Mile End is an area in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and is located in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It is in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

and part of the East End. It is east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

. Situated on the part of the London-to-

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

road called Mile End Road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of

. It was also known as Mile End Old Town; the name provides a geographical distinction from the unconnected former hamlet called

Mile End New Town Mile End New Town is a former hamlet and then civil parish in the East End of London. Its former area is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. History Following a period of rapid growth it became a hamlet within the large ancient par ...

. In 2011, Mile End had a population of 28,544.

History

Toponymy

Mile End is recorded in 1288 as ''La Mile ende''. It is formed from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

'mile' and 'ende' and means 'the hamlet a mile away'. The mile distance was in relation to

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, reached by the London-to-Colchester road. In around 1691 Mile End became known as Mile End Old Town, because a new unconnected settlement to the west and adjacent to

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

had become known as

Beginnings

Whilst there are many references to settlement in the area, excavations have suggested that this was a rural area with very few buildings before 1300. The road from the

(on London's defensive wall) to

is known as

Mile End Road The A11 is a major trunk road in England. It originally ran roughly north east from London to Norwich, Norfolk. It now consists of a short section in Inner London and a much longer section in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. The lengthy se ...

when it passes through the district. In the medieval period it was known as ''Aldgatestrete'' to reflect the starting point of the road, it later became known as the ''Great Essex Road'' to reflect its destination. The

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

, the historic western boundary of Essex, was once much wilder and formed a formidable obstacle. The road, which has existed since at least Roman times, once forded the river at

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, around ...

in northern Bow. It moved to its present-day alignment after the foundation of Bow Bridge in 1110. The new bridge was around south-east of the ford, requiring a new alignment to be established. The area running alongside Mile End Road was known as Mile End Green, a large open common which became known as a place of assembly for Londoners, as reflected in the name of Assembly Passage, a short road west of the

Stepney Green tube station Stepney Green is a London Underground station located on Mile End Road in Stepney, London, United Kingdom. It is between Whitechapel and Mile End on the District line and the Hammersmith & City line, and is in Travelcard Zone 2. History The s ...

Peasants' Revolt

In 1381 an uprising against the tax collectors of Brentwood quickly spread; firstly in the surrounding villages and then throughout the South-East of England. However it was the rebels of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

led by a priest named

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

, and the men of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

led by

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (1341 or – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in Kingdom of England, England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to City of London, London to oppose the collection of a Tax per head, poll tax and to dem ...

, who marched on London. On 12 June the Essex rebels (comprising 100,000 men) camped at Mile End. On the following day the men of Kent arrived at Blackheath. On 14 June, the teenaged King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

rode to Mile End where he met the rebels and signed their charter. The king subsequently had the leaders and many rebels executed.

Expansion

Speculative developments existed by the end of the 16th century and continued throughout the 18th century. It developed as an area of working and lower-class housing, often occupied by immigrants and migrants new to the city. In 1811 Bancroft Road Cemetery at Globe Fields was opened for its first burial by the separatist "Maiden Lane synagogue in Covent Garden". By 1884 it was in disrepair. The cemetery was full by 1895. The synagogue became bankrupt in 1907 and incorporated back into the larger Western Marble Arch Synagogue. The New Globe and the Green Bridge - geograph

The New Globe and the Green Bridge - geograph

In 1820 the New Globe pub opened next to the new "Globe Bridge", with its licence possibly transferring from a nearby pub called the Cherry Tree which closed at around this time. Mile End Hospital was originally an infirmary for the local workhouse, established in 1859. In 1883 the facility was rebuilt as the "Mile End Old Town Infirmary". A training school for nurses was added in 1892. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it served as a military hospital. In 1930 it was renamed "Mile End Hospital" and then joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

when it commenced in 1948. It was renamed "the Royal London Hospital (Mile End)" in 1990 but reverted back to "Mile End Hospital" in 1994. Also in June 1990 the Bancroft Unit for the Care of the Elderly opened at Mile End Hospital having moved from Bethnal Green. In 2012 it was taken under the management of

Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...

. In 1882 novelist and social commentator

Sir Walter Besant Sir Walter Besant (; 14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant. Early life and education The son of wine merchant Wi ...

proposed a ''Palace of Delight'' with concert halls, reading rooms, picture galleries, an art school, various classes, social rooms and frequent fêtes and dances. This coincided with a project by the philanthropist businessman Edmund Hay Currie to use money from the winding up of the "Beaumont Trust", (together with subscriptions) to build a "People's Palace" in the East End. Five acres of land were secured on the Mile End Road and the Queen's Hall was opened by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on 14 May 1887. The complex had a library, swimming pool, gymnasium and winter garden by 1892 which provided an eclectic mix of populist entertainment and education. A peak of 8,000 tickets were sold for classes in 1892. By 1900, a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree was introduced, awarded by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. The building was destroyed by fire in 1931 but the Draper's Company (major donors to the original scheme) invested to rebuild the technical college and create

Queen Mary College Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

in December 1934. A new "People's Palace" was constructed in 1937 by the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

in St Helen's Terrace. This finally closed in 1954. Entrance to Mile End Underground station - geograph

In 1902

Mile End tube station Mile End is a London Underground station in Mile End, London. It is located in Travelcard Zone 2 and is served by three lines: Central, District and Hammersmith & City. On the Central line, the station is between Bethnal Green and Stratford ...

was opened by the Whitechapel & Bow Railway (W&BR). Electrified services started in 1905. The first services were provided by the

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...

(now the District line). Then the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

followed in 1936 (this part was renamed in 1988 as the

Hammersmith & City line The Hammersmith & City line is a London Underground line that runs between Hammersmith in west London and in east London. Coloured pink on the Tube map, it serves 29 stations over . Between and it skirts the City of London, the capital's finan ...

.) In 1946 (as part of the Central line eastern extension) the station was expanded and rebuilt by

Stanley Heaps Stanley A. Heaps (1880–1962) was an English architect responsible for the design of a number of stations on the London Underground system as well as the design of train depots and bus and trolleybus garages for London Transport. Works ...

(Chief Architect of London Underground) and his assistant Thomas Bilbow. Services started on 4 December 1946. Following nationalisation of the W&BR, full ownership of the station passed to

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

in 1950. In 1903 The Guardian Angels Church (designed by Frederick Arthur Walters) opened. It was paid for by

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, (27 December 184711 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmas ...

as a memorial to his youngest sister Lady Margaret Howard, who had performed charitable work in the East End. In 1933 a ring known as Mile End Arena (covered with a canopy, crumbling walls and rickety corrugated iron) was opened behind Mile End station. It was only used in summer and closed in 1953.

Second World War

As well as suffering heavily in earlier blitzes, Mile End was hit by the first

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

to strike London. On 13 June 1944, that "doodlebug" impacted next to the railway bridge on Grove Road, an event now commemorated by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

. Eight civilians were killed, 30 injured, and 200 made homeless by the blast. After the Second World War, a part of Mile End remained mostly derelict for many years, until it was cleared to extend

Mile End Park Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing, with the park lying on land to the east of the Regent's Canal. In the n ...

Contemporary

The Stepney Green Conservation Area was designated in January 1973, covering the area previously known as Mile End Old Town. It is a large Conservation Area with an irregular shape that encloses buildings around Mile End Road, Assembly Passage, Louisa Street and Stepney Green itself. It is an area of exceptional architectural and historic interest, with a character and appearance worthy of protection and enhancement. It is situated just north of the medieval village of Stepney, which was clustered around St. Dunstan's Church. Mile end green bridge

In 1990 Ragged School Museum opened in the premises of the former site of the Copperfield Road Ragged School. On 17 June 1995, the Mile End Stadium hosted a gig by

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

band Blur where 27,000 fans saw them supported by

the Boo Radleys The Boo Radleys are an English alternative rock band who were associated with the shoegazing and Britpop movements in the 1990s. They originally formed in Wallasey, England, in 1988, with singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottom, guitarist/songwr ...

, Sparks, John Shuttleworth,

Dodgy Dodgy are an English rock band formed in Hounslow in 1990. The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s. They are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and " Good Enough". "Go ...

and the

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (Cardiacs), Tim Smith (guitar and lead vocals) and his brother Jim Smith (bassist), Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. One ...

. A groundbreaking project funded by the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

called the Green Bridge opened in 2000 (a pedestrian and cyclist separation structure over the A11 (Mile End Road) connecting the two halves of Mile End Park to form a

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

). It included new retail frontages. The St Clement's Hospital site was closed in 2005, with services transferred to a new Adult Mental Health Facility at Mile End Hospital in October 2005. The Palm Tree pub building was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2015 by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. The

Night Tube The Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the London Underground ("Tube") and London Overground systems which provides through-the-night services on Friday and Saturday ni ...

service began at Mile End tube station (on the Central line) on 19 August 2016. Since 2016, northern Mile End has fallen under the remit of the Bow Roman Road Neighbourhood Forum. This includes the shops under The Green Bridge on the northern side of Mile End Road (A11), the Mile End Climbing Wall, and Palm Tree. A 165 year old historically important pub which had been one of the few buildings locally to survive the blitz, "The Carlton" closed in May 2018. This was an important part of local community history. It was sold to Trustee Properties Ltd who obtained permission from Tower Hamlets Council in 2017 to develop five flats but not to demolish the ground floor of the pub. But they demolished the whole building without approval.

Governance

Mile End formed a hamlet within the large ancient parish of

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney 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 was applied to ...

, in the Tower division of the

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online �Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not includ ...

hundred of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Although formally part of the historic (or ancient) county of

, military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets) under the leadership of the

Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

. The role of the ''Tower Division'' ended when Mile End became part of the new

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965. For more local government, Mile End was grouped into the Stepney

poor law union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

in 1836, becoming a single civil parish for poor law purposes in 1857. It formed part of the

Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, which excludes the City of ...

from 1830. Upon the creation of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

in 1855 the vestry of Mile End Old Town became an electing authority. The vestry hall was located on Bancroft Road. The parish became part of the

in 1889 and in 1900 it became part of the

. In 1965 Stepney was incorporated into the

. There was a Mile End Parliament constituency from 1885 to 1950, which was notable for being one of two constituencies in the UK to elect a Communist Party MP

Phil Piratin Philip Piratin (15 May 1907 – 10 December 1995) was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and one of the four CPGB Members of Parliament during the first thirty years of its existence. (The others were Shapurji Saklatvala, ...

to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1945 and 1950. The area now is covered by the

Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...

and

Poplar and Limehouse Poplar and Limehouse is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency which was first created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

constituencies.

Geography

Mile End, which is in London's East End has an unusual landmark, the "Green Bridge" (known affectionately as the banana bridge, due to its yellow underside). This structure (designed by

CZWG CZWG Limited is a British architecture practice established in 1975 by Nick Campbell, Roger Zogolovitch, Rex Wilkinson and Piers Gough. The practice's work includes community and public buildings, residential and mixed use projects, student housi ...

Architects and opened in 2000) carries Mile End Park over the busy Mile End Road. The top of the bridge includes garden and water features and some shops and restaurant space built in below. Ackroyd Drive Greenlink,

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is a historic cemetery,public park and local nature reserve (including a Metropolitan Site of National Importance for Nature Conservation) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets within the East End of London. ...

and Mile End Park form a large green corridor. The Greenlink is a linear site bisected by roads into five rectangular plots. From the south these are Cowslip Meadow, allotments, Blackberry Meadow, Peartree Meadow and Primrose Meadow.

Sport and leisure

Mile End has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club, Sporting Bengal United F.C., which plays at Mile End Stadium. The Mile End Skate Park provides a protected recreational space for skate sports. There are many green spaces in Mile End, including the

, one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries.

Media

The neighbourhood was depicted unfavourably in the pop band

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

's 1995 song "Mile End", which was featured on the ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundt ...

'' soundtrack. The song describes a group of squatters taking up residence in an abandoned 15th-floor apartment in a run-down apartment tower. In 2009, the music video for "

Confusion Girl 'Confusion Girl' is a song by British electropop singer Frankmusik from his debut album Complete Me, which was released on 3 August 2009. Song information The song was released on 19 July 2009 and received significant airplay. It featured on Radi ...

" by electropop musician

Frankmusik Vincent James Turner (born 9 October 1985), better known by his stage name Frankmusik ( ) (and between 2011 and 2012, by the name Vincent Did It), is an English synth-pop musician. Since 2010 he is based in Los Angeles as remixer and producer. ...

was filmed in Mile End Park and Clinton Road, Mile End. In 2011, the music video for "

Heart Skips a Beat "Heart Skips a Beat" is a song by English singer-songwriter Olly Murs, taken from his second studio album, ''In Case You Didn't Know''. The song features vocals from English hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks, and was released as the album's lead single ...

" by

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

and

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip-hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, '' Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

was filmed in Mile End's skate park.

Transport

Rail

is on the

Central,

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and Hammersmith & City lines, all of which connect Mile End directly to the East End,

and

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. The Central line also links the area directly to Stratford and

in the east and London's West End. The station is in London fare zone 2.

Buses

There are bus stops on Mile End Road, Burdett Road and Grove Road.

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...

routes 25, 205, 277, 309, 323, 339, 425, D6, D7 and night buses N25, N205 and N277 stop in the area. Buses link Mile End directly to destinations across London, including

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, the

, King's Cross,

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

and Stratford.

Road

The A11 (Mile End Road) passes east–west through Mile End, linking the locale to

in the west and Stratford in the east. At Stratford, the road meets the A12 where eastbound traffic can continue towards

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, the M11 (for

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

) and destinations in

. The A1205 ( Grove Road/

Burdett Road The A1205 is a road in east London which runs north to south parallel to the Regent's Canal and connects South Hackney and Victoria Park with the A13 at Limehouse. It is approximately 2 miles (3 km) in length, and runs in a roughly SSW ...

) carries traffic northbound towards Victoria Park and Hackney. The road terminates to the south at the A13 near

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 throu ...

and Canary Wharf.

Air pollution

The

monitors roadside air quality in Mile End. In 2017, average

Nitrogen Dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . One of several nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas. It is a paramagnetic, bent molecule with C2v point group symmetry. Industrially, is an intermediate in the s ...

(NO₂) levels in the locale failed to meet the UK National Air Quality Objective of 40μg/m3 (

microgram In the metric system, a microgram or microgramme is a unit of mass equal to one millionth () of a gram. The unit symbol is μg according to the International System of Units (SI); the recommended symbol in the United States and United Kingdom wh ...

s per

cubic metre The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...

). An automatic monitoring site in Mile End recorded a 2017 annual average of 48μg/m3. Alternative monitoring sites on Mile End Road also failed to meet

air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

objectives. A site at the junction with Globe Road in nearby

recorded 52μg/m3 as a 2017 average, whilst a site at the junction with Harford Street recorded 41μg/m3. Exposure to higher concentrations of NO₂ has been linked to lung disease and respiratory problems.

Cycling

Mile End is on London-wide, national and international cycle networks. Public

cycling infrastructure Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

in the locale is provided by both

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

(TfL) and the

. Routes include: *

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal, Kent, Deal , Sandwich, Kent, Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, RCR 16, Kent, Regional route 16, and RCR 17, Kent, Regional r ...

(NCR 1) – a long-distance leisure cycle route between

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

and the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

, Scotland and forms part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

. The route passes through Mile End Park on traffic-free

shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

s. In

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, the route runs from Canary Wharf to

Enfield Lock Enfield Lock is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is approximately located east of the Hertford Road between Turkey Street and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, and extends to the River Lee Navigation, including the En ...

. * Cycle Superhighway 2 (CS2) – a commuter cycling route from

in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

to Stratford in the east. The route runs signposted, unbroken and traffic-free on

cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

for the majority of the route. The route follows the A11 (Mile End Road) through Mile End, and the track is coloured blue. It was upgraded between Bow and Aldgate and was completed in April 2016, with separated cycle tracks replacing cycle lanes along the majority of the route. * Cycleway between Hackney and the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

– a proposed commuter cycle route made in 2019. According to current proposals, the southern portion of the route will run unbroken, signposted and traffic-free on cycle track between Mile End and Canary Wharf. * EuroVelo 2 ("The Capitals Route") – EuroVelo 2 is an international leisure cycle route between

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland. Through Mile End, it follows the route of NCR 1. *

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

– a shared use path from Limehouse to

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. The route is unbroken and traffic-free for its entire length, and can be accessed at Mile End through Mile End Park. The route links Mile End directly to Hackney and

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

''en route''.

Notable people

Mabel Lucie Attwell Mabel Lucie Attwell (4 June 1879 – 5 November 1964) was a British illustrator and comics artist. She was known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children. Her drawings are featured on many postcards, advertisements, posters, books and fi ...

(1879–1964), the British illustrator for children's books (married to painter and illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw), was born in Mile End. *

Rokhsana Fiaz Rokhsana Fiaz is a Labour and Co-operative Party politician serving as Mayor of Newham. Fiaz was elected as a councillor for the Newham ward of Custom House in 2014. Ahead of the 2018 mayoral election, following protracted disagreements wit ...

, the Labour

Mayor of Newham The Mayor of Newham is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Newham London Borough Council in east London, England. The position is different from the previously existing (and largely ceremonial) annually appointed ...

since 2018, was born in Mile End hospital. *

Craig Fairbrass Craig John Fairbrass (born 15 January 1964) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He has made appearances in ''For Queen and Country'' (1988), ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning'' (1990), ''Cliffhanger (film), Cliffhang ...

, actor in

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

and London Heist. *

Muzzy Izzet Mustafa Kemal "Muzzy" Izzet (; ; born 31 October 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Chelsea, Leicester City, Birmingham City. Born in England, he played for the Turkey national team internationally. He ...

, professional footballer who was a part of the

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

side that reach the semi-finals of the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. * Charles Pope, (1883–1917) Recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in June of 1917 was born in Mile End. * Pop singer

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from Crouch End in North London. She has appeared on reality television shows and has occasionally worked as a television presenter and actress. Fox beg ...

was born here. * Jason Tindall, the former professional footballer and current assistant manager at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, is from Mile End.

References

Bibliography

* William J. Fishman, ''East End 1888: Life in a London Borough Among the Laboring Poor'' (1989) * William J. Fishman, ''Streets of East London'' (1992) (with photographs by

Nicholas Breach Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name ...

) * William J. Fishman, '' East End Jewish Radicals 1875–1914'' (2004) *Nigel Glendinning, Joan Griffiths, Jim Hardiman, Christopher Lloyd and Victoria Poland ''Changing Places: a short history of the Mile End Old Town RA area (Mile End Old Town'' Residents’ Association, 2001) *Derek Morris ''Mile End Old Town 1740–1780: A social history of an early modern London Suburb'' (East London History Society, 2007) * Alan Palmer ''The East End'' (John Murray, London 1989) * {{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets