The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Situated on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

and immediately east of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of the regenerated

London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...

area. The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745. The borough was formed in 1965 by merger of the former

metropolitan boroughs A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, Poplar, and

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally an alternative name for the historic Tower Division; the area of south-east

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, focused on (but not limited to) the area of the modern borough, which owed military service to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. The Tower of London itself is located in the borough, adjacent to its western boundary with the City of London. The

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, also known as Tower Hamlets Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under ...

. In 2017, a joint study by

Trust for London On 10 August 1878 a royal commission was established to investigate the parochial charities. It reported on 12 March 1880, which led to the City of London Parochial Charities Act 1883. This provided that the five largest parishes should continue t ...

and

New Policy Institute The New Policy Institute, often shortened to just NPI, is a British think tank based in London. It was established in 1996, and focusses on social and economic issues from a progressive perspective. History The New Policy Institute was founded ...

found Tower Hamlets to be the 2nd most deprived London borough (after

Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London R ...

) based on an average calculated across a range of indicators; with high rates of

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It is esti ...

, unemployment and pay inequality compared to other London boroughs. However, it has the lowest gap for educational outcomes at secondary level. Some of the world's major headquarters and tallest buildings in London occupy

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, the country's second largest financial district, in the southeast of the borough. Between 2014 and 2024, Tower Hamlets saw the completion of 71 skyscrapers, more than any other London borough. Also, part of the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...

is in the borough. Demographically, Tower Hamlets has a large population of

British Bangladeshis British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...

, forming the largest single ethnic group in the borough at 32%. The 2011 census showed Tower Hamlets to have the highest proportion of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

of any English local authority and was the only location where

outnumbered

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. The borough has 50 mosques and many

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

s, including the

East London Mosque The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Western Europe accomm ...

, Britain's largest.

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

restaurants, neighbouring street market and shops provide the largest range of

Bangladeshi cuisine Bangladeshi cuisine has been shaped by the region's history and river-line geography. Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate. The staple foods of Bangladesh are rice and fish. The majority of Bangladeshi people are ethnic Bengali, with a ...

, woodwork, carpets and clothes in Europe.Tower Hamlets Council Corporate Research Unit
Religion in Tower Hamlets 2011 Census: Key Facts (Briefing 2013-03)

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

is also a major centre of hipster subculture.

History

The earliest reference to the name "Tower Hamlets" was in 1554, when the Council of the

ordered a muster of "men of the hamlets which owe their service to the tower". This covered a wider area than the present-day borough, and its military relationship with the Tower is thought to have been several centuries earlier than the 1554 record. Tower of London viewed from the River Thames

Tower of London viewed from the River Thames

In 1605, the

Lieutenant of the Tower The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like th ...

was given the right to muster the militia and the area east of the tower came to be a distinct military unit, officially called Tower Hamlets (or the Tower Division). The Hamlets of the Tower paid taxes for the militia in 1646.1648 Ordinance for Militia within the Hamblets of the Tower of London
British History Online The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End. The population of the area grew enormously in the 19th century, leading to extreme overcrowding and a concentration of poor people and immigrants throughout the area. These problems were exacerbated by the construction of

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End of London, East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

(1827) and the

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

railway termini (1840–1875) with many displaced people moving into the area following the clearance of former slums and

rookeries A rookery is a colony of breeding rooks, and more broadly a colony of several types of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-for ...

. Over the course of a century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease and criminality.''The East End'' Alan Palmer, (John Murray, London 1989) The area was once characterised by rural settlements clustered around the City walls or along the main roads, surrounded by farmland, with marshes and small communities by the River, serving the needs of shipping and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Until the arrival of formal docks, shipping was required to land goods in the

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were t ...

, but industries related to construction, repair, and victualling of ships flourished in the area from Tudor times. The area attracted large numbers of rural people looking for employment. Successive waves of foreign immigration began with

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

refugees creating a new extramural suburb in

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

in the 17th century.''Bethnal Green: Settlement and Building to 1836'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 91–5
Date accessed: 17 April 2007 They were followed by Irish weavers,''Irish in Britain'' John A. Jackson, pp. 137–139, 150 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964)

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

''The Jews'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1: Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century (1969), pp. 149–51
Date accessed: 17 April 2007 and, in the 20th century,

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents ...

.''The Spatial Form of Bangladeshi Community in London's East End'' Iza Aftab
(UCL) (particularly background of Bangladeshi immigration to the East End). Date accessed: 17 April 2007 Brick Lane in Spitalfields - geograph

Many of these immigrants worked in the clothing industry. The abundance of semi- and unskilled labour led to low wages and poor conditions throughout the East End. This brought the attentions of social reformers during the mid-18th century and led to the formation of unions and workers associations at the end of the century. The radicalism of the East End contributed to the formation of the Labour Party and demands for the enfranchisement of women. Official attempts to address the overcrowded housing began at the beginning of the 20th century under the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. Aerial bombing in

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 ...

devastated much of the East End, with its docks, railways and industry forming a continual target. In the separate boroughs making up today's Tower Hamlets a total of 2,221 civilians were killed and 7,472 were injured, with 46,482 houses destroyed and 47,574 damaged. This led to some dispersal of the population to outlying suburbs. New housing was built in the 1950s for those that remained. The closure of the last of the East End docks in the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...

in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration and the formation of the

London Docklands Development Corporation The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence, it was responsible for regenerating an ...

. The

development, improved infrastructure, and the

''Olympic Park: Legacy''
(London 2012) accessed 20 September 2007 mean that the East End is undergoing further change, but some of its districts continue to see some of the worst poverty in Britain.Chris Hammett ''Unequal City: London in the Global Arena'' (2003) Routledge;

Administrative history

The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online �Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not includ ...

in county of

. Ossulstone was subsequently divided into four divisions, one of which was the Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets, which covered a larger area than the modern borough, also including parts of Hackney. From at least the 17th century the Tower Division was a

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

with judicial and administrative independence from the rest of the county. The liberty appears to have arisen from much older obligations on inhabitants of the area to provide military service to the

Constable of the Tower of London The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

. From 1856 the area was governed by the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

, which was established to provide services across the

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into

, including the

Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green Bethnal Green was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney and t ...

, the

Metropolitan Borough of Poplar Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a District (Metropolis), district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in ...

and the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

. The modern borough was created in 1965 under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

. It was a merger of the old boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney, and was named Tower Hamlets after the historic liberty.

Geography

Tower Hamlets is in East London, north of the

. The

lies to the west, the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

to the north, while the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

forms the boundary with the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

to the east. The River Lea also forms the boundary between the historic counties of

and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The borough's Thames frontage extends from the

Tower Dock Tower Dock is an inlet of the Thames immediately west of the Tower of London. Only the head of the dock remains with the rest having been filled in during the late 1950s. Location Tower Dock lay immediately west of the Tower of London's entranc ...

inlet, immediately west of the

, through several miles of former docklands, including the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

peninsula, to the confluence of the Thames and Lea at Blackwall. Areas along the Thames and Lea flood plains were historically frequently flooded, but the

Thames Barrier The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is c ...

, further east, has reduced that risk.

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at

Limehouse Basin Limehouse Basin is a body of water east of London Bridge that is also a navigable link between the River Thames and two of London's canals. First dug in 1820 as the eastern terminus of the new Regent's Canal, its wet area was less than origi ...

. A stretch of the

Hertford Union Canal The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Cut, just over long, connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure. It was a ...

leads from the Regent's canal, at a basin in the north of

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, to join the River Lea at

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, around ...

. A further canal,

Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a largely straight, broad canal in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London which links the lower reaches of the Lee Navigation to the River Thames. Opening on 17 September 1770, and widened for two-way traffic b ...

, London's oldest, leads from locks at

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 ...

to Limehouse Basin. Most of the canal tow-paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists. The borough includes open spaces such as Victoria Park,

King Edward Memorial Park King Edward Memorial Park is a public open space in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the northern bank of the River Thames. It was opened in 1922 in memory of King Edward VII. With an area of 3.3 hectares, it is the 11th largest par ...

Mile End Park Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing, with the park lying on land to the east of the Regent's Canal. In the n ...

Island Gardens Island Gardens is a public park located at the southern end of the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames. The park was formally opened on 3 August 1895 by Will Crooks, a prominent local polit ...

and part of the

Districts within the borough

Areas within the borough include: *

* Blackwall *

Bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

East Smithfield East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without ...

* Fish Island *

, including

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

* Poplar *

Ratcliff Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames between Limehouse (to the east), and Shadwell (to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used. History Etymol ...

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

St George in the East St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George; located on Cannon Street Road, between The Highway and Cable Street, in the East End of London. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original graveyard. Histor ...

* St Katharine's *

* The Tower Liberty, taking in

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

Landmarks

Cable Street Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936. Location Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the Cit ...

- site of the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the East End of London, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march ...

Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...

Christ Church, Spitalfields Christ Church Spitalfields is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor. On Commercial Street (London), Commercial Street in the East End and in today's Central London it is in the London Borough of Tower H ...

* Site of two historic

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

s *

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

* Victoria Park *

Roman Road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

Columbia Road Columbia Road is a street in Washington, D.C., that forks from Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont Circle, and branches north and east through 16th Street to the McMillan Reservoir. Along its route, it marks the southern border of the Kalora ...

* Poplar Baths The

district on the

in the Docklands forms a group of some of the tallest buildings in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

One Canada Square One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground level,Aviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority and contains 50 storeys. It achieved the title of ...

was the first to be constructed and is the third tallest in London. Nearby are the HSBC Tower, Citigroup Centres and

One Churchill Place One Churchill Place is a , 32-storey skyscraper in Canary Wharf and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, serving as the headquarters of Barclays Bank. The building is the 13th-tallest office block in the United Kingdom and the six ...

, headquarters of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

. Within the same complex are the

Heron Quays Heron Quays is an area of the Canary Wharf development on the Isle of Dogs, part of the London Docklands. It is served by a railway station on the London Docklands Light Railway network, Heron Quays DLR station, which was moved south after the ...

offices. Part of the

, developed for the

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, lies within the borders of Tower Hamlets. The Embassy of China in London will move into the former Royal Mint building in

Governance

The local authority is Tower Hamlets Council, based at

Tower Hamlets Town Hall Tower Hamlets Town Hall is a municipal facility on Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, London. The new structure, which has been commissioned as the headquarters of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, incorporates the façade of the old Royal Lond ...

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 ...

. Since 2010 the council has been led by the directly elected

Mayor of Tower Hamlets The mayor of Tower Hamlets is the directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in east London, England. The first election for this position occurred on 21 October 2010, taking on the executive function of the borough counci ...

Greater London representation

Since 2000, the borough lies within the City and East constituency, one of fourteen constituencies which make up the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, and is represented by

Unmesh Desai Unmesh Desai is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he has represented City and East in the London Assembly since 2016. He served as a councillor on the London Borough of Newham from 1998 until 2018, representing East Ham Centr ...

of the Labour Party.

UK Parliament

For the 2019 general election, the borough was split into two

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

: * Bethnal Green & Bow, represented by

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

(Labour). * Poplar & Limehouse, represented by

Apsana Begum Apsana Begum (born 25 May 1990) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Poplar and Limehouse in east London since 2019. Elected as a member of the Labour Party, Begum had the party whip withdrawn for six months on 2 ...

(Labour). Due to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, the subsequent

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

saw Tower Hamlets elect MPs in three constituencies. These are: *

Stratford and Bow Stratford and Bow is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. It is currently represented in Parli ...

(partly in Newham as well as Tower Hamlets), represented by

Uma Kumaran Uma Kumaran () is a British politician and Member of Parliament (MP). A member of the Labour Party, she has represented Stratford and Bow since July 2024. Early life Kumaran was born in East London to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. Her parents, ...

(Labour). *

Bethnal Green and Stepney Bethnal Green and Stepney is a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in Greater London, which returns one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House ...

, represented by Rushanara Ali. *

Poplar and Limehouse Poplar and Limehouse is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency which was first created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

(under amended boundaries), represented by Apsana Begum.

Climate

The data below were taken between 1971 and 2000 at the weather station in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, around south of the borough's former town hall, at Mulberry Place:

Demographics

By 1891, Tower Hamlets – roughly the ancient civil parish of Stepney – was already one of the most populated areas in London. Throughout the nineteenth century, the local population increased by an average of 20% every ten years. The building of the docks intensified land use and caused the last marshy areas in the south of the parish to be drained for housing and industry. In the north of the borough, employment was principally in weaving, small household industries like boot and furniture making and new industrial enterprises like

Bryant and May Bryant & May was a British match manufacturer, which today exists only as a brand name owned by Swedish Match. The company was formed in the mid-19th century as a dry goods trader, with its first match works, the Bryant & May Factory, located ...

. The availability of cheap labour drew in many employers. To the south, employment was in the docks and related industries – such as chandlery and rope making. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the district now recognised as Tower Hamlets was characterised by overcrowding and poverty. The construction of the railways caused many more displaced people to settle in the area, and a massive influx of Eastern European

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

at the latter part of the nineteenth century added to the population growth. This migration peaked at the end of that century and

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...

entered a long decline through to the 1960s, as people moved away eastwards to newer suburbs of London and

. The area's population had neared 600,000 around the end of the nineteenth century, but fell to a low of less than 140,000 by the early 1980s. The metropolitan boroughs suffered very badly during

, during which considerable numbers of houses were destroyed or damaged beyond use due to heavy aerial bombing. This coincided with a decline in work in the docks, and the closure of many traditional industries. The Abercrombie Plan for London (1944) began an exodus from London towards the

new towns A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. This decline began to reverse with the establishment of the

bringing new industries and housing to the brownfield sites along the river. Also contributing was new immigration from Asia beginning in the 1970s. According to the

2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

the population of the borough is approximately 196,106. According to the ONS estimate, the population is 237,900, as of 2010.Resident Population Estimates, All Persons - Tower Hamlets
ONS. Crime in the borough increased by 3.5% from 2009 to 2010, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police, having decreased by 24% between 2003/04 and 2007/08. Tower Hamlets has one of the smallest

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

populations of any local authority in the United Kingdom. No ethnic group forms a majority of the population; a plurality of residents are white (45%), a little over two thirds of whom are White British. 32% of residents are

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

, which is the largest ethnic minority group in the borough, with Asians as a whole forming 41% of the population.Ethnicity in Tower Hamlets
TowerHamlets.gov.uk. A smaller proportion are of Black African and Caribbean descent (7%), with

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

representing the second-largest minority ethnic group. Those of mixed ethnic backgrounds form 4%, while other ethnic groups form 2%. The White British proportion was recorded as 31.2% in the 2011 UK Census, a decrease from 42.9% in 2001. In 2018, Tower Hamlets had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

of all London boroughs, along with

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

. The 2021 census found that the borough has one of the lowest proportions of population over the age of 65 or older in England and Wales, at 5.6%.

Ethnicity

Ethnic makeup of Tower Hamlets by single year ages in 2021

Ethnic demography of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets over time

Religion and religious sites

Religious makeup of Tower Hamlets by single year age groups in 2021

Tower Hamlets is a religious diverse borough with various

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...

. According to the 2021 census, 39.9% of the population was

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 22.3%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 2.0%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 1.0%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.4%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 0.3%

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

, 0.5% followed some other religion, 26.6% were not affiliated to a religion and 6.9% did not state their religious views. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Tower Hamlets according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Places of worship

There are 21 active churches, affiliated with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, which include Christ Church of Spitalfields, St Paul's Church of Shadwell and St Dunstan's of Stepney; and there are also churches of many other Christian denominations. There are more than 40 mosques and Islamic centres in Tower Hamlets. The most famous is the

, one of the first mosques in Britain allowed to broadcast the

adhan The (, ) is the Islamic call to prayer, usually recited by a muezzin, traditionally from the minaret of a mosque, shortly before each of the five obligatory daily prayers. The adhan is also the first phrase said in the ear of a newborn baby, ...

, and one of the biggest Islamic centres in

. The Maryam Centre, a part of the mosque, is the biggest Islamic centre for women in Europe. Opened in 2013, it features a main prayer hall, ameliorated funeral services, education facilities, a fitness centre and support services. The East London Mosque has been visited by several notable people, including

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

, many foreign government officials and world-renowned imams and Muslim scholars.Prince joins Ramadan ceremony
BBC website Other notable mosques are

Brick Lane Mosque Brick Lane Mosque or Brick Lane Jamme Masjid ( "Brick Lane Congregational Mosque"), formerly known as the London Jamme Masjid ( "London Congregational Mosque"), is a Muslim place of worship in Central London and is in the East End of London wh ...

, Darul Ummah Masjid, Esha Atul Islam Mosque, Markazi Masjid, Stepney Shahjalal Mosque and Poplar Central Mosque. Other notable religious buildings include the Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue, the Congregation of Jacob Synagogue, the

London Buddhist Centre The London Buddhist Centre (LBC) is a temple located on Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London, that serves as the main base for the London Triratna Buddhist Community. It opened in 1978 in an ornate, vernacular redbrick former Victorian fire station ...

, the Hindu Pragati Sangha Temple, and the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat. The

Great Synagogue of London The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in Lo ...

, which was destroyed during the Second World War, is located just outside the borough's boundaries, in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Economy

The borough hosts the world headquarters of many global financial businesses, employing some of the highest paid workers in London, but also has high rates of long-term illness and premature death and the 2nd highest unemployment rate in London.

is home to many of the world and European headquarters of numerous major banks and professional services firms including

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of leading London-based multinational law firms. In 2022-2023 Clifford Chance was the third largest law fir ...

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Founded in 1981 in Pune, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru. On ...

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * '' Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Pa ...

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

, RBC,

Skadden Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest grossing law firm in the U ...

, State Street and

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

Savills Savills plc is a British real estate services company based in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The business was established by Alfred Savill (1829–1905) in 1855 in London ...

, a top-end estate agency recommends that 'extreme luxury' and ultra-modern residential properties are to be found at Canary Riverside, West India Quay, Pan Peninsula and Neo Bankside. Tower Hamlets is the earliest borough where the first skyscrapers were built and since 2014 it saw the completion of over seventy skyscrapers, more than any other place in the UK The

End Child Poverty coalition End Child Poverty coalition was set up in 2001 by a group of UK children's charities, social justice groups, faith-groups, trade unions and others concerned about what they considered the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK. It ...

published that Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion of children in poverty of any local authority in the UK at 49% (and as high as 54.5% in the Bethnal Green South ward). Surveys and interviews conducted by the Child Poverty Action group for the council found that the

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...

system was deeply unpopular with low-income families in the borough and that most claimants who have used the system found it difficult to understand and experienced frequent payment errors.

Media

The ''

East London Advertiser The ''East London Advertiser'' is a mostly free weekly local newspaper in east London, England covering primarily the borough of Tower Hamlets. It was formed in late 2011 by Archant's merging of ''The Docklands'' and the ''East London Advertiser ...

'' and ''

Social Streets ''Social Streets'' is a local news organisation in Tower Hamlets, London, England. It was founded by Tabitha Stapely in 2018. Social Streets runs four digital newspapers, each focusing on a different part of Tower Hamlets: Roman Road LDN, Whitec ...

'' provide local news in print and online. There are also several

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

print and online newspapers published in the borough.

Education

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

for state schools within the borough. In January 2008, there were 19,890 primary-school pupils and 15,262 secondary-school pupils attending state schools there. Private-school pupils account for 2.4 per cent of schoolchildren in the borough. In 2010, 51.8 per cent of pupils achieved 5 A*–C

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s including Mathematics and English – the highest results in the borough's history – compared to the national average of 53.4 per cent. Seventy-four per cent achieved 5 A*–C GCSEs for all subjects (the same as the English average); the figure in 1997 was 26 per cent. The percentage of pupils on

free school meal A school meal (whether it is a breakfast, lunch, or evening meal) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world offer various kinds of schoo ...

s in the borough is the highest in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. In 2007, the council rejected proposals to build a

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

-sponsored

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. Schools in the borough have high levels of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' reported in 2006 that 47 per cent of secondary schools were exclusively non-white, and that 33 per cent had a white majority. About 60 per cent of pupils entering primary and secondary school are Bangladeshi. 78% of primary-school pupils speak

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

The council runs several

Idea Store Idea Store is a chain of educational community centres in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England, that offer library services along with adult learning courses and extensive activities and events programmes. The project was initiated in 199 ...

s in the borough, which combine traditional library and computer services with other resources, and are designed to attract more diverse members. The flagship Whitechapel store was designed by

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

, and cost £16 million to build.

Universities

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

, a constituent college of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, which includes Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry *

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

UCL School of Management The UCL School of Management is the business school of University College London (UCL). The School offers undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and executive programmes in management, entrepreneurship, business analytics, business information systems, ...

, located in

* The London Interdisciplinary School, located on

* Northeastern University - London, located in St, Katherines docks

Further education colleges

Tower Hamlets College New City College (NCC) is a large college of further education with campuses in east London and Essex. The college was formed in 2016 with the amalgamation of separate colleges, beginning with the merger between Tower Hamlets College and Hackney ...

, which in 2017 merged with

Hackney Community College New City College (NCC) is a large college of further education with campuses in east London and Essex. The college was formed in 2016 with the amalgamation of separate colleges, beginning with the merger between Tower Hamlets College and Hackney ...

and

Redbridge College New City College (NCC) is a large college of further education with campuses in east London and Essex. The college was formed in 2016 with the amalgamation of separate colleges, beginning with the merger between Tower Hamlets College and Hackney ...

to form New City College, the second largest college in London with over 20,000 students.

Schools and sixth form colleges

Bishop Challoner Catholic School Bishop Challoner Catholic School is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school and sixth form, located in the Stepney area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. The school is a Voluntary ...

Bow School Bow School is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form for boys and girls, located in Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It has a roll of about 1200 students and increasing. In September 2014 the school m ...

Central Foundation Girls' School Central Foundation Girls’ School is a voluntary-aided comprehensive girls’ school and sixth form in Bow, London, England, for 11- to 18-year-olds. It is the sister school to Central Foundation Boys' School in Islington. Both schools are ...

* George Green's School * Ibrahim College * Jamiatul Ummah School and Sixth Form *

Langdon Park School Langdon Park School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school and sixth form, located in the Poplar area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is a community school administered by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, ...

* Lansbury Lawrence School * London East Academy (

) * London Enterprise Academy * Mazahirul uloom London *

Morpeth School Morpeth School is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Bethnal Green, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. The school serves nearly 1200 pupils. History The school was founded by London County Council in 1910 as a c ...

* Mulberry Academy Shoreditch *

Mulberry School for Girls Mulberry School for Girls (known up to 1986 as Tower Hamlets School for Girls) is a secondary school, secondary comprehensive school and sixth form for girls located in the Shadwell area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. Approxima ...

* Oaklands School *

St Paul's Way Trust School St Paul's Way Trust School is a comprehensive school, comprehensive Mixed-sex education, co-educational all-through school and sixth form located in the Bow Common area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. The School became a Found ...

* Stepney All Saints School * Stepney Green Maths, Computing & Science College *

Swanlea School, Business and Enterprise College Swanlea School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Whitechapel with approximately 1200 students from age 11-18. 210 of these students are at Sixth Form /Key Stage 5. It is situated in the heart of the historic east end of Lo ...

* Wapping High School

Volunteering

* Volunteer Centre Tower Hamlets helps residents find volunteering work and provides support to organisations involving students volunteers.

Sports

Mile End Stadium within

hosts an

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

and facilities for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Two football clubs, Tower Hamlets F.C. (formerly Bethnal Green United) and Sporting Bengal United F.C., are based there, playing in the

Essex Senior Football League The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isth ...

. John Orwell Sports Centre in

is the base of

Wapping Hockey Club Wapping Hockey Club ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, w, ɒ, p, ɪ, ŋ) is a field hockey club in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The home grounds are the national stadium for English Hockey, the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre a ...

. In 2014, the club secured over £300,000 of investment to designate the centre a hockey priority facility. A leisure centre including a swimming pool at Mile End Stadium was completed in 2006. Other pools are located at

St Georges Saint George was a soldier in the Roman army in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, venerated as a Christian martyr. Saint George or Saint George's may also refer to: People * George of Vienne (died or ), Archbishop of Vienne * George of Choziba (di ...

and

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure centre in Bethnal Green, London. The building opened in 1929 and it is most famous as an international boxing venue with the first nights o ...

, in

. York Hall is also a regular venue for boxing tournaments, and in May 2007 a public

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

was opened in the building's renovated Victorian-style Turkish baths. KO Muay Thai Gym and Apolaki Krav Maga & Dirty Boxing Academy. in Bethnal Green are the main sources for martial arts and combat sports training in the area. The unusual Green Bridge, opened in 2000, links sections of Mile End Park that would otherwise be divided by Mile End Road. The bridge contains gardens, water features and trees around the path.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Tower Hamlets was one of five host boroughs for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

; the

was constructed in the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley (also spelt Lee Valley), the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics wer ...

. As such, the borough's involvement in the Olympics includes: * A small part of the Olympic Park is in

, a district of the borough, which makes the borough a host borough. * The energy centre (King's Yard Energy Centre) of the Olympic Park is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and gives energy to all the venues, none of which are located in Tower Hamlets. * The world square and the London 2012 mega-store is also in the borough. The world square is for spectators, who can buy food or drink; the world's biggest McDonald's is in the world square in Tower Hamlets. * The London 2012 mega-store provides official gifts and souvenirs. High Street, which is the main road to the Olympic park from west and central London, combines

Mile End Road The A11 is a major trunk road in England. It originally ran roughly north east from London to Norwich, Norfolk. It now consists of a short section in Inner London and a much longer section in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. The lengthy se ...

and

Bow Road Bow Road is a thoroughfare in Bow, London, England. The road forms part of the A11 road (England), A11, running from Aldgate to Norwich in Norfolk. To the west the road becomes Mile End Road, and to the east is Bow Interchange on the A12 road ...

. * Victoria Park, in Tower Hamlets, is an important part of the Olympics because spectators without tickets can watch the games on big screens (London live 2012); that park is less than a mile away from the Olympic park. The main spectator cycle park is located in Victoria park. One of the entrances to the Olympic park is in Tower Hamlets, and is called the Victoria gate. * A few schools in Tower Hamlets have taken part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games as well as all the other host boroughs. The section of the Olympic Park in Tower Hamlets will be named "Sweetwater", one of the 5 new neighbourhoods after the games. Sweetwater will cover Tower Hamlets' part of the Olympic Park near

. * The Olympic marathon was planned to run through the borough but later ran through the City and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. However, the

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the U, letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as ...

was located in the borough near

The Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. *

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

, the artistic director of the

London 2012 opening ceremony The Olympic opening ceremony, opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium (London), Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizab ...

, lives in

. * A large number of Tower Hamlets' residents became Olympic volunteers; Tower Hamlets ranks second, after neighbouring borough

, for the number of volunteers from the borough.

Leisure

Parks in Tower Hamlets

There are over one hundred parks and open spaces in Tower Hamlets ranging from the large Victoria Park, to numerous small gardens and squares. The second largest,

, separated from Victoria Park by a canal, includes ''The Green Bridge'' that carries the park across the busy Mile End Road. One of the smallest at 1.19 ha is the decorative Grove Hall Park off Fairfield Road, Bow, which was once the site of a lunatic asylum. Other parks include

Altab Ali Park Altab Ali Park is a small park on the Whitechapel Road, in Whitechapel, London. Formerly known as St Mary's Park, it is the site of the old 14th-century, once whitewashed church, St Mary Matfelon, from which Whitechapel gets its name. St ...

, Mudchute Park and Grove Hall Park.

Museums

Standbeeld Robert Milligan Museum of London Docklands

* Island History Trust *

Museum of London Docklands The London Museum Docklands in West India Quay, London, explains the history of the River Thames, the growth of the Port of London and the docks historical link to the Atlantic slave trade. The museum is part of the London Museum and is jointly ...

* Ragged School Museum *

V&A Museum of Childhood Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts. It is in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, and specialises in obje ...

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

* Vagina Museum

Transport

Road

As with most of the transport network in Tower Hamlets, several roads radiate across the Borough from the City of London. East–west routes include: * the A11, which runs from

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

to the A12 near Stratford, passing through

, and

. * the A13 (''

Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), throug ...

East India Dock Road East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from Limehouse to Canning Town in London. The road takes its name from the former East India Docks in the Port of London. To the west it becomes Commercial Road and to the east Newham Way. It forms p ...

''), which runs from Aldgate to Poplar. East of Poplar, the route continues towards

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

, and

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

. * the A1203 ('' The Highway''), which runs from

, through

, to

and

. There are several north–south routes in the Borough, including: * the A12, which begins at the A13 in Poplar and runs along the eastern edge of the Borough. The route carries traffic towards the M11 (for

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

, and destinations in

, including

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

and

Harwich International Port Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite the Port of Felixstowe. The port was formerly known as ...

. The route ultimately runs to

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

in Suffolk. * the London Inner Ring Road from Old Street to Tower Bridge. There are three

road crossings in the Borough. From west-east, these are: *

(Tower Hill to Southwark and Bermondsey) * Rotherhithe Tunnel (the A13 at Limehouse to Canada Water) * Blackwall Tunnel (the A12 and A13 at Poplar to

)

Rail

The principal rail services commence in the City at Fenchurch Street station, Fenchurch Street, with one stop at Limehouse railway station, Limehouse; and Liverpool Street station, Liverpool Street, with stops at Bethnal Green railway station, Bethnal Green and Cambridge Heath railway station, Cambridge Heath. The East London Line passes from north to south through Tower Hamlets with stations at Whitechapel, Shadwell and Wapping. One entrance to Shoreditch High Street railway station, Shoreditch High Street station is inside the Borough. And the North London Line passes the very north in Tower Hamlets with one entrance to Hackney Wick railway station, Hackney Wick inside the Borough. Since 2022, the Elizabeth line has two stops at Whitechapel station, Whitechapel and Canary Wharf railway station, Canary Wharf.

Metro

The Docklands Light Railway was built to serve the docklands areas of the borough, with a principal terminus at Bank–Monument station, Bank and Tower Gateway DLR station, Tower Gateway. An interchange at Poplar DLR station, Poplar allows trains to proceed north to Stratford DLR station, Stratford, south via Canary Wharf DLR station, Canary Wharf towards Lewisham DLR station, Lewisham, and east either via the London City Airport to Woolwich Arsenal station, Woolwich Arsenal or via ExCeL London to Beckton. Three London Underground services cross the district, serving a total of 8 stations: the District line, District and Hammersmith and City lines share track between Aldgate East tube station, Aldgate East and Barking tube station, Barking. The Central line (London Underground), Central line has stations at Bethnal Green tube station, Bethnal Green and Mile End tube station, Mile End - where there is an interchange to the District line. The Jubilee line has one stop at Canary Wharf tube station, Canary Wharf.

List of stations

* Aldgate East station * All Saints DLR station * Bethnal Green railway station * Bethnal Green tube station * Blackwall DLR station * Bow Church station * Bow Road station * Bromley-by-Bow station * Cambridge Heath railway station * Canary Wharf DLR station * Canary Wharf railway station * Canary Wharf tube station * Crossharbour DLR station * Devons Road DLR station * East India DLR station * Hackney Wick railway station * Heron Quays DLR station * Island Gardens DLR station * Langdon Park DLR station * Limehouse station (Rail and DLR) * Mile End tube station, Mile End station * Mudchute DLR station * Poplar DLR station * Shadwell railway station * Shadwell DLR station * Shoreditch High Street railway station * South Quay DLR station * Stepney Green tube station * Tower Gateway DLR station * Tower Hill tube station * Wapping railway station * West India Quay DLR station * Westferry DLR station * Whitechapel station In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, light rail, 24.0% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 7.5%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.5%; driving a car or van, 6.9%; bicycle, 4.1%; train, 3.8%; work mainly at or from home, 2.3%. Tower Hamlets Borough Council operates a walking bus service for school pupils on agreed routes with some running every school day while and others once or twice a week depending on the number of adult volunteers involved.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Borough of Tower Hamlets was granted by the College of Arms in 1965 and is composed of elements representing the maritime trades and heritage of the area. The strong links to the former Stepney#Manor and Ancient Parish, manor and ancient parish of Stepney and to St Dunstan's, Stepney, St Dunstan's church in Stepney known as the ''Church of the High Seas'' are represented. The manor and parish did not have a coat of arms but the (smaller) subsequent

did, and elements from that have been incorporated into the current design. The shield features: * A ship, representing the maritime trades. * A sprig of morus nigra, mulberry and a weaver's shuttle, representing the silk and other weaving activities once so important to the borough. The use of mulberry also honours the Huguenots, Huguenot refugees who first brought silk weaving to Tower Hamlets, and to England generally. Many council staff wear mulberry coloured (claret\maroon) uniforms. The weaving and textile industry (colloquially "the Rag Trade") is also commemorated in the name of the Lea Valley lines#Naming of London Overground service, Weaver Line which passes through the borough. * Blacksmith's fire tongs, the emblem of St Dunstan, the patron saint of Stepney, who had close ties to the area. Dunstan famously grabbed the devil by the nose with his tongs when he tried to tempt Dunstan. The crest features: * A silver representation of the (originally whitewashed) White Tower (Tower of London), White Tower of the

, to which the original Tower division, Tower Hamlets (or Tower division) was intimately linked. * Crossed gold anchors, again representing the area's position in the Port of London. Supporters: * A Hippocampus (mythology), seahorse, representing the maritime trades. * A Talbot (dog), talbot dog, representing the

. Motto: ''From great things to greater'', an anglicised version of the Latin motto on the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney. The council's logo is used as an alternative to the coat of arms. It features a simplified White Tower, above a stylised representation of the Thames. This was a development of the previous logo of the White Tower, in mulberry and presented in a three-tower form, as if seen from certain quarters which obscured the furthest corner tower—and a geographically accurate representation of the local part of the Thames. This older version is still seen on many street signs.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City, Freedom of the Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Individuals

* Commander (Royal Navy), Commander John Ludgate: 25 May 2018.

Military units

* HMS Crane, HMS ''Crane'', Royal Navy, RN: 1942. * Tower Hamlets Engineers, 114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment (Army Reserve (United Kingdom), TA): 27 April 1961.Civic Honours granted by the London Boroughs
''www.steppingforwardlondon.org''

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* Cornwell, Jocelyn (1984)
''Hard-Earned Lives: Accounts of Health and Illness from East London''
Tavistock Publications. * Dancygier, Rafaela M. (2010)
''Immigration and Conflict in Europe''
Cambridge University Press. * Hill, Dave
"Tower Hamlets: politics, poverty and faith"
''The Guardian'', 19 September 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2011.

External links

Tower Hamlets Council

LBTH ''find your councillor''

LBTH Ward data report (2005)
��Information on Tower Hamlets at the ward level {{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Tower Hamlets London Borough of Tower Hamlets, 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Local authorities adjoining the River Thames, Tower Hamlets London boroughs, Tower Hamlets Populated places established in 1965