Shadwell is a district of
East London, England, in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of
Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between
Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
(to the west) and
Ratcliff
Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames between Limehouse (to the east), and Shadwell (to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used.
History
Etymolog ...
(to the east). This riverside location has meant the area's history and character have been shaped by the maritime trades.
Historically a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of the
Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney,
[Young's guide describes Hamlets as devolved areas of Parishes - but does not describe this area specifically ] it became a parish in its own right in 1670. the area of the Hamlet and Parish included areas south of
Cable Street
Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
Location
Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the City ...
including
Shadwell Basin
Shadwell Basin is a housing and leisure complex built around a disused dock in Wapping, London. The old dock was formerly part of the London Docks, a group of docks built by the London Dock Company at Shadwell and Wapping as part of the wider d ...
and the
King Edward Memorial Park
King Edward Memorial Park is a public open space in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the northern bank of the River Thames.
It was opened in 1922 in memory of King Edward VII. With an area of 3.3 hectares, it is the 11th largest par ...
.
History
Etymology
In the 13th century, the area was a low lying marsh
[''Shadwell'']
''The Copartnership Herald'', Vol. II, no. 23 (Christmas 1932-January 1933)accessed: 26 August 2008 known as ''Scadflet'', from the
Anglo-Saxon , meaning a shallow creek or bay. Because a spring by a church dedicated to
St Chad filled a nearby well, a
false etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
changed the name into Chadwelle. This changed further into Shadwell.
Origins
![Stepney Met](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Stepney_Met._B_Ward_Map_1916.svg)
In 1975, archaeologists discovered evidence of a port complex between
Ratcliff
Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames between Limehouse (to the east), and Shadwell (to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used.
History
Etymolog ...
and Shadwell, that was used throughout
Roman occupation of Britain, and being most active in the 3rd century AD. The port seems to have initially been used for seagoing ships into the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, which is believed to have stopped between 250 and 270AD. A water level drop meant that the port was used primarily for the public bath house near
St George in the East
St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of p ...
, which existed from the first to fourth centuries.
Archaeologists also found evidence of a late third-century
signal tower
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetab ...
in Shadwell. A Roman cemetery containing two coffins was also discovered in Shadwell in around 1615.
16th and 17th centuries
Shadwell's eastern waterfront had been drained in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
whilst the western waterfront had been drained during the reign of
King Henry VIII, by Cornelius Vanderdelf after an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
.
This had been caused by an increase in London's maritime activities in the 16th century.
The riverside areas of East London experienced rapid, low quality development, that reached Shadwell in the late 16th century. Writing in 1598, John Stow describes the poverty of the riverside development that took place then, with its:
John Stow also recalls elm trees
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
being felled in order to make way for tenements
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
. Away from the river the area remained largely undeveloped. In 1650, Shadwell had 703 buildings. Of the houses, 195 were single-storey houses, 473 were two-storey houses, and 33 were three-storey houses, although many were subdivided. The population of Shadwell in 1650 was around 3,500. In the 1660s, a hearth tax
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is ...
was introduced, although around 50% of residents in Shadwell were deemed too poor to pay the tax.
In 1669, Thomas Neale
Thomas Neale (1641–1699) was an English project-manager and politician who was also the first person to hold a position equivalent to postmaster-general of the North American colonies.
Neale was a Member of Parliament for thirty years, Maste ...
became a local landowner, buying some land reclaimed from the river, and gained Shadwell parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
status. In addition, Neale built 289 homes, a mill, and a market, and also established a waterworks on large ponds left by the draining of the marsh. The area had been largely undeveloped and he developed the waterfront, with houses behind as a speculation, and in doing so provided fresh water for Shadwell and Wapping. Shadwell's maritime industries were further developed with roperies, tanneries, breweries, wharves, smiths, and numerous taverns, as well as the chapel of St Paul's. Seventy-five sea captains are buried in its churchyard; Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
had his son baptised there. Shadwell's new houses were built in an orderly fashion, so that the streets ran between Ratcliff Highway
The Highway, part of which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman London, Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for ...
and Wapping Wall
Wapping Wall is a street located in the East End of London at Wapping. It runs parallel to the northern bank of the River Thames, with many converted warehouses facing the river.
On this street is the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, built in ...
. In 1674, Shadwell had a population of around 8,000. The prosperity in this period has been linked to the road connections into London, which were maintained by wealthy taxpayers from Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and Surrey.
18th and 19th centuries
By the mid-eighteenth century, Shadwell Spa was established, producing sulphurous waters, in Sun Tavern fields. As well as being used for medicinal purposes, salts were extracted from the waters and used by local calicoprinters to fix their dyes. By the mid-eighteenth century, many houses in Shadwell had been rebuilt. "Seamen, watermen and lightermen, coalheavers and shopkeepers, and ropemakers, coopers, carpenters and smiths, lived in small lathe and plaster or weatherboard houses, two storeys and a garret high, with one room on each floor"; the average rent was £2-7. In 1768, London coal workers who were protesting for higher wages began shooting at the landlord of the Roundabout Tavern in Shadwell; as a result, seven of them were hanged in the Sun Tavern fields. Their execution was witnessed by around 50,000 spectators, the largest crowd at a hanging since the hanging of Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers (18 August 1720 – 5 May 1760) was an English nobleman, notable for being the last peer to be hanged, following his conviction for murdering his steward.
Biography
Shirley was the eldest son of Laurence ...
in 1760. in 1794, many houses on the Ratcliffe Highway
The Highway, part of which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for vice and cr ...
were destroyed by a fire which "consumed more houses than any one conflagration has done since the Great Fire of London", and also destroyed many boats, and around £40,000 of sugar.
Shadwell Waterworks was sold in 1801 to the London Dock Company; the waterworks were the first ones in London to use a Watt steam engine
The Watt steam engine design became synonymous with steam engines, and it was many years before significantly new designs began to replace the basic Watt design.
The first steam engines, introduced by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, were of the "a ...
in 1788. The waterworks were later sold to the East London Waterwork Company for £300,000 in 1808, after an Act of Parliament allowed the company to obtain a compulsory purchase
Compulsion may refer to:
* Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so.
* Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...
order. The modern area is dominated by the enclosed former dock, Shadwell Basin
Shadwell Basin is a housing and leisure complex built around a disused dock in Wapping, London. The old dock was formerly part of the London Docks, a group of docks built by the London Dock Company at Shadwell and Wapping as part of the wider d ...
, whose construction destroyed much of the earlier settlement – by this time degenerated into slums.[ The basin once formed the eastern entrance to the then ]London Docks
London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port ...
, with a channel leading west to St Katharine Docks
St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...
. It is actually two dock basins - the south basin was constructed in 1828-32 and the north basin in 1854–8. A new entrance to Shadwell dock was opened in 1832, giving Shadwell access to the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. Between 1854 and 1858, a 45 feet wide new entrance to the docks was constructed to allow larger ships into the dock. Shadwell Basin was one of three locked basins connecting the docks to the River Thames, and is the only one of the three still in existence today. In 1865, HMS Amazon
Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Amazon'', after the mythical female warriors.
* was a 26-gun frigate, formerly the French ship ''Panthère'', built in 1744 and captured in 1745. She was sold in 1763.
* was a 32-gun frigate la ...
docked at Shadwell Basin in order to pick up around 800 Mormons who were emigrating to America, and in 1869, the ''Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket, or Weyapiersenwah (c. 1743 – 1810), was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country. Perhaps the preeminent American Indian leader in the Northwest Indian War, i ...
'' clipper, then the fastest clipper in the world, began her journey to Canterbury, New Zealand in Shadwell Basin. In 1865 during excavation for the creations of some docks at Shadwell, four nearby houses were flooded. In 1844, Shadwell was recorded as having had a population of 10,060, and having ten almshouses built using money from James Cook. Watney Market developed into a busy shopping area around this time.
In the 19th century, Shadwell was home to a large community of foreign South Asian ''lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
'' seamen, brought over from British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
by the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. There were also Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
s, from intermarriage and cohabitation
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
between ''lascar'' seamen and local girls. There were also smaller communities of Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
seamen, who also intermarried and cohabited with locals. In 1805, lascars caused disturbances in the streets of Shadwell which ended with 15 people being hospitalised, and 19 people being arrested.
During Victorian times, Shadwell and the East End were not seen as pleasant places. The growth of Shadwell's port led to an increase in the number of prostitutes in the area, and the area was known as the centre of the capital's opium smoking, and in 1861, Shadwell paid a poor rate
In England and Wales the poor rate was a tax on property levied in each parish, which was used to provide poor relief. It was collected under both the Old Poor Law and the New Poor Law. It was absorbed into 'general rate' local taxation in the ...
of 3 s. 9d. An 1889 book ''The Bitter Cry of Outcast London'' described Ratcliffe, Shadwell and Bermondsey
Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...
as a "revolting spectacle", a "dark vision", and a "ghastly reality", whilst Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' unfinished novel ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood
''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870.
Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...
'' involves a journey to an opium den in Shadwell, which includes the line "Eastward and still eastward through the stale streets he takes his way, until he reaches his destination: a miserable court, specially miserable amongst many such."
In 1885, Shadwell Fish Market was opened as an alternative to Billingsgate Fish Market
Billingsgate Fish Market is located in Canary Wharf in London. It is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was or ...
. Although Shadwell had the advantage of three times the river frontage of Billingsgate
Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile.
The modern Ward extends south to the ...
and access via train, the fish market was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1901, it was sold to the City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
, and was eventually closed in 1914. The site later became King Edward Memorial Park
King Edward Memorial Park is a public open space in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the northern bank of the River Thames.
It was opened in 1922 in memory of King Edward VII. With an area of 3.3 hectares, it is the 11th largest par ...
in 1922, when it was opened by King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
, and was Shadwell's first park. From 1868 to 1932, Shadwell was home to the East London Hospital for Children (later the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children was based in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London. In 1996, the hospital became part of The Royal Hospitals NHS Trust, later renamed Barts and The London NHS Trust. In 1998, the ...
), before it moved to Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
, and was later closed down in 1963.
20th century
In 1906, the Corporation of London
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
agreed to contribute £500 to the widening of Shadwell High Street to .
In 1916, seven women were killed in a sack factory fire; around 50 women were in the building at the time, and the rest escaped. The five-storey warehouse was almost completely destroyed. In 1934, a bomb was found four feet below the surface of Shadwell High Street; the bomb was believed to be from the German World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
air raids on the area.
In 1936 residents of Shadwell were heavily involved in the Battle of Cable Street
The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...
which took place nearby, when Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
's fascists attempted to march through the East End, in order to intimidate the areas large Jewish population. The police ordered Mosley to abandon his march when 250,000 or more protestors blocked his way, and police attempts to clear a way for him were unsuccessful. Workers in Shadwell continued to oppose the British Union of Fascists, and in 1937, Shadwell dockers threatened an unofficial strike after local casual dock labourer Cecil Anthony Hiron was nominated as a BUF candidate in the Stepney
Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...
Council elections in November; Hiron later withdrew his nomination.
In 1969, the Shadwell Docks, along with the other London docks, closed and were purchased by 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 ...
Council. During the 1970s, the docks became derelict, before being bought by the London Docklands Development Corporation, who built 169 houses and flats by the basin in 1987.
The Watney Market area was demolished and rebuilt during the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1987, Shadwell DLR station
Shadwell is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Shadwell in east London, England and is between the terminals of Bank and Tower Gateway to the west and Limehouse to the east. The 1991 Bank extension joins the main DLR line just to the wes ...
was opened, which connected Shadwell to Tower Gateway near Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...
, and later also Bank station
Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street, London, King William Street in the City of ...
from 1991.
Parish church
St. Paul's Shadwell with St. James Ratcliffe, is traditionally known as the ''Church of Sea Captains''. In 1656 the church was established as a ''Chapel of Ease'', from St Dunstan's, at Stepney
Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...
. In 1669, it was rebuilt as the Parish Church of Shadwell, and it was the last of five parish churches rebuilt after the Restoration. In 1820, it was again rebuilt as a 'Waterloo church
A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...
'. Captain James Cook was an active parishioner and John Wesley preached in the church from time to time. Isham Randolph of Dungeness, one of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
's grandfathers and son of William Randolph
William Randolph I (bapt. 7 November 1650 – 11 April 1711) was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia who played an important role in the development of the colony. Born in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, Randolph moved to th ...
, was married in St. Paul's church.
Local government elections
Every four years, residents of Wapping ward elect two councillors to represent them on Tower Hamlets Council
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, c ...
.
In 2014, residents elected two Tower Hamlets First
Tower Hamlets First was a British political party represented in Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, which was launched to contest the 2014 local elections in the Borough. During its existence, it was the second largest party on Tower Hamlets ...
councillors.
In 2018, they elected one Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
councillor and one Labour councillor.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, 15,110 people lived in Shadwell.
Residents of Bangladeshi origin accounted for 52% of Shadwell's population in the 2011 census, with White British
White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population ...
people comprising 20% of the ward. The next largest ethnic group was Other White
The term Other White is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom and has been used in documents such as the 2011 UK Census to describe people who self-identify as white (chiefly European) persons who are not of the English, Welsh, ...
at 9%. 52.9% of people were born in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, with the next highest being 20.8% of people being born in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
The most common religion in Shadwell is Islam, with 54.8% of people identifying as Muslim, the next highest being 20.6% who identified as Christian.
Landmarks
St George in the East
St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of p ...
on Cannon Street Road is one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches. The church was hit by a bomb during the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
the original interior was destroyed by the fire, but the walls and distinctive "pepper-pot" towers remained intact. In 1964 a modern church interior was constructed inside the existing walls for the active congregation, and a new flat built under each corner tower. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original cemetery, which was passed to Stepney Council to maintain as a public park in mid-Victorian times. At the outbreak of the Second World War the crypt of the church was used as a public air raid shelter and was fully occupied when the aforementioned bomb struck. There were no casualties and everyone was evacuated safely (thanks to the air raid wardens
''Air Raid Wardens'' is a 1943 comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was the first of two feature films the duo made at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Plot
Set during World War II, just after Pearl Harbor, Stan (Stan L ...
and fire brigade
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
.)
Notable current and former residents of Shadwell
* Jane Randolph Jefferson
Jane Randolph Jefferson (February 10, 1720 – March 31, 1776) was the wife of Peter Jefferson and the mother of US president Thomas Jefferson. Born in the parish of Shadwell, near London, she was the daughter of Isham Randolph, a ship's ...
(born 9 February 1720) – Mother of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
* Eliza Roberts (1802-1878), Head Nurse under Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...
during the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, born in Shadwell
* Sir William Henry Perkin
Sir William Henry Perkin (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was a British chemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial synthetic organic dye, mauveine, made from aniline. Though he failed in tryin ...
(12 March 1838 - 14 July 1907) – born in Shadwell and at the age of 18 discovered the first aniline
Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starti ...
dye while doing experiments at his home in Cable Street
Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
Location
Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the City ...
.
* Walter Pater
Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) was an English essayist, art critic and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, ''Studies in the History of the Re ...
(4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) — essayist and critic
* Frederick Albert Bridge (18 December 1841 – 29 December 1917) - photographer, singer, conductor and choirmaster
* Ted Juniper
Edward Juniper (born 3 December 1901, date of death unknown) was a association football, footballer who played in The Football League for Leyton Orient F.C., Clapton Orient. He was born in Shadwell, England.Joyce, Michael: "The Football League ...
(born 3 December 1901, date of death unknown) – footballer
* Mildred Gordon (24 August 1923 - 8 April 2016) — Member of Parliament for Bow & Poplar (1987-1997) and teacher at Shadwell's Nicholas Gibson School, born and lived there until 1962
* Norman Giller (18 April 1940 -) — sports historian and prolific author, born and lived there until 1960
* Bob Crow (13 June 1961 – 11 March 2014) – trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
leader
* Jah Wobble
John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
, lived there from the early 1980s to mid-1990s — musician and writer
Education
Specifically local schools include Blue Gate Fields and Bigland Green Primary school; and Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School
Bishop Challoner Catholic Federation of Schools is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form, located in the Shadwell area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. In May 2015, the name of the schools formally cha ...
. Also, Mulberry School For Girls
Transport and locale
Shadwell tube station
Shadwell is a London Overground station in Shadwell in East London. It was formerly a London Underground station on the East London line until 2007. The station is between to the north and to the south. It is located near to Shadwell DLR s ...
is located just north of Cable Street
Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
Location
Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the City ...
, the area's historic northern boundary with the St George in the East
St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of p ...
area of Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
. Shadwell DLR station
Shadwell is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Shadwell in east London, England and is between the terminals of Bank and Tower Gateway to the west and Limehouse to the east. The 1991 Bank extension joins the main DLR line just to the wes ...
lies 50 metres to the north and re-uses the former Shadwell & St. George's East railway station which took its name from its location on the boundary of the two areas, and closed in 1941.
;Nearest places
*Limehouse
Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...
*Ratcliff
Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames between Limehouse (to the east), and Shadwell (to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used.
History
Etymolog ...
*Stepney
Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...
*Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
THCH Hop Festival
In 2006 local Housing Association, Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH) built a new block of flats in Shadwell, adjacent to the existing flats at the corner of Cable Street and Devonport Street, called Thirza House. It was opened by Mildred Gordon, a former Shadwell resident and MP for the area from 1987 to 1997. As part of the new development THCH built a hop garden.
Since 2007, THCH have held a Hop Festival every September in the hop garden to commemorate the tradition of generations of East Enders temporarily migrating to Kent's hop gardens to harvest the hops. THCH have produced souvenir booklets containing historical photos of East Enders harvesting hops which are available from Tower Hamlets Community Housing. In 2009 the Shadwell hops were harvested by the local residents and Brodies Brewery in Leyton
Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
used them to create a new beer called "Old Hopper's Brew". The beer sold out within a month.
In popular culture
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...
's poem "Shadwell Stair", previously alleged to be mysterious, was a straightforward elegy to homosexual soliciting in an area of the London docks once renowned for it, according to Jonathan Cutbill.
The 1967 film ''To Sir, with Love
''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. Ja ...
'' was shot in Shadwell.
Shadwell and in particular the fictional English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
club Shadwell Town FC are the setting for the 1995 BBC films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Pa ...
football hooligan film '' I. D.'' and its 2016 sequel '' ID2: Shadwell Army''.
See also
* Stepney Historical Trust
*Wilton's Music Hall
Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music ...
Notes
References
{{LB Tower Hamlets
Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Areas of London
Port of London
District centres of London