Sunday, 8 August, 2021
We were walking along New Road a few weeks ago when Krish said, ‘Look, there’s a porcupine.’ Only it wasn’t. What it was, it turns out, is a pod, an education centre, that represents a neuron cell, designed by Will Alsop.
Inside is aΒ ‘science education space.’ I found all of this out after looking online to see what was going on here at the Centre of the Cell in Whitechapel. I’m not sure how I’d feel being inside it.
We knew right away that each ‘spine’ was a light filament and guessed correctly that at night this must be a beautiful sight with the lights all glowing. When the clocks go back and the nights are longer, we’ll go back and see it.
We were heading down to Lahore Kebab House in our eternal search for a great biryani. I waited inside for it, while Krish scouted around outside. On our way out we saw Shalamar Kebab House, the same name as the place on New Road that we buy kebab. That’s when I saw the old sign for Hessel Street under the new one. That’s a street name I’ve heard many times. It was once home to the main Jewish East End market specialising in the slaughtering and koshering of chickens. It was then called Morgan Street and there are many stories here.
Hessel Street is named for Phoebe Hessel who famously dressed as a man and fought as a private in the West Indies and Gibraltar, and was wounded in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745. She’s buried in Β St Nicholas’ churchyard and was said to be 108 when she died.
No time to linger and explore Hessel Street – and I’ve since seen some interesting facts about Umberston Street where Lahore Kebab House is – but yet again something for another day.
Heading along New Road again to catch our bus home, we saw some interesting houses. It’s been some time since I walked past them. I try to imagine what they would have been like a hundred years ago.
This little caption shows me that there is probably something to say about every house in the area. I’m humbled by it, especially in a blog where I promised myself to not get too longwinded on history or dates.
Despite wanting to get on the bus and home, Krish asked if I could walk further and I thought I could. My thinking included that I would catch the bus from the hospital, but somehow we kept walking. I think I lost track somewhere.
At the back of the Royal London Hospital, walking towards Stepney, the clocks have already turned back – to many decades ago, to the streets I grew up on. Among the newer homes, are the old terraced homes from the 1800s. As a child, I don’t remember giving our house much thought – I’m sure I didn’t think it dilapidated. I even remember being about to see the date it was built etched into the door mantle. I wish I had photos of it, but somewhere in my memory I’m thinking 1837 … as a child I knew our house was over a hundred years old, so that might even be right. In those days a hundred years felt like a thousand.
On Ashfield Street, at number 91, we spotted a plaque.
I’m somewhat determined to not get to historical and date-y here but I love anything to do with Jack Cohen because of his Hackney history. Jacob Edward Kohen ( known as “Jack”) was born in Whitechapel, London, in 1898.Β His father Avroam Kohen, was a tailor and immigrant Russian Jew. Avroam made uniforms during WWIΒ and life got better for the family. Jack joined up and when he got his demob pay he bought up surplus NAFII food and sold them on Well Street Market. One of the things he sold was packs of tea from Mr T. E. Stockwell – this gave birth toΒ Tesco. Accidentally, Jack had created the brand that exists till this day. He created self-service shops, opened his first supermarket in 1956 and died in 1979.
Also seen on this walk, Sidney Street and Sidney Square. These were a source of amusement, since my dad’s name was Sidney. Once in Rome we saw a square with a name very close to Sidney – this also filled me with smiles, and we continued to call it Piazza Sidney. This piazza is, however, just a humble east London square.
I love the squares of London. The ones in central London are, of course, much grander, but the squares for real Londoners, as I call them, are wonderful gardens that break up the monotony of the rows of little brick houses. Here are two on our walk, the first – and nicest – is Sidney Square.
Before I leave Sidney Street as just another few photos in another blog entry, I have to say that I was startled to discover it had a really strange history. It’s the scene of The Battle of Stepney. Yes, battle, but not of Fontenoy this time! I had never heard of it before. The houses below are Charles Martin’s Mansions, and here in 1911 the siege of Sidney Street took place.
Three policemen had been murdered in a bungled robbery by a gang of Anarchists in Houndsditch in December 1910. Some of the gang were arrested, but a few weeks later the police found more of the gang holed up at 100 Sidney Street. The story is long but many police officers showed up and many shots were fired. The shooting lasted for five hours until police broke down the door and found no one alive. Even more extraordinarily, Churchill himself (Home Secretary at the time and not to become prime minister for another 29 years) was there in the thick of the battle. Now, I’m sure you want to read more of this incredible story and see how Sidney Street looked in the early 1900s and in the middle of a bloody siege! The story is here. And amazingly, there’s a film – a very early 1911 black and white silent film by PathΓ©, billed as the world’s first ‘breaking story.’ It shows a young, and slimmer, Churchill in a very tall hat. He reportedly was already never without his cigar.
Finding things out after my walks can backfire. I then long to go back and see the places I’ve read about. On the other hand, I think this would only add to my sense of saturation.
I’ll finish my photos with this one of a building that stood just before we decided that we needed to seriously head to a bus. Each layer was likely added in a different era. Very odd and I imagine full of even more stories.
A small post script here. We had overshot Cambridge Heath Road by a bit, ending up walking straight past Rinkoff’s Bakery – in for a chocolate babka and two challah rolls – then up the Mile End Road, past statues of William and Catherine Booth. I didn’t dare stop to photograph the bakery or the statues or the almshouses for fear we would arrive home at midnight, or I’d have no legs left for the stairs to home.
For those who care, some other videos about the Battle of Stepney, here’s another one by AP, followed by a gem if you fancy a fictionalised version – two whole films, which I’m going to hope are OK to embed here in case … well, copyright! For a final treat – some of it has been colourised and ‘digitally remastered’!