Brick Lane and Spitalfields in East London

Brick Lane and
Spitalfields in
East London

1. Location
Grid reference: TQ 3380381738
0.4 meters East of the City of London, 0.5 meters east of Liverpool Street Station a major
transport hub.
Borough of Tower Hamlets
Brick Lane links Swanfield street in the North and Whitechapel High Street in the South

A map showing the location of Spitalfields and Banglatown within the borough of Tower Hamlets

OS Map 1842 Showing Liverpool Street station, Spitalfields and Brick Lane

2. Locale

 Brick lane is the heart of the city’s Bangladeshi-Sylheti community
 Often referred to as Banglatown
 Originally called Whitechapel Lane
 Renamed as the local earth was used to make brick and tiles in the 15th

century
 16th century Woodcut/ Agas map of London as a partially-developed crossroad

leading north from the city's most easterly edge,

 The city itself had a population of 50,000

 By the 17th century the street had become popular location for breweries - Joseph Truman was first
recorded in 1683

 The French Huguenots arrived having been driven out of France, and the street became well known
for weaving and tailoring

 During the 19th and 20th centuries it continued to attract immigrants, often escaping persecution,
with a considerable Jewish population.

 Most recently knows as Banglatown

Brick lane Jamme Massid Mosque

1743: established as a Protestant Church
for the Huguenot community

19th Century: Machzike Hadath-
Spitalfields great synagogue

As the wealth of the Jewish communities
changed, they moved North, and the
synagogue is now located in Golders
Green

1976: influx of migrants from the Sylhet
region of Bangladesh, finding work in the
textile industries-it became the Jamme
Massid Mosque.

Booth’s map of Spitalfields 1890

Several areas East and West of Brick Lane were described as “Lowest class, Vicious and semi criminal
Areas to the North however were mixed, fairly comfortable, and even middle class and well to do.

1960s

“Bengalis in the United Kingdom settled in big cities with industrial employment. In London, many Bengali
people settled in the East End. For centuries the East End has been the first port of call for many immigrants
working in the docks and shipping from Chittagong port in Bengal (British Empire in India was founded and
based in Bengal). Their regular stopover paved the way for food/curry outlets to be opened up catering for a n all
male workforce as family migration and settlement took place some decades later. Humble beginnings such as
this gave birth to Brick Lane as the famous curry capital of the UK. Bengalis of Sylheti origin constitute only 10%
of all South Asians in Britain; however around 90% of all South Asian restaurants in the UK are Sylheti- or
Bengali-owned.”

Brick Lane Today

Economic Characteristics
The Index of Multiple Deprivations (IMD)

 Deprivation is widespread in Tower Hamlets, and the borough is one of the most deprived in the
country.

 2015 found fewer LSOA in Brick Lane and Banglatown in the 10 per cent most deprived in England
than in 2010.

 Tower Hamlets 015A is 3830 lowest 20% of 32,844 of MDI
 Tower Hamlets 015B is 16 147, 50% of 32,844
 2010 Tower Hamlets Local Authority with the highest proportion of most deprived areas.

Social Characteristics and inequalities

3. How are demographic, socio economic and cultural characteristics of place shaped by shifting
flows of people, resources money and investment?

Shifting flows of people

 Historically Ethnic diverse, French Huguenots, Jewish, Irish, Bangladeshi,
 Likely to see an increase in white middle class inhabitants.

Shifting flows of resources money and investment

East London Tech City/ Silicon roundabout.

David Cameron gave a speech in November 2010 introducing the idea of Tech city as a challenge to
Silicon Valley in Californian.
BT provided high speed fibre optic broadband. The idea was to create a tech centre from Old Street
stretching East to the Olympic Park.
Tech City as of 2015 has attracted $5.38 Billion in private investment. It has been described as “the
Kings road of the 1960’s” or “Tech is almost the new rock and roll.”

Google: purchased a seven storey building on Bonhill Street as an innovation hub
Amazon: Digital Media and development centre.

Brick Lane and art.

The area of Bricklane and Spitalfields has developed a reputation for fashion and art, particularly
street art. Described as the “mecca of London street art to compare with the financial square mile”.
The nearby area of Shoreditch saw an influx of artists such as Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin.

There are now several art galleries, including the Brick Lane Gallery, and the Old Truman brewery.

Eastend Homes: Carter House Holland Estate

Social landlord Eastend Homes wish to demolish the ex-council estate replacing it with modern
flats.
Carter House comprises 60% privately owned and 40% Social housing.
In a nearby redevelopment, a two bed flat is being offered for nearly £3000 a month, while a one
bed flat is for sale for £600,000. That compares to £546 a month paid for through a social housing
scheme in Carter house.
Compulsory Purchase orders will likely offer a maximum of £350,000.
Restaurants in Brick lane are being forced to close down as rents are rapidly rising.
“it was Bangladeshi’s that made Brick Lane famous, but soon it won’t be Brick Lane any more if they
keep moving out.”
“A form of social cleansing” Younger generations have already moved out, as they are unable to
rent independently.
Flats are typically built now with “affordable” housing, rather than social housing , with rents of 80%
of market rates rather than 30-40% of what social housing tenants pay.
When the Bangladesh’s first moved in there was so much congestion in the houses, they therefore
used the lane as a living room, and place to socialise. This is now in conflict with the modern hipster
nightlife, and binge drinkers.
Nearby Petticoat lane has about a third of the stalls it used to 15 years ago, and is only busy on
Sundays when the tourists come. Spitalfields market which started as a fruit and veg market, and
once known for independent arts and crafts is increasingly becoming populated by high end
franchises that can afford the rents.

“Rich people bring money but they don’t bring anything else with them- no art, no culture, and no
community spirit.”
Representations of Place
Map of Spitalfields life produced by cartographer Adam dent:

This map details key locations within the spitalfields area today but also the historic background of a
variety of places. It includes characters that have made this area special from Tracey Emin, to Fred the
Chestnut seller.

Street artist Stik

Graffiti depicting the change in the area.



www.spitalfieldslife.com

Blogs can be an excellent source of information about an area. The Gentle Author writes a daily blog about
the culture of the Spitalfields area and documents the lives of the local people and places. “How can I ever
describe the exuberant richness and multiplicity of culture in this place to you”

Monica Ali: books Still in her teenage years, Nazneen finds herself in an
Newspaper articles arranged marriage with a disappointed man who is
twenty years older. Away from the mud and heat of
her Bangladeshi village, home is now a cramped flat
in a high-rise block in London's East End. Nazneen
knows not a word of English, and is forced to depend
on her husband. But unlike him she is practical and
wise, and befriends a fellow Asian girl Razia, who
helps her understand the strange ways of her adopted
new British home.

Nazneen keeps in touch with her sister Hasina back in
the village. But the rebellious Hasina has kicked
against cultural tradition and run off in a 'love
marriage' with the man of her dreams. When he
suddenly turns violent, she is forced into the
degrading job of garment girl in a cloth factory.

Confined in her flat by tradition and family duty,
Nazneen also sews furiously for a living, shut away
with her buttons and linings - until the radical Karim
steps unexpectedly into her life. On a background of
racial conflict and tension, they embark on a love
affair that forces Nazneen finally to take control of her
fate.

Strikingly imagined, gracious and funny, this novel is
at once epic and intimate. Exploring the role of Fate in
our lives - those who accept it; those who defy it - it
traces the extraordinary transformation of an Asian
girl, from cautious and shy to bold and dignified
woman.

Sally Flood: The Brick Lane I see I live just off Brick Lane.
“Sorry, uhh, um, which Lane?”
Singers with guitars Lane
Walls adorned with art Lane
Hipsters look the same Lane
Thousand bobbing heads Lane
Sell your stolen shit Lane
Surely not legit Lane
Bowling in a bar Lane
Hot tub cinema Lane
Spin your shiney sticks Lane
Drunk and being sick Lane
Smokers in the kitchen Lane
Shops heaped with stitching Lane
Overpriced clutter Lane
Home is the gutter Lane
Traffic goes One Way Lane
Vinyls, lomo’s, shades Lane
Smells like tasty food Lane
Tourists get tattoos Lane
Bagels-a-hurry Lane
“Come for best curry” Lane
“Yes, free bottle wine” Lane
Revving motorbikes Lane
Who lives in those flats? Lane
Stabvests selling gas Lane
Hippies in the park Lane
Scary in the dark Lane
Vintage Vintage Vintage
Check back down the passage
Shady Shady Shady
Scared lone walking lady
Slam shut the door and breathe
Hold on tight to the keys
Safely in the flat again
Just off of Brick Lane

Crime statistics:
https://www.met.police.uk/your-area/tower-hamlets/spitalfields-and-banglatown/