We wanted to walk around Whitechapel again. The area is very dense and has some heavy contrasts. Here I’ll give a warning: There are many, many photos and I did this walk two weeks ago. I no longer remember where each part belongs or what I was thinking about when I took the photos. I may have to juggle things about but I know I won’t get it completely right.
What matters, though, is that our walk took us through the older areas of Spitalfields, through some parts of Whitechapel that my grandparents – and even my parents – would have a hard time believing, and into some areas where the stark, modern lines struck a strong contrast with the old, sometimes converted, warehouses and factories.
To me, it was a typical Whitechapel adventure, where anything was possible, where the past and present cooperate and compete, and where the future can only be imagined. There’s a little bit of history, but not too much or my brain will hurt, and as much everyday thinking as I can muster along the way.
A wildly inaccurate map of where we walkedWe hadn’t taken the Overground since lockdown. The new trains were operating, the carriages were quiet and masks weren’t always apparent. It’s less than ten minutes from Hackney Downs to Liverpool Street Station
Keeping a safe distance and staying where you need to be, at Liverpool Street StationIt’s rare to see Liverpool Street Station so quiet on a weekdayVenturing into Spitalfields. The building sign says 1682. It’s Ottolenghi at Artillery Passage and it had been closed temporarily for weeks
From Middlesex Street, the old and the new. Middlesex Street is the main road for Petticoat LaneI didn’t photograph street art on this walk.This is an oldie but goodie
Toynbee Hall, built in 1886 to serve the poor of London’s East EndThe Old Streets of Tenter Ground. Built by the Flemish weavers, the Huguenots who fled Belgium in the 17th century. Here, newly woven cloth was stretched taut to flatten on an open field. When the Huguenots left, housing was developed in 1829 and the Dutch Jews (The Chut) moved into the area
The Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor, Brune Street, (5662 -1902)London County Council Holland estate built between 1927–1936.Houses where some of my ancestors lived are now finally gone. They were appallingly decrepit for years, a real eyesore. Now they’re gone, I feel quite sad
Finally, we got to Whitechapel High Street, at Aldgate East Station. The scenery changes dramatically.
