Bow Common was an area of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

, that lay on Bow Common Lane in what is now 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 ...

. Despite the name, the common lay just inside Mile End's parish boundary with

Bromley by Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

, and not in the parish of Bow which was further to the north. The term is also used to refer to the locale around the former common, on both sides of the parish boundary.

The Common

Bow Common was a small

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

which lay on either side of part of Bow Common Road. In the Middle Ages it was known as ''Furseyheath'', presumably due to Furze (also known as Gorse) growing there. In 1720 it was recorded as ''Pesthouse Common'' and in 1745 as '' Brumley (ie Bromley) Common''. From the 1770s onward it was known as ''Bow Common''. It was destroyed in the mid 1800s. Ropery Street approximates to the northern edge of the Common with Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park laid out on adjoining land to the north.

The district

The term Bow Common has been applied to areas around the Common from soon after urbanisation; the earliest reference to Bow Common as a neighbourhood rather than as an area of common land is from 1847. The area includes the

housing estates A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular through ...

of Burdett and Lincoln Estates.

History

Bow Common was an industrial district producing and supplying London's

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

demands – the former Victorian Gas works site at Bow CommonWilley, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p 53-4. is one of a few remaining following the surrounding area's ongoing transformation. In 1883 anti-poverty campaigner Andrew Mearns commented on the lack of

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The Catholic Church teaches that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithf ...

amongst locals, and Charles Booth described it as 'worse than almost any district in London.' Slums were cleared during the course of the 20th century, most hastened by bomb damage in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when Bow was targeted for it being an important artery to feed the demands of the city at that time. St Paul's Church was rebuilt in the fashionable 'new brutalism' style of 1960 (replacing one damaged in the war) and is now a

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 ...

building.

Contemporary

The Spratt's Complex was redeveloped and split into studio workshops (live/work units) and sold by JJAK (Construction) Ltd for leaseholders to fit out. The first building to be converted was Limehouse Cut, varying in size between . The building was featured in the ''Sunday Times'' in June 1986 and again in 1989. A new site for the local

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

community was built in 2008 within the Bow Triangle Business Park, after the old site was required for

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

construction. Professor Brian Cox and Baron Mawson opened the new £500,000 Lincoln Pharmacy in 2019, featuring a robot that fulfills customer prescriptions, freeing up staff for health advice. This was part of a project to modernise Bow Common.

Transport

Bow Common has no connection to the

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 ...

, and is connected to the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...

at Devons Road DLR station. Historically it had a stop on

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR), was a British railway company, whose network connected Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , , T ...

called Burdett Road that opened on 11 September 1871 by the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

who had leased it to the London and Blackwall Extension Railway (LBER) from 1866, with the demands placed on the railway system by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and bomb damage in December 1940 saw the station closed for a week for emergency repairs but further damage saw the station closed on 21 April 1941. Bow Common is served several

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

, 108, 277,

309 __NOTOC__ Year 309 ( CCCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinianus and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1062 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

323 Year 323 ( CCCXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 1076 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 323 for this ...

, D6 and D7 call in the area. It is also linked to the London Night Bus network by the N277 while the 108 is a 24-hour service. The 108 uses the

Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...

, a source of severe delays which leads to the route often being cited as amongst the least reliable in London.

References

External links

Small article about Bow Common
{{LB Tower Hamlets Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Areas of London