Docklands area. Some of the tallest buildings in London occupy the centre of the Isle of Dogs in the south of the borough. A part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is in Tower Hamlets.

The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745. British Bangladeshis at 32% form the largest ethnic group.[2] The 2011 census showed Tower Hamlets to have the highest proportion of Muslims of any English local authority and that Muslims heavily outnumbered Christians.[3] The borough has more than forty mosques and Islamic centres and madrasahs,[4] including the East London Mosque, Britain's largest.[5] Brick Lane's restaurants, neighbouring street market and shops provide the largest range of Bangladeshi cuisine, woodwork, carpets and clothes in Europe.[6][7] The Lane is also a major centre of hipster subculture.[8][9][10]

In 2017 a joint study by Trust for London and New Policy Institute found Tower Hamlets to be the 2nd most deprived London borough (after Barking and Dagenham) based on an average calculated across a range of indicators; with high rates of poverty, child poverty, unemployment and pay inequality compared to other London boroughs.[11] However, it has the lowest gap for educational outcomes at secondary level.[12]

The local authority is Tower Hamlets London Borough Council.

Geography

Physical geography

 
Canary Wharf, world headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms

Tower Hamlets is in East London, north of the River Thames. The City of London lies to the west, the London Borough of Hackney to the north, while the River Lea forms the boundary with the London Borough of Newham to the east. The River Lea also forms the boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex. The borough's Thames frontage extends from the Tower Dock inlet,[note 1] immediately west of the Tower of London, through several miles of former docklands, including the Isle of Dogs peninsula, to the confluence of the Thames and Lea at Blackwall.

The areas along the Thames and Lea flood plains were historically frequently flooded, but the Thames Barrier, further east, has reduced that risk.

The Regent's Canal enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at Limehouse Basin. A stretch of the Hertford Union Canal leads from the Regent's canal, at a basin in the north of Mile End, to join the River Lea at Old Ford. A further canal, Limehouse Cut, London's oldest, leads from locks at Bromley-by-Bow to Limehouse Basin. Most of the canal tow-paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists.

The Borough includes open spaces such as Victoria Park, King Edward Memorial Park, Mile End Park, Island Gardens and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

 
Areas, transport, & landmarks
in the Borough of Tower Hamlets

Districts within the borough

History

The earliest reference to the name "Tower Hamlets" was in 1554, when the Council of the Tower of London ordered a muster of "men of the hamlets which owe their service to the tower". This covered a wider area than the present-day borough, and its military relationship with the Tower is thought to have been several centuries earlier than the 1554 record.[13] In 1605, the Lieutenant of the Tower was given the right to muster the militia and the area east of the tower came to be a distinct military unit, officially called Tower Hamlets (or the Tower Division).[14] The Hamlets of the Tower paid taxes for the militia in 1646.[15] A legacy of that connection with the Tower is that residents of the modern borough can gain entrance for only a token fee of £1.[16] this benefit isn't extended to the London Borough of Hackney, most of which once formed part of the original Tower Hamlets.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End. The population of the area grew enormously in the 19th century, leading to extreme overcrowding and a concentration of poor people and immigrants throughout the area.[note 2] These problems were exacerbated by the construction of St Katharine Docks (1827)[note 3] and the central London railway termini (1840–1875) with many displaced people moving into the area following the clearance of former slums and rookeries. Over the course of a century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease and criminality.[17]

The area was once characterised by rural settlements clustered around the City walls or along the main roads, surrounded by farmland, with marshes and small communities by the River, serving the needs of shipping and the Royal Navy. Until the arrival of formal docks, shipping was required to land goods in the Pool of London, but industries related to construction, repair, and victualling of ships flourished in the area from Tudor times. The area attracted large numbers of rural people looking for employment. Successive waves of foreign immigration began with Huguenot refugees creating a new extramural suburb in Spitalfields in the 17th century.[18] They were followed by Irish weavers,[19] Ashkenazi Jews[20] and, in the 20th century, Bangladeshis.[21] Many of these immigrants worked in the clothing industry. The abundance of semi- and unskilled labour led to low wages and poor conditions throughout the East End. This brought the attentions of social reformers during the mid-18th century and led to the formation of unions and workers associations at the end of the century. The radicalism of the East End contributed to the formation of the Labour Party and demands for the enfranchisement of women.

Official attempts to address the overcrowded housing began at the beginning of the 20th century under the London County Council. Aerial bombing in World War II devastated much of the East End, with its docks, railways and industry forming a continual target. In the separate boroughs making up today's Tower Hamlets a total of 2,221 civilians were killed and 7,472 were injured, with 46,482 houses destroyed and 47,574 damaged.[22] This led to some dispersal of the population to outlying suburbs. New housing was built in the 1950s for those that remained.[17] The closure of the last of the East End docks in the Port of London in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration and the formation of the London Docklands Development Corporation. The Canary Wharf development, improved infrastructure, and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park[23] mean that the East End is undergoing further change, but some of its districts continue to see some of the worst poverty in Britain.[24]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Borough of Tower Hamlets was granted by the College of Arms in 1965[25] and is composed of elements representing the maritime trades and heritage of the area. The strong links to the former Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney and to St Dunstan's church in Stepney known as the Church of the High Seas are represented. The Manor and Parish did not have a coat of arms but the (smaller) subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Stepney did, and elements from that have been incorporated into the current design.

The Shield features:

  • Ship, representing the maritime trades.
  • Sprig of mulberry and a weaver's shuttle, representing the silk and other weaving activities once so important to the borough. The use of mulberry also honours the Huguenot refugees who first brought silk weaving to Tower Hamlets, and to England generally.[26] Many council staff wear mulberry coloured uniforms.
  • Blacksmiths fire tongs, the emblem of St Dunstan, the patron saint of Stepney, who had close ties to the area. Dunstan famously grabbed the devil by the nose with his tongs when he tried to tempt Dunstan.

The crest features:

Supporters:

Motto: From great things to greater, an anglicised version of the Latin motto on the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.

The council's logo is used as an alternative to the coat of arms. It features a simplified White Tower, above a stylised representation of the Thames. This was a development of the previous logo of the White Tower, in mulberry (claret) and presented in a three-tower form, as if seen from certain quarters which obscured the furthest corner tower - and a geographically accurate representation of the local part of the Thames. This older version is still seen on many street signs.

Politics

Parliament

For the 2017 general election, the borough was split into two constituencies:

Until the United Kingdom left the European Union, the borough was a part of the London constituency for elections to the European Parliament. Labour has dominated national elections in Tower Hamlets, although other left-wing parties have won seats including the Respect Unity coalition in 2005 in Bethnal Green & Bow.

London Assembly

The borough lies within the City and East constituency, one of fourteen constituencies which make up the London Assembly, and is represented by John Biggs of the Labour Party.

London Borough Council

The Labour Party has dominated politics in Tower Hamlets since the borough was created in 1965, except for a period from 1986 to 1994 when the SDP–Liberal Alliance and then the Liberal Democrats controlled the council. The British National Party won its first council seat in 1993, when Derek Beackon was elected as a Millwall councillor.[27]

In May 2010, a referendum led to the creation of a directly elected executive Mayor for the Borough. At the ensuing election in October 2010, Lutfur Rahman was elected Mayor as an independent candidate, becoming the UK's first Muslim executive mayor.[28] Rahman had been selected as the Labour candidate for Mayor, and was a former Leader of the council. However, allegations of electoral malpractice were made against him and his supporters, and he was suspended from the Labour Party before nominations closed.[29] He was re-elected as Mayor in May 2014.[30]

At the May 2010 election, the composition of the council was 41 Labour, 8 Conservative, 1 Respect and 1 Liberal Democrat councillor. Since then, Respect gained a seat from Labour at a by-election, and in three separate groups a total of 8 Labour Councillors and one Conservative defected to Lutfur Rahman's independent group.

This shifting of political allegiances is normal for Tower Hamlets. Between the 2006 and 2010 elections, five Respect councillors defected to Labour; one Respect and one Labour councillor defected to the Conservatives; one Liberal Democrat defected to Labour; and one Labour councillor was gained through a by-election at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.[31]

In July 2013, the Tower Hamlets (Electoral Changes) Order 2013 was passed,[32] reducing the size of the council and creating new electoral wards made of single, two- and 3-member divisions.

In September 2013, Lutfur Rahman's independent group was officially renamed Tower Hamlets First. At the May 2014 election, the group made significant gains by winning 18 of the 45 seats, which reduced the previously Labour-held council to No Overall Control.[33] Labour remained the largest group, with 22 councillors, a nett loss of 14, while the Conservatives had five seats, down by six.[34] Both the Liberal Democrats and Respect Party were left with no seats after this election.

In November 2014, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that it would appoint commissioners to take over some of the council's functions, following an inspection report[35] by PricewaterhouseCoopers that raised several concerns over the allocation of grants.[36] The action was supported by the Department's shadow secretary, Hilary Benn.[37]

On 23 April 2015, the courts removed Mayor Rahman from office for electoral fraud and ordered a new election to be held.[38] Six days later, the Electoral Commission officially withdrew Rahman's Tower Hamlets First from the electoral register, after deciding that the party did not operate a responsible financial scheme, nor ran in accordance with its initial documentation provided at registration.[39] The decision did not in itself disband the Tower Hamlets First political group in the council, but the members splintered into the Tower Hamlets Independent Group, the People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets, and a number of Independent councillors. On 11 June 2015, an election was held to replace Rahman, and the Labour candidate John Biggs was elected as mayor, while a Labour win at a by-election enabled the party to regain overall control of the council.[40]

As of March 2017, the composition of the council was: 22 Labour, nine Independent Group, five People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets (PATH), five Conservatives, three ungrouped Independents, and one Liberal Democrat.[41] By May 2018, ten councillors had joined a political group called Aspire.

At the 2018 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council election, Labour held the position of mayor and also gained twenty council seats overall, giving it control of the council. It now had 42 councillors, taking all but one of the seats won by Tower Hamlets First in 2014, and also taking seats from the Conservatives. Rabina Khan, formerly of Tower Hamlets First, but by then leader of the rival PATH, came second in the Mayoral election and was the only former Tower Hamlets First councillor to hold a seat.

As of May 2022, the councillors are: 24 Aspire, 19 Labour, 1 Conservative, and 1 Green.[42]

Decentralization

Since 2014, the council has embraced a policy of decentralisation by establishing neighbourhood forums. In 2014, the East Shoreditch Neighbourhood Planning Forum was set up which was followed in 2016 with the designation of a Limehouse Community Forum, an Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood Planning Forum, and a Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum.

Local landmarks

 
Canary Wharf, seen from a high-level walkway on Tower Bridge

Historical landmarks

Modern landmarks

The Canary Wharf complex within Docklands on the Isle of Dogs forms a group of some of the tallest buildings in Europe. One Canada Square was the first to be constructed and is the third tallest in London. Nearby are the HSBC Tower, Citigroup Centres and One Churchill Place, headquarters of Barclays Bank. Within the same complex are the Heron Quays offices.

Part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, developed for the London 2012 Olympics, lies within the borders of Tower Hamlets.

The Embassy of China in London will move into the former Royal Mint building in East Smithfield.[43]

Climate

The data below were taken between 1971 and 2000 at the weather station in Greenwich, around 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the town hall, at Mulberry Place:

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.4
(57.9)
19.7
(67.5)
21.7
(71.1)
25.6
(78.1)
30.0
(86.0)
32.8
(91.0)
35.3
(95.5)
37.5
(99.5)
30.0
(86.0)
25.6
(78.1)
18.9
(66.0)
15.0
(59.0)
37.5
(99.5)
Average high °C (°F) 8.5
(47.3)
9.2
(48.6)
12.1
(53.8)
15.4
(59.7)
18.6
(65.5)
21.4
(70.5)
23.8
(74.8)
23.3
(73.9)
20.3
(68.5)
15.8
(60.4)
11.6
(52.9)
8.9
(48.0)
15.3
(59.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)
6.2
(43.2)
8.4
(47.1)
10.7
(51.3)
13.8
(56.8)
16.7
(62.1)
18.8
(65.8)
18.7
(65.7)
15.9
(60.6)
12.4
(54.3)
8.8
(47.8)
6.3
(43.3)
11.9
(53.4)
Average low °C (°F) 3.4
(38.1)
3.2
(37.8)
4.7
(40.5)
6.0
(42.8)
9.1
(48.4)
12.0
(53.6)
13.9
(57.0)
14.1
(57.4)
11.6
(52.9)
9.0
(48.2)
6.1
(43.0)
3.8
(38.8)
8.1
(46.6)
Record low °C (°F) −9.4
(15.1)
−9.4
(15.1)
−7.8
(18.0)
−2.2
(28.0)
−1.1
(30.0)
5.0
(41.0)
7.2
(45.0)
6.1
(43.0)
2.8
(37.0)
−3.3
(26.1)
−5.0
(23.0)
−7.2
(19.0)
−9.4
(15.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 43.9
(1.73)
39.9
(1.57)
36.5
(1.44)
38.6
(1.52)
44.0
(1.73)
49.3
(1.94)
36.3
(1.43)
53.0
(2.09)
52.4
(2.06)
58.3
(2.30)
59.9
(2.36)
50.7
(2.00)
562.9
(22.16)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10.5 9.2 7.9 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.1 8.2 7.9 10.3 10.6 10.2 105.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 44.4 66.1 109.7 152.9 198.7 198.6 209.2 198.0 140.6 99.7 58.5 50.1 1,526.4
Source 1: Met Office[44][45][46]
Source 2: BBC Weather[47]

Demographics

 
Population pyramid of the Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2020
Population census
YearPop.±%
1801 130,871—    
1811 160,718+22.8%
1821 195,941+21.9%
1831 231,534+18.2%
1841 275,250+18.9%
1851 330,548+20.1%
1861 410,101+24.1%
1871 489,653+19.4%
1881 569,205+16.2%
1891 584,936+2.8%
1901 578,143−1.2%
1911 571,438−1.2%
1921 529,114−7.4%
1931 489,956−7.4%
1941 337,774−31.1%
1951 232,860−31.1%
1961 195,883−15.9%
1971 164,699−15.9%
1981 139,989−15.0%
1991 167,985+20.0%
2001 196,121+16.7%
2011 254,096+29.6%
2021 310,300+22.1%
Note:[48]

By 1891, Tower Hamlets – roughly the ancient civil parish of Stepney – was already one of the most populated areas in London. Throughout the nineteenth century, the local population increased by an average of 20% every ten years. The building of the docks intensified land use and caused the last marshy areas in the south of the parish to be drained for housing and industry. In the north of the borough, employment was principally in weaving, small household industries like boot and furniture making and new industrial enterprises like Bryant and May. The availability of cheap labour drew in many employers. To the south, employment was in the docks and related industries – such as chandlery and rope making.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the district now recognised as Tower Hamlets was characterised by overcrowding and poverty. The construction of the railways caused many more displaced people to settle in the area, and a massive influx of Eastern European Jews at the latter part of the nineteenth century added to the population growth. This migration peaked at the end of that century and population growth entered a long decline through to the 1960s, as people moved away eastwards to newer suburbs of London and Essex. The area's population had neared 600,000 around the end of the nineteenth century, but fell to a low of less than 140,000 by the early 1980s.

The metropolitan boroughs suffered very badly during World War II, during which considerable numbers of houses were destroyed or damaged beyond use due to heavy aerial bombing. This coincided with a decline in work in the docks, and the closure of many traditional industries. The Abercrombie Plan for London (1944) began an exodus from London towards the new towns.[49]

This decline began to reverse with the establishment of the London Docklands Development Corporation bringing new industries and housing to the brownfield sites along the river. Also contributing was new immigration from Asia beginning in the 1970s. According to the 2001 UK Census the population of the borough is approximately 196,106. According to the ONS estimate, the population is 237,900, as of 2010.[50]

Crime in the borough increased by 3.5% from 2009 to 2010, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police,[51] having decreased by 24% between 2003/04 and 2007/08.[52]

Tower Hamlets has one of the smallest White British populations of any local authority in the United Kingdom. No ethnic group forms a majority of the population; a plurality of residents are white (45%), a little over two thirds of whom are White British. 32% of residents are Bangladeshi, which is the largest ethnic minority group in the borough, with Asians as a whole forming 41% of the population.[53][54] A small proportion are of Black African and Caribbean descent (7%),[53] with Somalis representing the second-largest minority ethnic group.[55] Those of mixed ethnic backgrounds form 4%, while other ethnic groups form 2%.[53][55][56] The White British proportion was recorded as 31.2% in the 2011 UK Census, a decrease from 42.9% in 2001.

In 2018, Tower Hamlets had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of heart disease of all London boroughs, along with Newham.[57]

The 2021 census found that the borough has one of the lowest proportions of population over the age of 65 or older in England and Wales, at 5.6%.[58]

Ethnicity

Ethnic Group Year
1991[59] 2001[60] 2011[61] 2021[62]
Number % Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 103,757 64.4% 100,799 51% 114,819 45% 122,266 39.3%
White: British 84,151 43% 79,231 31% 71,177 22.9%
White: Irish 3,823 2% 3,863 2% 3,567 1.1%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 175 0% 110 0.0%
White: Roma 2,225 0.7%
White: Other 12,825 7% 31,550 12% 45,187 14.6%
Asian or Asian British: Total 43,419 26.9% 75,380 38% 104,501 41% 137,856 44.5%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 1,669 3,001 2% 6,787 3% 10,135 3.3%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 1,175 1,486 1% 2,442 1% 3341 1.1%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 36,955 22.9% 65,553 33% 81,377 32% 107,333 34.6%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 1,815 3,573 2% 8,109 3% 10,279 3.3%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 1,805 1,767 1% 5,786 2% 6,768 2.2%
Black or Black British: Total 11,409 7% 12,742 6% 18,629 7% 22,693 7.4%
Black or Black British: African 3,833 6,596 3% 9,495 4% 15,373 5.0%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 5,772 5,225 3% 5,341 2% 4,930 1.6%
Black or Black British: Other Black 1,804 921 0% 3,793 1% 2,390 0.8%
Mixed or British Mixed: Total 4,873 2% 10,360 4% 15,409 5%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 1,568 1% 2,837 1% 3,593 1.2%
Mixed: White and Black African 789 0% 1,509 1% 2,236 0.7%
Mixed: White and Asian 1,348 1% 2,961 1% 4,374 1.4%
Mixed: Other Mixed 1,168 1% 3,053 1% 5,206 1.7%
Other: Total 2,479 1.5% 2,312 1% 5,787 3% 12,082, 3.9%
Other: Arab 2,573 1% 3,588 1.2%
Other: Any other ethnic group 2,479 1.5% 2,312 1% 3,214 1% 8,494 2.7%
Ethnic minority: Total 57,307 35.5% 95,307 49% 139,277 55% 188,040 60.8%
Total 161,064 100% 196,106 100.00% 254,096 100.00% 310,306 100%

Religion and religious sites

 
East London Mosque, Whitechapel
 
London Buddhist Centre, Bethnal Green

Tower Hamlets is a religious diverse borough with various places of worship. According to the 2021 census, 39.9% of the population was Muslim, 22.3% Christian, 2.0% Hindu, 1.0% Buddhist, 0.4% Jewish, 0.3% Sikh, 0.5% followed some other religion, 26.6% were not affiliated to a religion and 6.9% did not state their religious views.[63]

The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Tower Hamlets according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Religion 2001[64] 2011[65] 2021[66]
Number % Number % Number %
Holds religious beliefs 153,692 78.4 166,359 65.5 206,347 66.5
Christian 75,783 38.6 68,808 27.1 69,223 22.3
Muslim 71,389 36.4 87,696 34.5 123,912 39.9
Jewish 1,831 0.9 1,283 0.5 1,341 0.4
Hindu 1,544 0.8 4,200 1.7 6,298 2.0
Sikh 682 0.3 821 0.3 966 0.3
Buddhist 1,938 1.0 2,726 1.1 2,961 1.0
Other religion 525 0.3 825 0.3 1,652 0.5
No religion 27,823 14.2 48,648 19.1 82,635 26.6
Religion not stated 14,591 7.4 39,089 15.4 21,318 6.9
Total population 196,106 100.0 254,096 100.0 310,300 100.0

Places of Worship

There are 21 active churches, affiliated with the Church of England, which include Christ Church of Spitalfields, St Paul's Church of Shadwell and St Dunstan's of Stepney[67] and also churches of many other Christian denominations.

There are more than 40 mosques and Islamic centres in Tower Hamlets.[4] The most famous is the East London Mosque, one of the first mosques in Britain allowed to broadcast the adhan,[5][68] and one of the biggest Islamic centres in Europe. The Maryam Centre, a part of the mosque, is the biggest Islamic centre for women in Europe. Opened in 2013, it features a main prayer hall, ameliorated funeral services, education facilities, a fitness centre and support services.[69][70][71] The East London Mosque has been visited by several notable people, including Prince Charles, Boris Johnson, many foreign government officials and world-renowned imams and Muslim scholars.[72] Other notable mosques are Brick Lane Mosque, Darul Ummah Masjid, Esha Atul Islam Mosque, Markazi Masjid, Stepney Shahjalal Mosque and Poplar Central Mosque.[73]

Other notable religious buildings include the Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue, the Congregation of Jacob Synagogue, the London Buddhist Centre, the Hindu Pragati Sangha Temple, and the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat. The Great Synagogue of London, which was destroyed during the Second World War, is located just outside the borough's boundaries, in the City.

Economy

 
The market area in Whitechapel

The borough hosts the world headquarters of many global financial businesses, employing some of the highest paid workers in London, but also has a high rates of long-term illness and premature death and the 2nd highest unemployment rate in London.[74]

Canary Wharf is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms including Barclays, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, Credit Suisse, Infosys, Fitch Ratings, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, KPMG, MetLife, Morgan Stanley, RBC, Skadden, State Street and Thomson Reuters.[75] Savills, a top-end estate agency recommends that 'extreme luxury' and ultra-modern residential properties are to be found at Canary Riverside, West India Quay, Pan Peninsula and Neo Bankside.

The End Child Poverty coalition published that Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion of children in poverty of any local authority in the UK at 49% (and as high as 54.5% in the Bethnal Green South ward).[76]

Surveys and interviews conducted by the Child Poverty Action group for the council found that the Universal Credit system was deeply unpopular with low-income families in the borough and that most claimants who have used the system found it difficult to understand and experienced frequent payment errors.[77]

Media

The East London Advertiser provides local news in print and online.

Education

 
The Blizard Building of Queen Mary University of London, housing the Institute of Cell and Molecular Sciences

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the local education authority for state schools within the borough.[78] In January 2008, there were 19,890 primary-school pupils and 15,262 secondary-school pupils attending state schools there.[79] Independent-school pupils account for 2.4 per cent of schoolchildren in the borough.[80] In 2010, 51.8 per cent of pupils achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs including Mathematics and English – the highest results in the borough's history – compared to the national average of 53.4 per cent.[81] Seventy-four per cent achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs for all subjects (the same as the English average);[82] the figure in 1997 was 26 per cent.[83] The percentage of pupils on free school meals in the borough is the highest in England and Wales.[84] In 2007 the council rejected proposals to build a Goldman Sachs-sponsored academy.[85]

Schools in the borough have high levels of racial segregation. The Times reported in 2006 that 47 per cent of secondary schools were exclusively non-white, and that 33 per cent had a white majority.[86] About 60 per cent of pupils entering primary and secondary school are Bangladeshi.[87] 78% of primary-school pupils speak English as a second language.[88]

 
Whitechapel Idea Store (library)

The council runs several Idea Stores in the borough, which combine traditional library and computer services with other resources, and are designed to attract more diverse members.[89] The flagship Whitechapel store was designed by David Adjaye[90] and cost £16 million to build.[91]

Universities

Further education colleges

Schools and Sixth form colleges

Volunteering

  • Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets helps residents find volunteering work and provides support to organisations involving students volunteers.[93]

Sports

Mile End Stadium within Mile End Park hosts an athletics stadium and facilities for football and basketball. Two football clubs, Tower Hamlets F.C. (formerly Bethnal Green United) and Sporting Bengal United F.C., are based there, playing in the Essex Senior Football League.

John Orwell Sports Centre in Wapping is the base of Wapping Hockey Club. In 2014, the club secured over £300,000 of investment to designate the centre a hockey priority facility.[94]

A leisure centre including a swimming pool at Mile End Stadium was completed in 2006. Other pools are located at St Georges, Limehouse and York Hall, in Bethnal Green. York Hall is also a regular venue for boxing tournaments, and in May 2007 a public spa was opened in the building's renovated Turkish baths.[95]

KO Muay Thai Gym[96] and Apolaki Krav Maga & Dirty Boxing Academy.[97] in Bethnal Green are the main sources for martial arts and combat sports training in the area.

The unusual Green Bridge, opened in 2000, links sections of Mile End Park that would otherwise be divided by Mile End Road. The bridge contains gardens, water features and trees around the path.[98]

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Tower Hamlets was one of five host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics;[99] the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was constructed in the Lea Valley. As such, the borough's involvement in the Olympics includes:

  • A small part of the Olympic Park is in Bow, a district of the borough, which makes the borough a host borough.
  • The energy centre (King's Yard Energy Centre) of the Olympic Park is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and gives energy to all the venues, none of which are located in Tower Hamlets.
  • The world square and the London 2012 mega-store is also in the borough. The world square is for spectators, who can buy food or drink; the world's biggest McDonald's is in the world square in Tower Hamlets.
  • The London 2012 mega-store provides official gifts and souvenirs. High Street, which is the main road to the Olympic park from west and central London, combines Whitechapel Road, Mile End Road and Bow Road.
  • Victoria Park, in Tower Hamlets, is an important part of the Olympics because spectators without tickets can watch the games on big screens (London live 2012); that park is less than a mile away from the Olympic park. The main spectator cycle park is located in Victoria park. One of the entrances to the Olympic park is in Tower Hamlets, and is called the Victoria gate.
  • A few schools in Tower Hamlets have taken part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games as well as all the other host boroughs. The section of the Olympic Park in Tower Hamlets will be named "Sweetwater", one of the 5 new neighbourhoods after the games. Sweetwater will cover Tower Hamlets' part of the Olympic Park near Old Ford.
  • The Olympic marathon was planned to run through the borough but later ran through the City and Westminster. However, the U-turn was located in the borough near The Tower of London.
  • Danny Boyle, the artistic director of the London 2012 opening ceremony, lives in Mile End.
  • A large number of Tower Hamlets' residents became Olympic volunteers; Tower Hamlets ranks second, after neighbouring borough Newham, for the number of volunteers from the borough.

Leisure

Parks in Tower Hamlets

There are over one hundred parks and open spaces in Tower Hamlets ranging from the large Victoria Park, to numerous small gardens and squares. The second largest, Mile End Park, separated from Victoria Park by a canal, includes The Green Bridge that carries the park across the busy Mile End Road. One of the smallest at 1.19 ha is the decorative Grove Hall Park off Fairfield Road, Bow, which was once the site of a lunatic asylum.[100] Other parks include Altab Ali Park, Mudchute Park and Grove Hall Park.

Museums

Transport

Road

As with most of the transport network in Tower Hamlets, several roads radiate across the Borough from the City of London.[101] East–west routes include:

There are several north–south routes in the Borough,[101] including:

There are three River Thames road crossings in the Borough.[101] From west-east, these are:

Rail

 
Bus on route 309 in Poplar, Tower Hamlets

The principal rail services commence in the City at Fenchurch Street, with one stop at Limehouse; and Liverpool Street, with stops at Bethnal Green and Cambridge Heath. The East London Line passes from north to south through Tower Hamlets with stations at Whitechapel, Shadwell and Wapping. One entrance to Shoreditch High Street station is inside the Borough. And the North London Line passes the very north in Tower Hamlets with one entrance to Hackney Wick inside the Borough. Two Crossrail stations are currently under construction and are expected to start services in summer 2021.

Metro

The Docklands Light Railway was built to serve the docklands areas of the borough, with a principal terminus at Bank and Tower Gateway. An interchange at Poplar allows trains to proceed north to Stratford, south via Canary Wharf towards Lewisham, and east either via the London City Airport to Woolwich Arsenal or via ExCeL London to Beckton.

Three London Underground services cross the district, serving a total of 8 stations: the District and Hammersmith and City lines share track between Aldgate East and Barking. The Central line has stations at Bethnal Green and Mile End - where there is an interchange to the District line. A third central line station, at Shoreditch, has been proposed as the Central line runs within close proximity of Shoreditch High Street station. If built, it will be situated between the existing stations at Bethnal Green and Liverpool St. The Jubilee line has one stop at Canary Wharf.

List of stations

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, light rail, 24.0% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 7.5%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.5%; driving a car or van, 6.9%; bicycle, 4.1%; train, 3.8%; work mainly at or from home, 2.3%.[102]

Tower Hamlets Borough Council operates a walking bus service for school pupils on agreed routes with some running every school day while and others once or twice a week depending on the number of adult volunteers involved.[103]

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Individuals

Military Units

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Tower Dock was the western boundary of the Tower Liberties - see map and more recent OS maps. The Liberties indirectly merged into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets via the Borough of Stepney.
  2. ^ From 1801 to 1821, the population of Bethnal Green more than doubled, and by 1831 had trebled (see table in population section). These incomers were principally weavers. For further details, see Andrew August Poor Women's Lives: Gender, Work, and Poverty in Late-Victorian London pp. 35-6 (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1999) ISBN 0-8386-3807-4.
  3. ^ By the early 19th century, over 11,000 people were crammed into insanitary slums in an area, which took its name from the former Hospital of St Katherine that had stood on the site since the 12th century.

References

Citations

  1. ^ 2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in England and Wales, Office for National Statistics (2012). See Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom for the full descriptions used in the 2011 Census.
  2. ^ "Borough Profile 2020". towerhamlets.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Religion in Tower Hamlets, 2011 Census Update" (PDF). www.towerhamlets.gov.uk. February 2015. (PDF) from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Bangla Stories". banglastories.org.
  5. ^ a b Eade, John (1996). "Nationalism, Community, and the Islamisation of Space in London". In Metcalf, Barbara Daly (ed.). Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520204042. Retrieved 19 April 2015. As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the centre of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.
  6. ^ Garbin, David. "Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK: some observations on socio-cultural dynamics, religious trends and transnational politics" 4 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Conference Human Rights and Bangladesh, School of African and Oriental Studies, June 2005, p. 1. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  7. ^ Tower Hamlets Council Corporate Research Unit, Religion in Tower Hamlets 2011 Census: Key Facts (Briefing 2013-03) 5 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Hubbard, Phil (2016). "Hipsters on Our High Streets: Consuming the Gentrification Frontier". Sociological Research Online. 21 (3): 1. doi:10.5153/sro.3962. S2CID 53381825.
  9. ^ "Framing Banglatown - Arts events - Tower Hamlets - Arts & Entertainment".
  10. ^ "Tourist favour hipster East End over central London, Airbnb reveals". 21 August 2018.
  11. ^ "London's Poverty Profile 2017 report (page 18)". Trust for London. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  12. ^ "London's Poverty Profile". Trust for London. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  13. ^ Power, M. J. (1965). "The origin and early use of the name 'Tower Hamlets'". East London Papers. 8: 67–80.
  14. ^ Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 923.
  15. ^ 1648 Ordinance for Militia within the Hamblets of the Tower of London British History Online
  16. ^ Tower Hamlets Idea Store website https://ideastore.co.uk/whats-on-visit-tower-london
  17. ^ a b The East End Alan Palmer, (John Murray, London 1989) ISBN 0-7195-5666-X
  18. ^ Bethnal Green: Settlement and Building to 1836, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 91–5 Date accessed: 17 April 2007
  19. ^ Irish in Britain John A. Jackson, p. 137–9, 150 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964)
  20. ^ The Jews, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969), pp. 149–51 Date accessed: 17 April 2007
  21. ^ The Spatial Form of Bangladeshi Community in London's East End Iza Aftab (UCL) (particularly background of Bangladeshi immigration to the East End). Date accessed: 17 April 2007
  22. ^ The East End at War Rosemary Taylor and Christopher Lloyd (Sutton Publishing, 2007) ISBN 0-7509-4913-9
  23. ^ Olympic Park: Legacy 20 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine (London 2012) accessed 20 September 2007
  24. ^ Chris Hammett Unequal City: London in the Global Arena (2003) Routledge ISBN 0-415-31730-4
  25. ^ Tower_Hamlets Heraldry of the World
  26. ^ Daily Telegraph article referencing the coat of arms https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/londons-newest-developments-harnessing-history-built/
  27. ^ "1993: Shock as racist wins council seat", BBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  28. ^ Hill, Dave. "Britain's first Muslim executive mayor vows to 'reach out to every community'", The Guardian, 8 November 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  29. ^ Hill, Dave. "Tower Hamlets: Lutfur Rahman removed as Labour mayoral candidate", The Guardian, 21 September 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  30. ^ "Lutfur Rahman mobbed by supporters on re-election". BBC. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  31. ^ LBTH ward details 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine accessed 21 May 2010
  32. ^ "The Tower Hamlets (Electoral Changes) Order 2013". Legislation.gov.uk.
  33. ^ "Tower Hamlets". BBC.
  34. ^ . towerhamlets.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Best Value Inspection of London Borough of Tower Hamlets Report" (PDF). Gov.uk. 16 October 2014. (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  36. ^ Mason, Tania (4 November 2014). "Tower Hamlets grants-for-votes inquiry finds grant guidelines were flouted". Civil Society. London. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  37. ^ Wright, Oliver (4 November 2014). . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  38. ^ "Tower Hamlets election fraud mayor Lutfur Rahman removed from office". BBC News. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  39. ^ "Electoral Commission - Media statement on removal of Tower Hamlets First from the Electoral Commission's register of political parties". Electoralcommission.org.uk.
  40. ^ "Tower Hamlets election: Labour's John Biggs named mayor". BBC. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  41. ^ "Mayor and Councillors by Party". towerhamlets.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  42. ^ "Your Councillors". Democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  43. ^ "Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court: Tower Hamlets plans name changes in solidarity". The Guardian. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Greenwich 1991–2020 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  45. ^ "Hot Spell - August 2003". Met Office. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  46. ^ "Record Breaking Heat and Sunshine - July 2006". Met Office. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  47. ^ . Met Office. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  48. ^ "Tower Hamlets: Total Population". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  49. ^ A Vision of Britain through time. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  50. ^ Resident Population Estimates, All Persons - Tower Hamlets 12 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine ONS.
  51. ^ Kleebauer, Alistair. "Crime went up by 3.5% in Tower Hamlets last year, according to Met figures". East London Advertiser. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011. 21 July 2011.
  52. ^ "Tower Hamlets Crime and Drugs Reduction Strategy – Year 1 2008/09" 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Tower Hamlets Partnership. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  53. ^ a b c Ethnicity in Tower Hamlets TowerHamlets.gov.uk.
  54. ^ . Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  55. ^ a b "Audit Commission" (PDF). audit-commission.gov.uk. (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2008.
  56. ^ Neighbourhood Statistics. . Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  57. ^ "Diabetes and heart disease in Bangladeshis and Pakistanis | East London Genes & Health". Genesandhealth.org (in Bengali). Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  58. ^ "Age - Census Maps, ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  59. ^ Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England, Scotland and Wales (Table 6)
  60. ^ "Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  61. ^ "2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  62. ^ "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  63. ^ "Religion - Census Maps, ONS". Home - Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  64. ^ "KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  65. ^ "KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  66. ^ "Religion - 2021 census". Office of National Statistics. 29 November 2022. from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  67. ^ Church List: Tower Hamlets 19 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Diocese of London. Retrieved on 27 March 2009.
  68. ^ Eade, John (1996). "Nationalism, Community, and the Islamization of Space in London". In Metcalf, Barbara Daly (ed.). Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520204042. Retrieved 19 April 2015. The mosque committee was determined from the outset, moreover, to remind local people of the building's religious function as loudly as possible. As one of the few mosques in Europe permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.
  69. ^ . Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  70. ^ . islamicforumeurope.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
  71. ^ . Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  72. ^ Prince joins Ramadan ceremony BBC website
  73. ^ Mosques in Tower Hamlets, Muslimsinbritain.org. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  74. ^ "Poverty Indicator - Tower Hamlets". Londons Poverty Profile.
  75. ^ "China to invest in Canary Wharf". China Economic Review. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2010.[permanent dead link]
  76. ^ . End Child Poverty. October 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  77. ^ Butler, Patrick (16 October 2019). "Universal credit 'leaving families depressed' in poorest London borough". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  78. ^ See list of education authority schools 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  79. ^ "Pupil projections" 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Tower Hamlets Council. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
    • See also: "DfE: Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011", Department for Education, data released on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  80. ^ "Private schools: capital spending", The Economist, 22 June 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. 11 July 2011.
  81. ^ "Secondary schools and colleges in Tower Hamlets", BBC News, 12 January 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. See also:
    • "Guide: Secondary league tables", BBC News, 12 January 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
    • "Tower Hamlets: GCSE and A-level results for 2009-2010", The Guardian, 12 January 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
    • For highest results, see: "Tower Hamlets scores record GCSE results", Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, 25 August 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010. Archived 11 July 2011.
  82. ^ GCSE information (XLS) (364 KB). Department for Education. Table 16. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011. See publication page.
  83. ^ Cavendish, Camilla. "You don't need the middle class". The Times. 4 March 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  84. ^ "Attainment at age 11 by borough", londonspovertyprofile.org.uk, 13 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  85. ^ Garner, Richard. "Tower Hamlets rejects Goldman Sachs' offer to sponsor academy"[dead link], The Independent, 21 June 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  86. ^ Frean, Alexandra. "Race quotas 'needed to end divide in schools'". The Times. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
    • See also: "Schools in the East End dividing by race". Evening Standard. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  87. ^ Johnston, Ron; Burgess, Simon; Harris, Richard; Wilson, Deborah. "'Sleep-Walking Towards Segregation?' The Changing Ethnic Composition of English Schools, 1997-2003: An Entry Cohort Analysis". Centre for Market and Public Organisation. University of Bristol. September 2006. p. 6.
  88. ^ "More pupils can claim free meals", BBC News, 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  89. ^ Jeffrey Schnapp; Matthew Battles (2014). Library Beyond the Book. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72503-4.
  90. ^ Sudjic, Deyan. "Just give him some space". The Guardian. 6 November 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  91. ^ "Administration and Maintenance". Idea Store. Retrieved 21 July 2011. 21 July 2011.
  92. ^ "New City College". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  93. ^ "Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets". Vcth.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  94. ^ Gilmour, Rod (3 March 2014) "Wapping's Hockey Revolution Bears Fruits as London Club Goes Business Savvy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 24 August 2014.
  95. ^ "Spa London, Bethnal Green - 3 bubbles", The Good Spa Guide. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  96. ^ . Komuaythai.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  97. ^ . Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  98. ^ "History and Background" 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. Retrieved 21 July 2011. See PDF files.
  99. ^ "The 2012 Olympics: The greatest sideshow on Earth", The Economist, 22 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  100. ^ Tower Hamlets Council. AZ of Parks. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  101. ^ a b c "London Borough of Tower Hamlets". OpenStreetMap.
  102. ^ "2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Percentages are of all residents aged 16-74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey’s longest part by distance.
  103. ^ "Cycling and walking to school". Towerhamlets.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  104. ^ Brooke, Mike (25 May 2018). "Queen's deputy lieutenant John Ludgate receives first 'Freedom of Tower Hamlets' of the 21st century". East London Advertiser.
  105. ^ Civic Honours granted by the London Boroughs www.steppingforwardlondon.org

Sources

External links

  • Tower Hamlets Council
  • Information on Tower Hamlets at the ward level

Coordinates: 51°31′N 0°03′W / 51.517°N 0.050°W / 51.517; -0.050

london, borough, tower, hamlets, tower, hamlets, redirects, here, historic, liberty, tower, division, other, uses, tower, hamlets, disambiguation, london, borough, covering, much, traditional, east, formed, 1965, from, merger, former, metropolitan, boroughs, s. Tower Hamlets redirects here For the historic liberty see Tower division For other uses see Tower Hamlets disambiguation The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney Poplar and Bethnal Green Tower Hamlets was originally an alternative name for the historic Tower Division the area of south east Middlesex focused on but not limited to the area of the modern borough which owed military service to the Tower of London Tower HamletsBoroughCoat of armsCouncil logoMotto From Great Things to GreaterTower Hamlets shown within Greater LondonSovereign stateUnited KingdomConstituent countryEnglandRegionLondonCeremonial countyGreater LondonCreated1 April 1965Admin HQClove Crescent BlackwallGovernment TypeLondon borough council BodyTower Hamlets London Borough Council LeadershipMayor amp Cabinet Aspire Executive mayorLutfur Rahman Aspire London AssemblyUnmesh Desai Labour AM for City and East MPsRushanara Ali Labour Apsana Begum Labour Area Total7 63 sq mi 19 77 km2 Rank311th of 309 Population 2021 Total310 306 Rank39th of 309 Density41 000 sq mi 16 000 km2 Ethnicity 1 32 Bangladeshi31 2 White British12 4 Other White3 7 Black African3 2 Chinese2 7 Indian 2 3 Other Asian 2 1 Black Caribbean1 5 Other Black 1 5 White Irish 1 2 Asian amp White 1 2 Other Mixed 1 1 Black Caribbean amp White 1 Pakistani1 Arab0 6 Black African amp White 0 1 White Gypsy or Irish Traveller 1 3 OtherTime zoneUTC GMT Summer DST UTC 1 BST PostcodesE ECONS code00BGGSS codeE09000030PoliceMetropolitan PoliceWebsitewww wbr towerhamlets wbr gov wbr ukThe borough lies on the north bank of the River Thames immediately east of the City of London and includes much of the redeveloped Docklands area Some of the tallest buildings in London occupy the centre of the Isle of Dogs in the south of the borough A part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is in Tower Hamlets The 2019 mid year population for the borough is estimated at 324 745 British Bangladeshis at 32 form the largest ethnic group 2 The 2011 census showed Tower Hamlets to have the highest proportion of Muslims of any English local authority and that Muslims heavily outnumbered Christians 3 The borough has more than forty mosques and Islamic centres and madrasahs 4 including the East London Mosque Britain s largest 5 Brick Lane s restaurants neighbouring street market and shops provide the largest range of Bangladeshi cuisine woodwork carpets and clothes in Europe 6 7 The Lane is also a major centre of hipster subculture 8 9 10 In 2017 a joint study by Trust for London and New Policy Institute found Tower Hamlets to be the 2nd most deprived London borough after Barking and Dagenham based on an average calculated across a range of indicators with high rates of poverty child poverty unemployment and pay inequality compared to other London boroughs 11 However it has the lowest gap for educational outcomes at secondary level 12 The local authority is Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Physical geography 1 2 Districts within the borough 2 History 3 Coat of arms 4 Politics 4 1 Parliament 4 2 London Assembly 4 3 London Borough Council 5 Local landmarks 5 1 Historical landmarks 5 2 Modern landmarks 6 Climate 7 Demographics 7 1 Ethnicity 8 Religion and religious sites 8 1 Places of Worship 9 Economy 10 Media 11 Education 11 1 Universities 11 2 Further education colleges 11 3 Schools and Sixth form colleges 11 4 Volunteering 12 Sports 12 1 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 13 Leisure 13 1 Parks in Tower Hamlets 13 2 Museums 14 Transport 14 1 Road 14 2 Rail 14 3 List of stations 15 Freedom of the Borough 15 1 Individuals 15 2 Military Units 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 18 1 Citations 18 2 Sources 19 External linksGeography EditPhysical geography Edit Canary Wharf world headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms Tower Hamlets is in East London north of the River Thames The City of London lies to the west the London Borough of Hackney to the north while the River Lea forms the boundary with the London Borough of Newham to the east The River Lea also forms the boundary between the historic counties of Middlesex and Essex The borough s Thames frontage extends from the Tower Dock inlet note 1 immediately west of the Tower of London through several miles of former docklands including the Isle of Dogs peninsula to the confluence of the Thames and Lea at Blackwall The areas along the Thames and Lea flood plains were historically frequently flooded but the Thames Barrier further east has reduced that risk The Regent s Canal enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at Limehouse Basin A stretch of the Hertford Union Canal leads from the Regent s canal at a basin in the north of Mile End to join the River Lea at Old Ford A further canal Limehouse Cut London s oldest leads from locks at Bromley by Bow to Limehouse Basin Most of the canal tow paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists The Borough includes open spaces such as Victoria Park King Edward Memorial Park Mile End Park Island Gardens and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Areas transport amp landmarksin the Borough of Tower Hamlets Districts within the borough Edit Bethnal Green Blackwall Bow Bromley by Bow East Smithfield Fish Island Isle of Dogs including Canary Wharf Limehouse Mile End Poplar Ratcliff Shadwell Spitalfields St George in the East St Katharine s Stepney The Tower Liberty taking in Tower Hill Wapping WhitechapelHistory EditSee also East End of London of which Tower Hamlets is a main part For more detailed local histories for each of the districts within Tower Hamlets see the links to the individual districts listed above this section The earliest reference to the name Tower Hamlets was in 1554 when the Council of the Tower of London ordered a muster of men of the hamlets which owe their service to the tower This covered a wider area than the present day borough and its military relationship with the Tower is thought to have been several centuries earlier than the 1554 record 13 In 1605 the Lieutenant of the Tower was given the right to muster the militia and the area east of the tower came to be a distinct military unit officially called Tower Hamlets or the Tower Division 14 The Hamlets of the Tower paid taxes for the militia in 1646 15 A legacy of that connection with the Tower is that residents of the modern borough can gain entrance for only a token fee of 1 16 this benefit isn t extended to the London Borough of Hackney most of which once formed part of the original Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End The population of the area grew enormously in the 19th century leading to extreme overcrowding and a concentration of poor people and immigrants throughout the area note 2 These problems were exacerbated by the construction of St Katharine Docks 1827 note 3 and the central London railway termini 1840 1875 with many displaced people moving into the area following the clearance of former slums and rookeries Over the course of a century the East End became synonymous with poverty overcrowding disease and criminality 17 The area was once characterised by rural settlements clustered around the City walls or along the main roads surrounded by farmland with marshes and small communities by the River serving the needs of shipping and the Royal Navy Until the arrival of formal docks shipping was required to land goods in the Pool of London but industries related to construction repair and victualling of ships flourished in the area from Tudor times The area attracted large numbers of rural people looking for employment Successive waves of foreign immigration began with Huguenot refugees creating a new extramural suburb in Spitalfields in the 17th century 18 They were followed by Irish weavers 19 Ashkenazi Jews 20 and in the 20th century Bangladeshis 21 Many of these immigrants worked in the clothing industry The abundance of semi and unskilled labour led to low wages and poor conditions throughout the East End This brought the attentions of social reformers during the mid 18th century and led to the formation of unions and workers associations at the end of the century The radicalism of the East End contributed to the formation of the Labour Party and demands for the enfranchisement of women Official attempts to address the overcrowded housing began at the beginning of the 20th century under the London County Council Aerial bombing in World War II devastated much of the East End with its docks railways and industry forming a continual target In the separate boroughs making up today s Tower Hamlets a total of 2 221 civilians were killed and 7 472 were injured with 46 482 houses destroyed and 47 574 damaged 22 This led to some dispersal of the population to outlying suburbs New housing was built in the 1950s for those that remained 17 The closure of the last of the East End docks in the Port of London in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration and the formation of the London Docklands Development Corporation The Canary Wharf development improved infrastructure and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 23 mean that the East End is undergoing further change but some of its districts continue to see some of the worst poverty in Britain 24 Coat of arms EditThe coat of arms of the Borough of Tower Hamlets was granted by the College of Arms in 1965 25 and is composed of elements representing the maritime trades and heritage of the area The strong links to the former Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney and to St Dunstan s church in Stepney known as the Church of the High Seas are represented The Manor and Parish did not have a coat of arms but the smaller subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Stepney did and elements from that have been incorporated into the current design The Shield features Ship representing the maritime trades Sprig of mulberry and a weaver s shuttle representing the silk and other weaving activities once so important to the borough The use of mulberry also honours the Huguenot refugees who first brought silk weaving to Tower Hamlets and to England generally 26 Many council staff wear mulberry coloured uniforms Blacksmiths fire tongs the emblem of St Dunstan the patron saint of Stepney who had close ties to the area Dunstan famously grabbed the devil by the nose with his tongs when he tried to tempt Dunstan The crest features A silver representation of the originally whitewashed White Tower of the Tower of London to which the original Tower Hamlets or Tower division was intimately linked Crossed gold anchors again representing the area s position in the Port of London Supporters Seahorse representing the maritime trades Talbot dog representing the Isle of Dogs Motto From great things to greater an anglicised version of the Latin motto on the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The council s logo is used as an alternative to the coat of arms It features a simplified White Tower above a stylised representation of the Thames This was a development of the previous logo of the White Tower in mulberry claret and presented in a three tower form as if seen from certain quarters which obscured the furthest corner tower and a geographically accurate representation of the local part of the Thames This older version is still seen on many street signs Politics EditSee also Tower Hamlets local elections Parliament Edit For the 2017 general election the borough was split into two constituencies Bethnal Green amp Bow represented by Rushanara Ali Labour Poplar amp Limehouse represented by Apsana Begum Labour Until the United Kingdom left the European Union the borough was a part of the London constituency for elections to the European Parliament Labour has dominated national elections in Tower Hamlets although other left wing parties have won seats including the Respect Unity coalition in 2005 in Bethnal Green amp Bow London Assembly Edit The borough lies within the City and East constituency one of fourteen constituencies which make up the London Assembly and is represented by John Biggs of the Labour Party London Borough Council Edit See also Tower Hamlets London Borough Council This section appears to be slanted towards recent events Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non recent events December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tower Hamlets Town Hall The Labour Party has dominated politics in Tower Hamlets since the borough was created in 1965 except for a period from 1986 to 1994 when the SDP Liberal Alliance and then the Liberal Democrats controlled the council The British National Party won its first council seat in 1993 when Derek Beackon was elected as a Millwall councillor 27 In May 2010 a referendum led to the creation of a directly elected executive Mayor for the Borough At the ensuing election in October 2010 Lutfur Rahman was elected Mayor as an independent candidate becoming the UK s first Muslim executive mayor 28 Rahman had been selected as the Labour candidate for Mayor and was a former Leader of the council However allegations of electoral malpractice were made against him and his supporters and he was suspended from the Labour Party before nominations closed 29 He was re elected as Mayor in May 2014 30 At the May 2010 election the composition of the council was 41 Labour 8 Conservative 1 Respect and 1 Liberal Democrat councillor Since then Respect gained a seat from Labour at a by election and in three separate groups a total of 8 Labour Councillors and one Conservative defected to Lutfur Rahman s independent group This shifting of political allegiances is normal for Tower Hamlets Between the 2006 and 2010 elections five Respect councillors defected to Labour one Respect and one Labour councillor defected to the Conservatives one Liberal Democrat defected to Labour and one Labour councillor was gained through a by election at the expense of the Liberal Democrats 31 In July 2013 the Tower Hamlets Electoral Changes Order 2013 was passed 32 reducing the size of the council and creating new electoral wards made of single two and 3 member divisions In September 2013 Lutfur Rahman s independent group was officially renamed Tower Hamlets First At the May 2014 election the group made significant gains by winning 18 of the 45 seats which reduced the previously Labour held council to No Overall Control 33 Labour remained the largest group with 22 councillors a nett loss of 14 while the Conservatives had five seats down by six 34 Both the Liberal Democrats and Respect Party were left with no seats after this election In November 2014 the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that it would appoint commissioners to take over some of the council s functions following an inspection report 35 by PricewaterhouseCoopers that raised several concerns over the allocation of grants 36 The action was supported by the Department s shadow secretary Hilary Benn 37 On 23 April 2015 the courts removed Mayor Rahman from office for electoral fraud and ordered a new election to be held 38 Six days later the Electoral Commission officially withdrew Rahman s Tower Hamlets First from the electoral register after deciding that the party did not operate a responsible financial scheme nor ran in accordance with its initial documentation provided at registration 39 The decision did not in itself disband the Tower Hamlets First political group in the council but the members splintered into the Tower Hamlets Independent Group the People s Alliance of Tower Hamlets and a number of Independent councillors On 11 June 2015 an election was held to replace Rahman and the Labour candidate John Biggs was elected as mayor while a Labour win at a by election enabled the party to regain overall control of the council 40 As of March 2017 the composition of the council was 22 Labour nine Independent Group five People s Alliance of Tower Hamlets PATH five Conservatives three ungrouped Independents and one Liberal Democrat 41 By May 2018 ten councillors had joined a political group called Aspire At the 2018 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council election Labour held the position of mayor and also gained twenty council seats overall giving it control of the council It now had 42 councillors taking all but one of the seats won by Tower Hamlets First in 2014 and also taking seats from the Conservatives Rabina Khan formerly of Tower Hamlets First but by then leader of the rival PATH came second in the Mayoral election and was the only former Tower Hamlets First councillor to hold a seat As of May 2022 the councillors are 24 Aspire 19 Labour 1 Conservative and 1 Green 42 DecentralizationSince 2014 the council has embraced a policy of decentralisation by establishing neighbourhood forums In 2014 the East Shoreditch Neighbourhood Planning Forum was set up which was followed in 2016 with the designation of a Limehouse Community Forum an Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood Planning Forum and a Spitalfields Neighbourhood Planning Forum Local landmarks Edit Canary Wharf seen from a high level walkway on Tower Bridge Historical landmarks Edit Brick Lane Cable Street site of the Battle of Cable Street Hawksmoor s Christ Church Spitalfields Site of two historic Royal Mints Tower of London Tower Bridge Victoria Park Roman Road Columbia Road Poplar BathsModern landmarks Edit Parts of this article those related to the proposed Chinese embassy move need to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information December 2022 The Canary Wharf complex within Docklands on the Isle of Dogs forms a group of some of the tallest buildings in Europe One Canada Square was the first to be constructed and is the third tallest in London Nearby are the HSBC Tower Citigroup Centres and One Churchill Place headquarters of Barclays Bank Within the same complex are the Heron Quays offices Part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park developed for the London 2012 Olympics lies within the borders of Tower Hamlets The Embassy of China in London will move into the former Royal Mint building in East Smithfield 43 Climate EditThe data below were taken between 1971 and 2000 at the weather station in Greenwich around 1 mile 1 6 km south of the town hall at Mulberry Place vteClimate data for Greenwich Park elevation 47 m 154 ft 1991 2020 normalsMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 14 4 57 9 19 7 67 5 21 7 71 1 25 6 78 1 30 0 86 0 32 8 91 0 35 3 95 5 37 5 99 5 30 0 86 0 25 6 78 1 18 9 66 0 15 0 59 0 37 5 99 5 Average high C F 8 5 47 3 9 2 48 6 12 1 53 8 15 4 59 7 18 6 65 5 21 4 70 5 23 8 74 8 23 3 73 9 20 3 68 5 15 8 60 4 11 6 52 9 8 9 48 0 15 3 59 5 Daily mean C F 5 9 42 6 6 2 43 2 8 4 47 1 10 7 51 3 13 8 56 8 16 7 62 1 18 8 65 8 18 7 65 7 15 9 60 6 12 4 54 3 8 8 47 8 6 3 43 3 11 9 53 4 Average low C F 3 4 38 1 3 2 37 8 4 7 40 5 6 0 42 8 9 1 48 4 12 0 53 6 13 9 57 0 14 1 57 4 11 6 52 9 9 0 48 2 6 1 43 0 3 8 38 8 8 1 46 6 Record low C F 9 4 15 1 9 4 15 1 7 8 18 0 2 2 28 0 1 1 30 0 5 0 41 0 7 2 45 0 6 1 43 0 2 8 37 0 3 3 26 1 5 0 23 0 7 2 19 0 9 4 15 1 Average precipitation mm inches 43 9 1 73 39 9 1 57 36 5 1 44 38 6 1 52 44 0 1 73 49 3 1 94 36 3 1 43 53 0 2 09 52 4 2 06 58 3 2 30 59 9 2 36 50 7 2 00 562 9 22 16 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 10 5 9 2 7 9 8 1 7 9 7 8 7 1 8 2 7 9 10 3 10 6 10 2 105 6Mean monthly sunshine hours 44 4 66 1 109 7 152 9 198 7 198 6 209 2 198 0 140 6 99 7 58 5 50 1 1 526 4Source 1 Met Office 44 45 46 Source 2 BBC Weather 47 Demographics Edit Population pyramid of the Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2020 Population censusYearPop 1801130 871 1811160 718 22 8 1821195 941 21 9 1831231 534 18 2 1841275 250 18 9 1851330 548 20 1 1861410 101 24 1 1871489 653 19 4 1881569 205 16 2 1891584 936 2 8 1901578 143 1 2 1911571 438 1 2 1921529 114 7 4 1931489 956 7 4 1941337 774 31 1 1951232 860 31 1 1961195 883 15 9 1971164 699 15 9 1981139 989 15 0 1991167 985 20 0 2001196 121 16 7 2011254 096 29 6 2021310 300 22 1 Note 48 By 1891 Tower Hamlets roughly the ancient civil parish of Stepney was already one of the most populated areas in London Throughout the nineteenth century the local population increased by an average of 20 every ten years The building of the docks intensified land use and caused the last marshy areas in the south of the parish to be drained for housing and industry In the north of the borough employment was principally in weaving small household industries like boot and furniture making and new industrial enterprises like Bryant and May The availability of cheap labour drew in many employers To the south employment was in the docks and related industries such as chandlery and rope making By the middle of the nineteenth century the district now recognised as Tower Hamlets was characterised by overcrowding and poverty The construction of the railways caused many more displaced people to settle in the area and a massive influx of Eastern European Jews at the latter part of the nineteenth century added to the population growth This migration peaked at the end of that century and population growth entered a long decline through to the 1960s as people moved away eastwards to newer suburbs of London and Essex The area s population had neared 600 000 around the end of the nineteenth century but fell to a low of less than 140 000 by the early 1980s The metropolitan boroughs suffered very badly during World War II during which considerable numbers of houses were destroyed or damaged beyond use due to heavy aerial bombing This coincided with a decline in work in the docks and the closure of many traditional industries The Abercrombie Plan for London 1944 began an exodus from London towards the new towns 49 This decline began to reverse with the establishment of the London Docklands Development Corporation bringing new industries and housing to the brownfield sites along the river Also contributing was new immigration from Asia beginning in the 1970s According to the 2001 UK Census the population of the borough is approximately 196 106 According to the ONS estimate the population is 237 900 as of 2010 50 Crime in the borough increased by 3 5 from 2009 to 2010 according to figures from the Metropolitan Police 51 having decreased by 24 between 2003 04 and 2007 08 52 Tower Hamlets has one of the smallest White British populations of any local authority in the United Kingdom No ethnic group forms a majority of the population a plurality of residents are white 45 a little over two thirds of whom are White British 32 of residents are Bangladeshi which is the largest ethnic minority group in the borough with Asians as a whole forming 41 of the population 53 54 A small proportion are of Black African and Caribbean descent 7 53 with Somalis representing the second largest minority ethnic group 55 Those of mixed ethnic backgrounds form 4 while other ethnic groups form 2 53 55 56 The White British proportion was recorded as 31 2 in the 2011 UK Census a decrease from 42 9 in 2001 In 2018 Tower Hamlets had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of heart disease of all London boroughs along with Newham 57 The 2021 census found that the borough has one of the lowest proportions of population over the age of 65 or older in England and Wales at 5 6 58 Ethnicity Edit Ethnic Group Year1991 59 2001 60 2011 61 2021 62 Number Number Number Number White Total 103 757 64 4 100 799 51 114 819 45 122 266 39 3 White British 84 151 43 79 231 31 71 177 22 9 White Irish 3 823 2 3 863 2 3 567 1 1 White Gypsy or Irish Traveller 175 0 110 0 0 White Roma 2 225 0 7 White Other 12 825 7 31 550 12 45 187 14 6 Asian or Asian British Total 43 419 26 9 75 380 38 104 501 41 137 856 44 5 Asian or Asian British Indian 1 669 3 001 2 6 787 3 10 135 3 3 Asian or Asian British Pakistani 1 175 1 486 1 2 442 1 3341 1 1 Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi 36 955 22 9 65 553 33 81 377 32 107 333 34 6 Asian or Asian British Chinese 1 815 3 573 2 8 109 3 10 279 3 3 Asian or Asian British Other Asian 1 805 1 767 1 5 786 2 6 768 2 2 Black or Black British Total 11 409 7 12 742 6 18 629 7 22 693 7 4 Black or Black British African 3 833 6 596 3 9 495 4 15 373 5 0 Black or Black British Caribbean 5 772 5 225 3 5 341 2 4 930 1 6 Black or Black British Other Black 1 804 921 0 3 793 1 2 390 0 8 Mixed or British Mixed Total 4 873 2 10 360 4 15 409 5 Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1 568 1 2 837 1 3 593 1 2 Mixed White and Black African 789 0 1 509 1 2 236 0 7 Mixed White and Asian 1 348 1 2 961 1 4 374 1 4 Mixed Other Mixed 1 168 1 3 053 1 5 206 1 7 Other Total 2 479 1 5 2 312 1 5 787 3 12 082 3 9 Other Arab 2 573 1 3 588 1 2 Other Any other ethnic group 2 479 1 5 2 312 1 3 214 1 8 494 2 7 Ethnic minority Total 57 307 35 5 95 307 49 139 277 55 188 040 60 8 Total 161 064 100 196 106 100 00 254 096 100 00 310 306 100 Religion and religious sites Edit Christ Church of Spitalfields East London Mosque Whitechapel London Buddhist Centre Bethnal Green Tower Hamlets is a religious diverse borough with various places of worship According to the 2021 census 39 9 of the population was Muslim 22 3 Christian 2 0 Hindu 1 0 Buddhist 0 4 Jewish 0 3 Sikh 0 5 followed some other religion 26 6 were not affiliated to a religion and 6 9 did not state their religious views 63 The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Tower Hamlets according to the 2001 2011 and the 2021 censuses Religion 2001 64 2011 65 2021 66 Number Number Number Holds religious beliefs 153 692 78 4 166 359 65 5 206 347 66 5Christian 75 783 38 6 68 808 27 1 69 223 22 3Muslim 71 389 36 4 87 696 34 5 123 912 39 9Jewish 1 831 0 9 1 283 0 5 1 341 0 4Hindu 1 544 0 8 4 200 1 7 6 298 2 0Sikh 682 0 3 821 0 3 966 0 3Buddhist 1 938 1 0 2 726 1 1 2 961 1 0Other religion 525 0 3 825 0 3 1 652 0 5No religion 27 823 14 2 48 648 19 1 82 635 26 6Religion not stated 14 591 7 4 39 089 15 4 21 318 6 9Total population 196 106 100 0 254 096 100 0 310 300 100 0Places of Worship Edit There are 21 active churches affiliated with the Church of England which include Christ Church of Spitalfields St Paul s Church of Shadwell and St Dunstan s of Stepney 67 and also churches of many other Christian denominations There are more than 40 mosques and Islamic centres in Tower Hamlets 4 The most famous is the East London Mosque one of the first mosques in Britain allowed to broadcast the adhan 5 68 and one of the biggest Islamic centres in Europe The Maryam Centre a part of the mosque is the biggest Islamic centre for women in Europe Opened in 2013 it features a main prayer hall ameliorated funeral services education facilities a fitness centre and support services 69 70 71 The East London Mosque has been visited by several notable people including Prince Charles Boris Johnson many foreign government officials and world renowned imams and Muslim scholars 72 Other notable mosques are Brick Lane Mosque Darul Ummah Masjid Esha Atul Islam Mosque Markazi Masjid Stepney Shahjalal Mosque and Poplar Central Mosque 73 Other notable religious buildings include the Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue the Congregation of Jacob Synagogue the London Buddhist Centre the Hindu Pragati Sangha Temple and the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat The Great Synagogue of London which was destroyed during the Second World War is located just outside the borough s boundaries in the City Economy Edit One Canada Square the 15th tallest building in Europe and currently the second tallest completed building in the United Kingdom the tallest being The Shard The market area in Whitechapel The borough hosts the world headquarters of many global financial businesses employing some of the highest paid workers in London but also has a high rates of long term illness and premature death and the 2nd highest unemployment rate in London 74 Canary Wharf is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms including Barclays Citigroup Clifford Chance Credit Suisse Infosys Fitch Ratings HSBC J P Morgan KPMG MetLife Morgan Stanley RBC Skadden State Street and Thomson Reuters 75 Savills a top end estate agency recommends that extreme luxury and ultra modern residential properties are to be found at Canary Riverside West India Quay Pan Peninsula and Neo Bankside The End Child Poverty coalition published that Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion of children in poverty of any local authority in the UK at 49 and as high as 54 5 in the Bethnal Green South ward 76 Surveys and interviews conducted by the Child Poverty Action group for the council found that the Universal Credit system was deeply unpopular with low income families in the borough and that most claimants who have used the system found it difficult to understand and experienced frequent payment errors 77 Media EditThe East London Advertiser provides local news in print and online Education EditSee also List of schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets The Blizard Building of Queen Mary University of London housing the Institute of Cell and Molecular Sciences The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the local education authority for state schools within the borough 78 In January 2008 there were 19 890 primary school pupils and 15 262 secondary school pupils attending state schools there 79 Independent school pupils account for 2 4 per cent of schoolchildren in the borough 80 In 2010 51 8 per cent of pupils achieved 5 A C GCSEs including Mathematics and English the highest results in the borough s history compared to the national average of 53 4 per cent 81 Seventy four per cent achieved 5 A C GCSEs for all subjects the same as the English average 82 the figure in 1997 was 26 per cent 83 The percentage of pupils on free school meals in the borough is the highest in England and Wales 84 In 2007 the council rejected proposals to build a Goldman Sachs sponsored academy 85 Schools in the borough have high levels of racial segregation The Times reported in 2006 that 47 per cent of secondary schools were exclusively non white and that 33 per cent had a white majority 86 About 60 per cent of pupils entering primary and secondary school are Bangladeshi 87 78 of primary school pupils speak English as a second language 88 Whitechapel Idea Store library The council runs several Idea Stores in the borough which combine traditional library and computer services with other resources and are designed to attract more diverse members 89 The flagship Whitechapel store was designed by David Adjaye 90 and cost 16 million to build 91 Universities Edit Queen Mary University of London a constituent college of the University of London which includes Barts and The London Queen Mary s School of Medicine and Dentistry London Metropolitan University UCL School of Management located in One Canada Square Canary WharfFurther education colleges Edit Tower Hamlets College which in 2017 merged with Hackney Community College and Redbridge College to form New City College the second largest college in London with over 20 000 students 92 Schools and Sixth form colleges Edit Mulberry Academy Shoreditch Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School Bow School Central Foundation Girls School George Green s School Lansbury Lawrence School Langdon Park School Morpeth School Mulberry School for Girls Oaklands School St Paul s Way Trust School Stepney All Saints School Stepney Green Maths Computing amp Science College Swanlea School Business and Enterprise College Jamiatul Ummah School and Sixth Form London East Academy East London Mosque Ibrahim College London Enterprise Academy Wapping High School Mazahirul uloom LondonVolunteering Edit Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets helps residents find volunteering work and provides support to organisations involving students volunteers 93 Sports EditSee also Tower Hamlets parks and open spaces Mile End Stadium Mile End Stadium within Mile End Park hosts an athletics stadium and facilities for football and basketball Two football clubs Tower Hamlets F C formerly Bethnal Green United and Sporting Bengal United F C are based there playing in the Essex Senior Football League John Orwell Sports Centre in Wapping is the base of Wapping Hockey Club In 2014 the club secured over 300 000 of investment to designate the centre a hockey priority facility 94 A leisure centre including a swimming pool at Mile End Stadium was completed in 2006 Other pools are located at St Georges Limehouse and York Hall in Bethnal Green York Hall is also a regular venue for boxing tournaments and in May 2007 a public spa was opened in the building s renovated Turkish baths 95 KO Muay Thai Gym 96 and Apolaki Krav Maga amp Dirty Boxing Academy 97 in Bethnal Green are the main sources for martial arts and combat sports training in the area The unusual Green Bridge opened in 2000 links sections of Mile End Park that would otherwise be divided by Mile End Road The bridge contains gardens water features and trees around the path 98 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Edit Main article Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park This section needs to be updated The reason given is Requires a rewrite in past tense Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information December 2021 Tower Hamlets was one of five host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics 99 the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was constructed in the Lea Valley As such the borough s involvement in the Olympics includes A small part of the Olympic Park is in Bow a district of the borough which makes the borough a host borough The energy centre King s Yard Energy Centre of the Olympic Park is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and gives energy to all the venues none of which are located in Tower Hamlets The world square and the London 2012 mega store is also in the borough The world square is for spectators who can buy food or drink the world s biggest McDonald s is in the world square in Tower Hamlets The London 2012 mega store provides official gifts and souvenirs High Street which is the main road to the Olympic park from west and central London combines Whitechapel Road Mile End Road and Bow Road Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets is an important part of the Olympics because spectators without tickets can watch the games on big screens London live 2012 that park is less than a mile away from the Olympic park The main spectator cycle park is located in Victoria park One of the entrances to the Olympic park is in Tower Hamlets and is called the Victoria gate A few schools in Tower Hamlets have taken part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games as well as all the other host boroughs The section of the Olympic Park in Tower Hamlets will be named Sweetwater one of the 5 new neighbourhoods after the games Sweetwater will cover Tower Hamlets part of the Olympic Park near Old Ford The Olympic marathon was planned to run through the borough but later ran through the City and Westminster However the U turn was located in the borough near The Tower of London Danny Boyle the artistic director of the London 2012 opening ceremony lives in Mile End A large number of Tower Hamlets residents became Olympic volunteers Tower Hamlets ranks second after neighbouring borough Newham for the number of volunteers from the borough Leisure EditParks in Tower Hamlets Edit Main article Tower Hamlets parks and open spaces Mile End Park There are over one hundred parks and open spaces in Tower Hamlets ranging from the large Victoria Park to numerous small gardens and squares The second largest Mile End Park separated from Victoria Park by a canal includes The Green Bridge that carries the park across the busy Mile End Road One of the smallest at 1 19 ha is the decorative Grove Hall Park off Fairfield Road Bow which was once the site of a lunatic asylum 100 Other parks include Altab Ali Park Mudchute Park and Grove Hall Park Museums Edit Museum of London Docklands Island History Trust Museum of London Docklands Ragged School Museum V amp A Museum of Childhood Whitechapel Art Gallery Vagina MuseumTransport EditRoad Edit As with most of the transport network in Tower Hamlets several roads radiate across the Borough from the City of London 101 East west routes include the A11 which runs from Aldgate to the A12 near Stratford passing through Whitechapel Mile End and Bow the A13 Commercial Road East India Dock Road which runs from Aldgate to Poplar East of Poplar the route continues towards Barking Tilbury and Southend the A1203 The Highway which runs from Tower Hill through Wapping to Limehouse and Canary Wharf There are several north south routes in the Borough 101 including the A12 which begins at the A13 in Poplar and runs along the eastern edge of the Borough The route carries traffic towards the M11 for Stansted Airport Romford and destinations in Essex including Chelmsford and Harwich International Port The route ultimately runs to Lowestoft in Suffolk the London Inner Ring Road from Old Street to Tower Bridge There are three River Thames road crossings in the Borough 101 From west east these are Tower Bridge Tower Hill to Southwark and Bermondsey Rotherhithe Tunnel the A13 at Limehouse to Canada Water Blackwall Tunnel the A12 and A13 at Poplar to Greenwich Rail Edit Bus on route 309 in Poplar Tower Hamlets The principal rail services commence in the City at Fenchurch Street with one stop at Limehouse and Liverpool Street with stops at Bethnal Green and Cambridge Heath The East London Line passes from north to south through Tower Hamlets with stations at Whitechapel Shadwell and Wapping One entrance to Shoreditch High Street station is inside the Borough And the North London Line passes the very north in Tower Hamlets with one entrance to Hackney Wick inside the Borough Two Crossrail stations are currently under construction and are expected to start services in summer 2021 MetroThe Docklands Light Railway was built to serve the docklands areas of the borough with a principal terminus at Bank and Tower Gateway An interchange at Poplar allows trains to proceed north to Stratford south via Canary Wharf towards Lewisham and east either via the London City Airport to Woolwich Arsenal or via ExCeL London to Beckton Three London Underground services cross the district serving a total of 8 stations the District and Hammersmith and City lines share track between Aldgate East and Barking The Central line has stations at Bethnal Green and Mile End where there is an interchange to the District line A third central line station at Shoreditch has been proposed as the Central line runs within close proximity of Shoreditch High Street station If built it will be situated between the existing stations at Bethnal Green and Liverpool St The Jubilee line has one stop at Canary Wharf List of stations Edit Aldgate East station All Saints DLR station Bethnal Green railway station Bethnal Green tube station Blackwall DLR station Bow Church station Bow Road station Bromley by Bow station Cambridge Heath railway station Canary Wharf DLR station Canary Wharf tube station Crossharbour DLR station Devons Road DLR station East India DLR station Hackney Wick railway station Heron Quays DLR station Island Gardens DLR station Langdon Park DLR station Limehouse station Rail and DLR Mile End station Mudchute DLR station Poplar DLR station Shadwell railway station Shadwell DLR station Shoreditch High Street railway station South Quay DLR station Stepney Green tube station Tower Gateway DLR station Tower Hill tube station Wapping railway station West India Quay DLR station Westferry DLR station Whitechapel tube station Whitechapel railway stationIn March 2011 the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were underground light rail 24 0 of all residents aged 16 74 on foot 7 5 bus minibus or coach 7 5 driving a car or van 6 9 bicycle 4 1 train 3 8 work mainly at or from home 2 3 102 Tower Hamlets Borough Council operates a walking bus service for school pupils on agreed routes with some running every school day while and others once or twice a week depending on the number of adult volunteers involved 103 Freedom of the Borough EditThe following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Tower Hamlets This list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items July 2020 Individuals Edit Commander John Ludgate 25 May 2018 104 Military Units Edit HMS Crane RN 1942 114 1st London Army Engineer Regiment TA 27 April 1961 105 See also Edit London portalList of public art in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Mayor of Tower HamletsNotes Edit The Tower Dock was the western boundary of the Tower Liberties see map and more recent OS maps The Liberties indirectly merged into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets via the Borough of Stepney From 1801 to 1821 the population of Bethnal Green more than doubled and by 1831 had trebled see table in population section These incomers were principally weavers For further details see Andrew August Poor Women s Lives Gender Work and Poverty in Late Victorian London pp 35 6 Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1999 ISBN 0 8386 3807 4 By the early 19th century over 11 000 people were crammed into insanitary slums in an area which took its name from the former Hospital of St Katherine that had stood on the site since the 12th century References EditCitations Edit 2011 Census Ethnic group local authorities in England and Wales Office for National Statistics 2012 See Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom for the full descriptions used in the 2011 Census Borough Profile 2020 towerhamlets gov uk Retrieved 21 December 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Religion in Tower Hamlets 2011 Census Update PDF www towerhamlets gov uk February 2015 Archived PDF from the original on 26 August 2018 Retrieved 21 December 2021 a b Bangla Stories banglastories org a b Eade John 1996 Nationalism Community and the Islamisation of Space in London In Metcalf Barbara Daly ed Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0520204042 Retrieved 19 April 2015 As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer azan the mosque soon found itself at the centre of a public debate about noise pollution when local non Muslim residents began to protest Garbin David Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK some observations on socio cultural dynamics religious trends and transnational politics Archived 4 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Conference Human Rights and Bangladesh School of African and Oriental Studies June 2005 p 1 Retrieved 16 August 2011 Tower Hamlets Council Corporate Research Unit Religion in Tower Hamlets 2011 Census Key Facts Briefing 2013 03 Archived 5 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Hubbard Phil 2016 Hipsters on Our High Streets Consuming the Gentrification Frontier Sociological Research Online 21 3 1 doi 10 5153 sro 3962 S2CID 53381825 Framing Banglatown Arts events Tower Hamlets Arts amp Entertainment Tourist favour hipster East End over central London Airbnb reveals 21 August 2018 London s Poverty Profile 2017 report page 18 Trust for London Retrieved 21 December 2021 London s Poverty Profile Trust for London Retrieved 19 June 2018 Power M J 1965 The origin and early use of the name Tower Hamlets East London Papers 8 67 80 Weinreb et al 2008 p 923 1648 Ordinance for Militia within the Hamblets of the Tower of London British History Online Tower Hamlets Idea Store website https ideastore co uk whats on visit tower london a b The East End Alan Palmer John Murray London 1989 ISBN 0 7195 5666 X Bethnal Green Settlement and Building to 1836 A History of the County of Middlesex Volume 11 Stepney Bethnal Green 1998 pp 91 5 Date accessed 17 April 2007 Irish in Britain John A Jackson p 137 9 150 Routledge amp Kegan Paul 1964 The Jews A History of the County of Middlesex Volume 1 Physique Archaeology Domesday Ecclesiastical Organization The Jews Religious Houses Education of Working Classes to 1870 Private Education from Sixteenth Century 1969 pp 149 51 Date accessed 17 April 2007 The Spatial Form of Bangladeshi Community in London s East End Iza Aftab UCL particularly background of Bangladeshi immigration to the East End Date accessed 17 April 2007 The East End at War Rosemary Taylor and Christopher Lloyd Sutton Publishing 2007 ISBN 0 7509 4913 9 Olympic Park Legacy Archived 20 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine London 2012 accessed 20 September 2007 Chris Hammett Unequal City London in the Global Arena 2003 Routledge ISBN 0 415 31730 4 Tower Hamlets Heraldry of the World Daily Telegraph article referencing the coat of arms https www telegraph co uk property uk londons newest developments harnessing history built 1993 Shock as racist wins council seat BBC News Retrieved 13 July 2011 Hill Dave Britain s first Muslim executive mayor vows to reach out to every community The Guardian 8 November 2010 Retrieved 8 August 2013 Hill Dave Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman removed as Labour mayoral candidate The Guardian 21 September 2010 Retrieved 8 August 2013 Lutfur Rahman mobbed by supporters on re election BBC 24 May 2014 Retrieved 25 May 2014 LBTH ward details Archived 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine accessed 21 May 2010 The Tower Hamlets Electoral Changes Order 2013 Legislation gov uk Tower Hamlets BBC Tower Hamlets Council Election results by party 22 May 2014 towerhamlets gov uk Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Best Value Inspection of London Borough of Tower Hamlets Report PDF Gov uk 16 October 2014 Archived PDF from the original on 4 November 2014 Retrieved 8 February 2019 Mason Tania 4 November 2014 Tower Hamlets grants for votes inquiry finds grant guidelines were flouted Civil Society London Retrieved 4 November 2014 Wright Oliver 4 November 2014 Eric Pickles sends hit squad to tackle rotten borough of Tower Hamlets The Independent London Archived from the original on 8 November 2014 Retrieved 4 November 2014 Tower Hamlets election fraud mayor Lutfur Rahman removed from office BBC News 23 April 2015 Retrieved 23 April 2015 Electoral Commission Media statement on removal of Tower Hamlets First from the Electoral Commission s register of political parties Electoralcommission org uk Tower Hamlets election Labour s John Biggs named mayor BBC 12 June 2015 Retrieved 12 June 2015 Mayor and Councillors by Party towerhamlets gov uk Retrieved 6 March 2017 Your Councillors Democracy towerhamlets gov uk 4 November 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2022 Tiananmen Square Uyghur Court Tower Hamlets plans name changes in solidarity The Guardian 19 March 2021 Retrieved 21 March 2021 Greenwich 1991 2020 averages Met Office Retrieved 20 November 2018 Hot Spell August 2003 Met Office Retrieved 17 December 2018 Record Breaking Heat and Sunshine July 2006 Met Office Retrieved 17 December 2018 London Forecast Met Office Retrieved 17 December 2018 Tower Hamlets Total Population A Vision of Britain Through Time Great Britain Historical GIS Project Retrieved 6 September 2011 A Vision of Britain through time Retrieved 20 February 2009 Resident Population Estimates All Persons Tower Hamlets Archived 12 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine ONS Kleebauer Alistair Crime went up by 3 5 in Tower Hamlets last year according to Met figures East London Advertiser 23 January 2011 Retrieved 21 July 2011 Archived 21 July 2011 Tower Hamlets Crime and Drugs Reduction Strategy Year 1 2008 09 Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Tower Hamlets Partnership Retrieved 21 July 2011 a b c Ethnicity in Tower Hamlets TowerHamlets gov uk census information 2011 Archived from the original on 8 December 2012 Retrieved 2 April 2013 a b Audit Commission PDF audit commission gov uk Archived PDF from the original on 8 August 2008 Neighbourhood Statistics Tower Hamlets Ethnic groups 2001 Census ONS Neighbourhood statistics gov uk Archived from the original on 2 May 2016 Retrieved 22 October 2010 Diabetes and heart disease in Bangladeshis and Pakistanis East London Genes amp Health Genesandhealth org in Bengali Retrieved 14 July 2018 Age Census Maps ONS www ons gov uk Retrieved 6 January 2023 Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England Scotland and Wales Table 6 Office of National Statistics 2001 Census Key Statistics webarchive nationalarchives gov uk Retrieved 7 September 2021 2011 Census Ethnic Group local authorities in England and Wales webarchive nationalarchives gov uk Retrieved 15 December 2021 Ethnic group Office for National Statistics www ons gov uk Retrieved 29 November 2022 Religion Census Maps ONS Home Office for National Statistics Retrieved 11 December 2022 KS007 Religion Nomis 2001 www nomisweb co uk Retrieved 18 October 2022 KS209EW Religion Nomis 2011 www nomisweb co uk Retrieved 18 October 2022 Religion 2021 census Office of National Statistics 29 November 2022 Archived from the original on 29 November 2022 Retrieved 16 December 2022 Church List Tower Hamlets Archived 19 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Diocese of London Retrieved on 27 March 2009 Eade John 1996 Nationalism Community and the Islamization of Space in London In Metcalf Barbara Daly ed Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 0520204042 Retrieved 19 April 2015 The mosque committee was determined from the outset moreover to remind local people of the building s religious function as loudly as possible As one of the few mosques in Europe permitted to broadcast calls to prayer azan the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about noise pollution when local non Muslim residents began to protest mcrlive net about Archived from the original on 26 August 2009 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Islamic Forum of Europe islamicforumeurope com Archived from the original on 15 August 2008 Retrieved 15 August 2008 mcrlive net images Archived from the original on 27 March 2009 Retrieved 15 March 2015 Prince joins Ramadan ceremony BBC website Mosques in Tower Hamlets Muslimsinbritain org Retrieved 27 June 2011 Poverty Indicator Tower Hamlets Londons Poverty Profile China to invest in Canary Wharf China Economic Review 31 August 2009 Retrieved 11 November 2010 permanent dead link Poverty in your area End Child Poverty October 2014 Archived from the original on 31 October 2014 Retrieved 4 November 2014 Butler Patrick 16 October 2019 Universal credit leaving families depressed in poorest London borough The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 5 May 2020 See list of education authority schools Archived 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine Pupil projections Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Tower Hamlets Council Retrieved 27 June 2011 See also DfE Schools Pupils and their Characteristics January 2011 Department for Education data released on 22 June 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Private schools capital spending The Economist 22 June 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Archived 11 July 2011 Secondary schools and colleges in Tower Hamlets BBC News 12 January 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2011 See also Guide Secondary league tables BBC News 12 January 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Tower Hamlets GCSE and A level results for 2009 2010 The Guardian 12 January 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2011 For highest results see Tower Hamlets scores record GCSE results Tower Hamlets London Borough Council 25 August 2010 Retrieved 11 July 2010 Archived 11 July 2011 GCSE information XLS 364 KB Department for Education Table 16 21 October 2010 Retrieved 21 July 2011 See publication page Cavendish Camilla You don t need the middle class The Times 4 March 2003 Retrieved 21 July 2011 Attainment at age 11 by borough londonspovertyprofile org uk 13 July 2010 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Garner Richard Tower Hamlets rejects Goldman Sachs offer to sponsor academy dead link The Independent 21 June 2007 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Frean Alexandra Race quotas needed to end divide in schools The Times 12 October 2006 Retrieved 21 July 2011 See also Schools in the East End dividing by race Evening Standard 29 May 2007 Retrieved 21 July 2011 Johnston Ron Burgess Simon Harris Richard Wilson Deborah Sleep Walking Towards Segregation The Changing Ethnic Composition of English Schools 1997 2003 An Entry Cohort Analysis Centre for Market and Public Organisation University of Bristol September 2006 p 6 More pupils can claim free meals BBC News 11 August 2009 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Jeffrey Schnapp Matthew Battles 2014 Library Beyond the Book Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 72503 4 Sudjic Deyan Just give him some space The Guardian 6 November 2005 Retrieved 21 July 2011 Administration and Maintenance Idea Store Retrieved 21 July 2011 Archived 21 July 2011 New City College Retrieved 30 August 2017 Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets Vcth org uk Retrieved 22 October 2010 Gilmour Rod 3 March 2014 Wapping s Hockey Revolution Bears Fruits as London Club Goes Business Savvy The Daily Telegraph Retrieved on 24 August 2014 Spa London Bethnal Green 3 bubbles The Good Spa Guide Retrieved 27 June 2011 KO Gym Combat Academy Muay Thai Kick Boxing London Komuaythai com Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 Retrieved 23 February 2021 Apolaki Krav Maga London Archived from the original on 5 September 2015 Retrieved 16 February 2019 History and Background Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Retrieved 21 July 2011 See PDF files The 2012 Olympics The greatest sideshow on Earth The Economist 22 July 2010 Retrieved 13 July 2011 Tower Hamlets Council AZ of Parks Retrieved 4 July 2014 a b c London Borough of Tower Hamlets OpenStreetMap 2011 Census QS701EW Method of travel to work local authorities in England and Wales Office for National Statistics Retrieved 23 November 2013 Percentages are of all residents aged 16 74 including those not in employment Respondents could only pick one mode specified as the journey s longest part by distance Cycling and walking to school Towerhamlets gov uk Retrieved 8 February 2019 Brooke Mike 25 May 2018 Queen s deputy lieutenant John Ludgate receives first Freedom of Tower Hamlets of the 21st century East London Advertiser Civic Honours granted by the London Boroughs www steppingforwardlondon org Sources Edit Cornwell Jocelyn 1984 Hard Earned Lives Accounts of Health and Illness from East London Tavistock Publications Dancygier Rafaela M 2010 Immigration and Conflict in Europe Cambridge University Press Hill Dave Tower Hamlets politics poverty and faith The Guardian 19 September 2010 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Weinreb Ben Hibbert Christopher Keay John Keay Julia 2008 The London Encyclopaedia 3rd ed Pan Macmillan ISBN 978 1 405 04924 5 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tower Hamlets Council LBTH find your councillor LBTH Ward data report 2005 Information on Tower Hamlets at the ward level Coordinates 51 31 N 0 03 W 51 517 N 0 050 W 51 517 0 050 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London Borough of Tower Hamlets amp oldid 1131940943, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.