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Docklands, East London & Stratford (Page1)
Now home to the LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES, East London and the surrounding area is already underging a massive regeneration, with the £ 2.5 Billion expenditure for the 2012 Games set to transform Stratford and the East end region into one of the most liveable and ecologically sustainable regions in Europe. Already, looking at the London skyline from the eastern side of the city, circa 2005, you would be forgiven for thinking that a 'twin' London city of soaring futuristic sparkling glass towers had suddenly replaced the venerable old London. Not so. Its simply the manifestation of the enormous recent growth of the Canary Wharf financial region - now THE economic powerhouse of London, and the fastest growing area in the UK.
Public transport to the the area is via the modern new state-of-the-art Jubilee Underground Line (Tube) and the DLR (Dockland Light Rail) network. London City Airport is also located in East London, with the new DLR extension to the airport opening in November 2005, with a 20 minute service from Bank Underground Station in the City direct to London City Airport.
- New Eurostar connection at nearby Stratford, 2 miles from London City Airport. In 2007, Eurostar will switch its entire operation from Waterloo Station to St. Pancras International, with the new Eurostar International Station at Stratford in operation also by 2007.
So - If you think you know London, think again!
For both tourists and locals alike, East London is a vibrant, diverse and culturally interesting area which is also the fastest growing destination in London. It offers around 130 attractions from the well-known London Dungeon to the quirky Geffrye Museum and more markets than any other town in Britain, a wide range of activities from watersports to circus training, and hosts over over 10 annual events.
Greenwich for its World Heritage, adjoining Blackheath Village for its lovely village atmosphere and great restaurants and shops, Brick Lane & Spitalfields for their trendy bars and markets, Canary Wharf for its fantastic shopping or West India Quay for a cocktail, the Pool of London for its two great London icons - the Tower of London and Tower Bridge (The 'Pool of London' is the name given to the wide section of the River Thames at the western end of the former London Docks, divided into an Upper and Lower Pool by Tower Bridge, London Bridge being the most westerly point), Stratford for its family attractions including a theatre, Deptford for its resident artist community and live music venues - the list is formidable!
And - of course - the famous East End of London - or what survives these days from the gritty 'real' working class London of the early 19th century, and the horrific WW2 German Luftwaffe bombing raids of the London Blitz, where the entire area was virtually flattened. And - with a little imagination, you can
still see the area as Dickens did. For a walk through the East End, hop off the tube at either
Whitechapel or Liverpool Street - allow an hour or two, unless you find yourself distracted by
one or two good museums or a meal.
More Information for East London can be found at Via London City Airport:
Check the headings to find out more:
London City Airport is the UK's fastest growing airport. London City Airport passenger numbers have risen dramatically in recent years and are set to continue - from 1.6 million in 2004 to an expected 3 million passengers by 2009, with further continuing increases beyond.
The Docklands. German bombs in WW2 devastated the strategically important Docklands area, and what was not blown to big pieces the
developers have removed in big pieces. Today the docklands area, particularly around the shining steel and glass
Canary Wharf area is the throbbing new capitalist heart of financial London, where soaring new glass and
steel office blocks and massive development have produced a mini Manhattan skyline.
Here works and
lives the best of the best of the young upwardly mobile Londoners, and on a per capita basis probably the highest
paid work force in Europe, if not the world.
Canary Wharf station (on the Jubilee Line) and the surrounding office area features some magnificent,
albeit cold, architecture. Canary Wharf also has a massive new shopping centre, with an awesome array of shops and services. In peak hour the area is alive with the cream of Britain's young workforce, with the commuting "suits" in a
very great hurry, either coming or going in their lemming like quest for career and mammon. Think of a British version of New York's 'Wall Street' - with soaring 21st century architecture to match - and you have an idea of the sheer energy and power that emanates from this area.
However - in stark contrast, nearby London's East End - historically the poorest part of London - is still traditionally home to the working classes and while you'll still hear broad accents and cockney rhyming slang, today's visitors
will discover a modern multi-cultural area with good Asian/Indian/Pakistani restaurants and colourful markets. Head to Brick
Lane for the best selection of restaurants - the street is lined with them, so it can be a bit 'hit and miss'. Look for the ones that are busy
with local clientele (the ones with mobile phones on the tables will be the newest, trendiest and probably most expensive). Many restaurants
are BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle), which helps with the budget. Whitechapel also has a number of good restaurants.
Brick Lane, incidentally, dates back some 450 years, when it was a country road that led from London to the brickworks. As the
city grew, houses popped up and by the 1700's the street was paved and lined with working class cottages (mostly weavers). Think of the setting in
Dickens movies (Oliver Twist). As with many cities, the outskirts became the inner city area, which fell into neglect. This was pretty much the
case until the last couple of decades (Movies: 'To Sir With Love', 'Alfie') but, as with other cities, suburbs close to the heart of the city have become much
sought after. With the prices skyrocketing in other parts of London (Notting Hill etc), young high-fliers are now renovating cottages here.
If you're wondering about the name, Spital Square is where a medieval hospital stood, which was lazily pronounced 'spital'.
One place certainly worth a visit is Spitalfields Market. During the week it's pretty quiet and has some nice
boutique shops and restaurants but on Sundays it comes alive with colourful, fun markets. The markets are located in a huge Victorian warehouse and
there is something for every taste - fruit and vegetables, arts and crafts, books and clothes and a good market atmosphere. There's also a model
railway and a football pitch to keep the children amused.
Across the street is Christ Church (Commercial and Fournier Streets) - a stunning 18th century baroque church.
It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and built in the early 1700's for the local Huguenot weavers. A lot of restoration has taken
place and well worth a visit (the opening times are limited to weekdays from midday to 2.30pm).
A few Streets away is another of London's famous street markets, Petticoat Lane. Mainly clothing, it has great atmosphere and
is a great weekend gig if you want cheaply priced good clothes, but sorting out the good from the bad and the ugly clothing "knockoffs" (copies)
takes some time, but bargains are to be had here.
Wander down Fournier Street and you will pass some lovely, restored Georgian houses with wooden shutters. This is where the
wealthy once lived on the outskirts of the city (early 1700's). Fournier St will take you to Brick Lane and the New French Church, a place with
a unique history. It began its days as a protestant church, again built for the Huguenots then, in 1899, became a synagogue for Jewish
refugees from Russia and Central Europe. In 1975 it again changed religions to become, and still is, the Great Mosque for the Bengali
community. Naturally, there are plenty of good curry houses here as well.
In Whitechapel High Street, you'll find the Whitechapel Art Gallery, which often has interesting exhibits and has a nice little coffee shop
upstairs. The High Street leads to Whitechapel Road and the Whitechapel Bell Foundry where the bells for St Paul's and Big
Ben were cast (guided tours at 10am Saturdays). The foundry has existed on this site since 1738 and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was also
cast here.
The East End is also Jack the Ripper's old haunt. For the morbid or curious there are walking tours to see where the serial killer
had his grisly way with five prostitutes that he disembowelled in 1888. If you want to take the tour without a guide, Durward Street is where
Mary Anne Nichols was murdered (then called Bucks Row); adjacent to the Ten Bells hotel in Hanbury Street near Christ Church is where
Annie Chapman met her end; Elizabeth Stride died in Henriques Street (then Berner Street), Mary Kelly died in Miller's Court and Catherine
Meadows in Mitre Square. For some modern murdering history, head for the Try the Blind Beggar where crime boss Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell
in the gang war of 1966 (near Whitechapel tube station).
At No 18 Folgate Street is the house of Dennis Severs. Severs was an American expatriate who restored the home to how it
would have been in the 18th century, complete with gas lighting. Tours are sporadic, but we can make an enquiry if you tell us when you'd
like to visit.
A couple of worthwhile museums. The Geffrye Museum is named after Robert Geffrye, a mayor of London in
the 1500's who pocketed a tidy sum from the slave trade. He built the 14 small houses as accommodation for the elderly and
today each room is decorated to show how middle class tastes have changed from the Elizabethan times to the present. It's
open every day except Monday and, like many London museums, is free.
The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood is also free and closes on Fridays. You'll find an array of dolls, toys, games,
trains sets and puppets from the 17th century to the present.
Rhyming Slang
Traditionally cockneys were born within the sound of the church bells of St Mary-le-Bow. These bells are also what made Dick Whittington return
to London for his future as Lord Mayor. The church was built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1600 but the bells today are the third set. The first
were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the second by German bombs in World War Two. The current bells were re-cast from the second.
The bells only ring out a couple of times a month these days. Interestingly the church is as wide as it is long.
Cockney rhyming slang (which is said to have been developed as a code to confuse police) is a colourful language. "Going up the 'apples
and pears' for a 'butcher's hook' at the 'trouble and strife'" translates as "going up the 'stairs' for a 'look' at the 'wife'". To add
to the confusion, cockneys can abbreviate phrases by dropping the rhyme, which leaves, "going up the apples to have a butcher's at the
trouble". Some phrases though have entered the mainstream like, "use your loaf", which comes from "use your loaf of bread" (head).
Cockneys also reversed words to confuse police and foreigners (both of whom they distrusted). 'Yobs' (which is "boys' spelled backwards)
has entered English slang, meaning an uncouth or uncultivated fellow. And there are no 'porkies' there! (Pork pies = lies)
If you drop into a pub you may be lucky (unlucky?) enough to get a confusing lesson in the language from a local.
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