Altab Ali Park is a small

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

on Adler Street, White Church Lane and

Whitechapel Road Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It is named after a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary and connects Whitechapel High Street to the west with Mile End Road to the east. ...

, London E1. Formerly known as St Mary's Park, it is the site of the old 14th-century white church,

St Mary Matfelon The St Mary Matfelon church, popularly known as St Mary's, Whitechapel, was a Church of England parish church on Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, London. The church's earliest known rector was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329, and in the medieval period ...

, from which the area of Whitechapel gets its name. St Mary's was heavily bombed during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

in 1940, all that remains of the old church is the floor plan and a few graves. Included among those buried on the site are Richard Parker,

Richard Brandon Richard Brandon (died 20 June 1649) was the common executioner of London from 1639 to 1649, who inherited his role from his father Gregory Brandon and was sometimes known as Young Gregory. Richard Brandon is often named as the executioner of ...

Sir John Cass Sir John Cass (February 1661 – 5 July 1718) was an English merchant, Tory Member of Parliament and philanthropist. He was also a key figure in the Royal African Company, which was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Biography Early li ...

, and "Sir"

Jeffrey Dunstan Jeffrey Dunstan (1759?–1797) was a second-hand wig seller in the West End of London who was the elected "mayor" of Garrat from 1785 to 1796, becoming a notable figure of his time. Life Dunstan was a foundling, and as such was reared in the p ...

, "

Mayor of Garratt The Garrat Elections were a carnival of mock elections in Wandsworth, Surrey (now London), England in the 18th century. The events were organized around 20 May and would see crowds of tens of thousands travelling from London to take part. Th ...

". The park was renamed ''Altab Ali Park'' in 1998 in memory of

Altab Ali Altab Ali ( bn, আলতাব আলী; 1953 – 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker stabbed to death in London, in a racially motivated killing. His death sparked widespread outrage and grassroots action that helped to reduce racism ...

, a 25-year-old

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term c ...

clothing worker, who was murdered on 4 May 1978 in Adler Street by three teenage boys as he walked home from work. Ali's murder was one of the many racist attacks that came to characterise the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

at that time. At the entrance to the park is an arch created by David Petersen, developed as a memorial to Altab Ali and other victims of racist attacks. The arch incorporates a complex Bengali-style pattern, meant to show the merging of different cultures in East London. Along the path down the centre of the park are letters spelling out "The shade of my tree is offered to those who come and go fleetingly", a fragment of a poem by Bengali poet

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. The Shaheed Minar, which commemorates the Bengali Language Movement, stands in the southwest corner of Altab Ali Park. The monument is a smaller replica of the one in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

, Bangladesh, and symbolises a mother and her martyred sons. The nearest London Underground station is

Aldgate East Aldgate East is a London Underground station on Whitechapel High Street in Whitechapel, in London, England. It takes its name from the City of London ward of Aldgate, the station lying to the east of the ward (and the City). It is on the Hamme ...

on the

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 counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

and

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

References

External links

Details of Improvements to Altab Ali Park as part of High Street 2012
{{Green London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Whitechapel