Named after the white stone church of St Mary, London’s Whitechapel is rather different today from the area that grew up around the church as early as the 14th century.
The most prominent religious building in the area these days is the East London Mosque, which has recently been expanded and now covers a large area of land on the north side of Whitechapel Rd towards the City. The mosque itself has several minarets, the tallest of which is climbed by a ‘muezzin’ who calls the local community to prayer. You’ll note the beautiful tiles on the entrance to the community centre and on the large building behind it – their traditional geometric patterns copy similar designs found in many of the ancient mosques around the Middle East.
Culturally, Whitechapel has some notable features. There’s the Whitechapel Gallery, a distinctive art deco building from 1901 which today is known for its challenging exhibitions – until February there’s a Rothko exhibition as well as a glimpse at the Government’s Art Collection, selected by Simon Sharma. Housed in a much more modern building just down the road is the Idea Store, a mass of blue and green glass which is Tower Hamlet’s concept for a 21st century library. Even if you don’t visit, you can sample their digital archive – a collection of documents and photographs that depict life in the area through the centuries. This folder, for example, contains sketches and photographs of Whitechapel from the 18th century onwards (although why they’re stored in the unwieldy pdf format is unknown…).
Although Whitechapel was extensively bombed during the Second World War, some of the area’s oldest buildings remain. You can still visit the Whitechapel Bell Foundry on the junction of Whitechapel Road and Plummers Row (where both the Liberty Bell and Big Ben were cast) and further down the road towards Stepney you’ll find the Tower Hamlets Mission, which has been serving the needs of the poor in the area since 1870. Ironically it was founded by a member of the Charrington family (of brewery fame) and today there’s a rather odd looking statue of William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army and who is interred at Abney Park Cemetery) standing outside – perhaps its just me, but the old guy looks a little drunk!
January 2, 2012
London Sights