Tower Hamlets – slightly weird

12th August 2022

Catching up and matchstick girls – Bryant and May

Wednesday, 10 August, 2022

My friend Tari helps me with this blog. She has all the tech know-how I don’t. Thanks, Tari. The other day she messaged me, By the way, you had 279 unique visitors to your blog in July. What? If you are one of them, say hello in the comments. I have no idea who you are, where you live (does Tari?) but I’d be richer knowing. I also hope you like what you’re reading and, if not, let me know what I can do better. Blah blah.

We are looking for somewhere to live. I love moving – well, most of it. The part where you’re looking, though – this part – is horrendous, and right now so disheartening. Rents are high, places are often dire, and competition is stiff. Yet it has to happen. I worry all the time about where, when, and even if. As time goes by the what becomes less important, and yet it doesn’t. I know, no matter how desperate I may get, I can’t resign myself to some of the places I’ve seen that are on offer right now. Part of this is because…Hackney. It’s an area that’s being gentrified – everywhere you look there are scaffolds that tell you that someone else is gutting or improving their living spaces. It’s a double-edged sword. While places are improving, rents are screeching higher, and what passes for an open plan living room is really only a medium sized kitchen with a couch, coffee table and television thrown in for good measure. Couches are backed against ovens, no division, and you can only pray for enough counter space to actually prepare a meal. For a couple of foodies and spontaneous chefs like us, it’s not supportable. Where will we land? Stay tuned.

With the prospect of a move ahead, we’ve been determined to do a few things, even if we stayed local. This includes some restaurant visits. I’m getting lazy about reviews. I have a list of places I want to visit and revisit but the Bryant and May Factory (who manufactured matches, or lucifers as some of their publicity reads, in Bow from 1861 to 1979 when it moved to Liverpool) has been on my list for a very long time.

I’d read about the factory and the Matchgirls Strike several years ago. Bear in mind that this factory and the area is well known to me. It sits somewhere between my paternal grandmother, Sophie’s (and therefore my dad’s and my own childhood) home and my maternal grandmother, Charlotte/Lottie’s (and therefore my mum’s childhood) home. Both of these houses were pulled down many years ago now. The factory is still there.

I can’t really remember particularly noticing it when I was a child. I did, of course, but thought nothing of it. Just another factory, even if a massive one. It’s good to see it again as an adult – through older and more appreciative eyes. But what came first was the matchstick girls’ story. I’ll tell it in short form.

From the mid 1850s this was London’s largest factory, making candles, crinolines and rope. William Bryant and Francis May bought it in 1861 when it was in disrepair. In their match factory the workforce, mostly Irish women and girls, worked fourteen-hour days at poor pay and faced excessive fines for things such as going to the toilet without permission. They also faced a far more serious situation. The white phosphorous that the sticks were dipped in caused ‘phossy jaw.’ This was necrosis that destroyed the jaw, leading to other medical problems.

In the summer of 1888, middle-class activist Annie Besant and her friend Herbert Burrows got involved and exposed the factory conditions in their weekly paper. Management weren’t happy and tried to get their workforce to sign a paper saying it was untrue. They refused and one worker was fired, leading to the now-famous strike. 1,400 women and girls refused to work by the end of the first day. Management quickly said that they would take the fired woman back but the damage was done and the women began to demand more, including the withdrawal of the fining policy. Within a short while the whole factory had stopped work and a deputation of women went to see Annie Besant to ask her to help. She apparently advised them not to strike, but the women were determined and took their plight to parliament. Fearful of the publicity, management agreed to concessions, including a fairer grievance procedure and that meals would be taken away from where they could be contaminated by the dangerous phosphorus . The women’s actions led to the establishment of the first British trade union for women. Many feel that it was Annie Besant who was responsible for the success of this campaign, but she was rather the conduit through which these very brave women were able to get their voices and needs heard. They would have had very little power in their day. The Strike Committee: Mrs Mary Naulls, Mrs Mary Cummings, Sarah Chapman, Alice Francis, Kate Sclater, Mary Driscoll, Jane Wakeling, Eliza Martin…

You might enjoy the Matchgirls Memorial site, which includes a short video about the strike by a young American who was captured by the story and stories about the committee members from their descendents.

It wasn’t until 1901, after the Salvation Army opened its own match factory nearby using less toxic red phosphorus and paying better wages, that Bryant and May stopped using white phosphorous.

Some of the first welfare institutions in Britain for industrial workers began on this site and the factory finally closed in 1979, when it still employed 275 people. At its height more than 3,000 women and girls worked here. In 1988 the site was redeveloped, one of east London’s first urban renewal projects. It’s now a gated community of apartments. Most of them are in the former factory and office buildings dating from 1874. The beautiful Victorian cottages near the entrance were originally homes for the company directors. There are now modern buildings inside the gates. All of the buildings have American names: Arlington, Manhattan, Staten…

We were walking down to the back of the factory. The flats behind us were called Matchsticks Apartments

Colourful — I was struck by how modern and colourful this street was – we are heading towards the A12

Clayhall Tea House plaque — “On the front wall of 50 Blondin Street. In the 18th century, Londoners wanting to go for a jaunt into the country, often used to visit this tea house, which was situated to the east of the plaque. Some time before this, Samuel Pepys described in his diary how he visited Bow and had eaten a memorable dish of cherries and cream here.” (Into the country? Hard to imagine now.)

A12 — Who knows how many homes were destroyed to create this motorway? At first there were trees shielding against the sight and noise of it, then just a metal fence…

First glimpses — I had my first glimpses through the gate at the back, then there was a delivery area. Not much of a clue at this point what the whole would look like

Boundary moved plaque — It’s not clear why the boundary was moved at the back. There was a nice plaque that explained the strange ‘platform’ or curb that seemed without purpose. In this area all the lampposts were made to look like gaslights

It was a hot day, hotter than expected. We walked pretty slowly around from the back towards the side of the factory boundary. First we had to go under the railway bridge. It wasn’t very pretty. Underneath, the area was fenced off with signs of construction and new lampposts stacked up ready to be installed. I wondered if there’d be anything else there. Once you got past it and headed up towards the factory site, there were houses that must have been old but I’d never seen them before. They were completely out of old Bow character.

We were on Wrexham Road. The factory was to my right but you couldn’t see anything from this street. We walked up until we got to a low wall. From here I could see one turret from the original building, but also along the wall, some stone plaques. The wall seems to be much newer than the plaques.

I felt pretty excited to see the factory on Fairfield Road, but first we passed Bow Garage. It’s a huge hangar for London transport buses and, since it was daytime, there weren’t too many buses parked in there.

Houses opposite the garage — To understand this, you have to know that I grew up in a slum area in a ‘two up, two down’ (although it was actually more than two) terraced house where the door opened directly to the street. As a child I thought these houses were for rich people…

Finally, after going under the railway arch again, the red brick wall and buildings were in full sight. For more photos, you have to click More. Continue reading “Catching up and matchstick girls – Bryant and May”

26th September 202130th September 2021

Moving – the new Whitechapel station and the Hackney Half marathon

Sunday, 26 September, 2021

Skipping over #blogsihaventgottoyet and onto the enjoyable events of a few days ago.

On Friday, I decided that I was finally going to Whitechapel Station – for some time it’s been under renovation in preparation for Crossrail, the Elizabeth Line. In 2016 they built a temporary entrance that was off the high street and over a narrow pedestrian bridge on Court Street. It made the station less attractive for me since this meant, as an overground rather than underground passenger, I had to walk quite a distance underground to find myself on the street or from the street back to my homeward train. The main entrance was blocked with hoarding and unavailable.

Crossrail construction itself has been going on since 2009. They hope to have the Elizabeth Line operating in the early months of 2022.

I heard only a couple of weeks ago that the station was almost complete and that you could now get in through the original entrance. I made a plan to check it out as soon as I could.

My route is an easy one. A short bus ride (for me as a non-walker, although it’s not very far away) to Dalston Junction overground station, then just four stops to Whitechapel – a journey of perhaps ten minutes. The train wasn’t crowded and I was entertained by a lady and her daughter, the latter who performed a great trick of hanging by her hands from two overhead straps for a while (I didn’t capture that one!). I felt a bit dreamy and at first got off at the wrong stop, confused by it looking familiar and not new at all. Back on the next train and on to Whitechapel.

Everything was shiny and new. It had the familiar overground vibe. Light, spacious, cathedral like but also like the turbine hall at the Tate (don’t know why I think so, but this just means it’s slightly cavernous for its purpose – but not overly so). I liked when I came up the stairs how there was a long semi-elliptical window at the top – on the left were some modern low rise flats and on the right the backs of the sooty old buildings that make up the storefronts of Whitechapel High Street. An interesting contrast, as usual.

There are a lot of entry/exit gates and a spacious ticket hall and then you’re out onto the high street. Happily, the original Victorian façade from 1876 has been cleaned and repaired rather than replaced. And for some reason I didn’t take photo of that entrance so that will come later. I’ve also read that there’s a new exit on Durward Street, another thing to look for.

You exit to the bustling market which was called Whitechapel Waste when I was growing up. Out there, the vendors vended, the shoppers shopped, the walkers walked, as if nothing had changed – and it hasn’t really. For now at least this part of Whitechapel is as it always was, changing only with the change of immigrants dominating the area. They bring in their own shops, clothing, food, and ambience. It’s busy but the Bangladeshi and Bengali people aren’t shouty like their Jewish and cockney predecessors.

Ambala for some samosas and one new sweet to try. I’ve forgotten its name. To Shalamar for three kebabs and one little lamb samosa for my lunch. To the Naanstop, ignoring the useless naan, for a masala chai and a salted caramel cheese in a little glass (expensive but I found that out only as he was ringing in the cost for me. Anyway, done. I walked over to the Royal London Hospital – the new complex of buildings – passing the old, boarded up buildings and the old churches and homes in the shadows of the tall new blocks. In front of one of the ophthalmology building is a statue which has been moved here from the older complex. There’s a seat built into its base on all four sides so I chose the empty one and sat down with my tea and two snacks. It was quiet back there away from the main road. It was also a sunny, pleasant day and I enjoyed the calmness of it all.

Inside Shalamar — Shalamar, where we buy our kebabs is very basic and is a great favourite with the Royal London Hospital workers, and with us – for their kebabs and unfussy service

Continue reading “Moving – the new Whitechapel station and the Hackney Half marathon”

27th August 20219th September 2021

House of Annetta – missed tricks

Friday, 27 August, 2021

A journey to Brick Lane is always welcome. I can find so many things to do there, although these days I avoid the weekend. The Sunday markets were always a lot of fun. all the more so if I were taking someone around. On my best days we’d start in Columbia Road Flower Market then make our way over to Spitalfields Market, walk over to Brick Lane and check out all the market stalls and halls, with some lunch along the way. Then up Brick Lane to see the shops there and home again. There were always crowds.

Columbia Road got increasingly busy as more tourists found it and then one day, when I could barely move through it – shoulder to shoulder and wondering how I’d exit, like on a packed train – I stopped going. Spitalfields Market expanded into a new area where the stalls had more expensive goods, gradually the shops changed to pricier ones, and the food became less casual. Expensive restaurants popped up. The crowds weren’t too bad but worse than before. Eventually the old market where the stalls were the type you’d rummage through and be able to pick up several things without spending very much, began to change too. The eating area was moved and was now a group of tidy counters, the stalls were changed so they were fixed and neat. One area was devoted to other food kiosks with the new market uniform look. The food area began to spread and take over, with all the nicer seating. The people started to change too. No longer rough and ready, noisy and enthusiastic, they were now tidy, quiet or giggly, more money in their pockets. These days I hardly ever go. I can find nothing to buy, the food is overpriced, the atmosphere of the old market is gone. The Brick Lane markets got much busier too. The market stalls spread along the street itself, more and more of them, and mostly food. Now it was all weekend and the crowds grew, they too changing from chaotic and rebellious to more monied and trendy.

I pride myself on being a champion of change. I’ve always loved to see things moving with the times, reinventing, shapeshifting, and becoming something new but interesting. I’m fascinated with innovation and how people find different ways to design and use things. But there’s a curious and frustrating trend to uniformity. While some places stride to be unique, there can be a sameness that leaves me wondering why opportunities and tricks were missed.

Not that Brick Lane ever disappoints. When you come here on a weekday, the crowds are gone, unless you come when the mosque lets out its throngs of people. Then they fill the streets, heading home or back to work. I’m curious about them – why are they all male? what are their lives like? how long were they praying? where are the children? I love the clothing, the general quietness even in a crowd, the way they’ve imparted their calm culture in this area.

But Brick Lane is changing too. The pandemic has brought the tables out onto the pavement and some shops are closed, shuttered, or keeping shorter hours. One by one newer places have opened among the old Bangladeshi shops, more and more not Bangladeshi or Bengali. They’re more likely to be vintage clothing, small artisanal designers, cafes that sell matcha not chai, vegan brownies not samosas, burritos not tikka masala rolls.

The pub has existed since at least the middle of the 19th century, if not always under that name. It’s associated with one of the Ripper suspects, and is one of the rare old sights left. Heneage Street

Continue reading “House of Annetta – missed tricks”

8th August 202111th August 2021

Whitechapel and Stepney walk

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 a ‘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 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.

Impressive building on Commercial Road — We saw this impressive building along Commercial Road. So close to the end of our journey (or so I thought) I couldn’t face going to explore but I’d love to know its history

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.

Salvation Army Plaque — 23 New Road. The inscription reads: The first indoor meeting of the mission which became The Salvation Army was held here on 3rd September 1865

Face above door, New Road — See the face above the door at 33 New Road? I don’t know who it is but the houses date from the 1780s along here

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.

Sylhet Nights — ꕷ𐒋ℓȟēԵ ÑÌဌȟԵʂ ‘𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥’ 💚❤💚 Authentic Bengal Dishes! (I stole this from Instagram, irresistible)

A mysterious black facaded building on our walk. I can’t find it on the map, but I’m still looking for the story

On Cavell Street, it’s a typical East End day

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. His father Avroam Kohen, was a tailor and immigrant Russian Jew. Avroam made uniforms during WWI 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 to 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.
Continue reading “Whitechapel and Stepney walk”

13th September 202013th September 2020

Hackney Road and Columbia Road – incredible histories

Thursday, 8 September, 2020

Every now and again I take a walk down Hackney Road. It was on my list of places to revisit and Krish suggested adding in Columbia Road on a non-market day. Add to that my increasing ‘need’ for Vietnamese food and we had a deal.

Home at the top and the areas I visited at the bottom of the map

My route along Hackney Road and Columbia Road. It was slightly twistier than this but it’s close enough. It felt like a long way

The days are shorter and the temperature is staying in the 17 to 20C range. It suits me well. Any warmer than 23 and I’m not so happy being out for long walking. There’s an added layer to being out these days. The kids have gone back to school. In the mornings and around 3:30, the buses and roads get much busier. I’ve read that they are suggesting as many students as possible ride bikes or walk to school and stay off public transport. While this must be happening, it’s also true that car traffic has increased. There must be a lot of parents driving students to school and, at peak times, there’s a lot of stop and go traffic outside the window.

At any rate, added to the ‘Covid caveats’ of avoid the post office on a Friday and Monday, stay away from the supermarket on the weekend, don’t walk on the Narrow Way unless you have no choice, I’m adding don’t travel on the buses till after 10am or between 3:15 to 4pm.

Look how many buses on Dalston Lane by The Pembury! This is almost as bad as it usually gets on Oxford Street. They increased the number of buses for the returning students

We missed most of the buses but then one showed up and we got in as far as Cambridge Heath Station. That’s where Hackney Road begins. Hackney Road is thought to follow a prehistoric route and into the 1700s was farmland with very few homes. During the 19th century this changed dramatically, as commercialisation became more the norm, and it took on a very urban look.

Before we set out we explored Clare Street, which runs along the Cambridge Heath railway arches. We had a little chat with some guys in the motorcycle shop. They reported business was quiet.

Motorcycle shop under the arches at Clare Street

There's always a lot of art on Clare Street

We took a little walk back towards Hackney Road again passing new and old buildings and some which seemed a mix.

This building looked like they’d built modern stories on top of the original house

The old-new building turned out to be the ex Duke of Cambridge. Krish pointed out that was at Cambridge Heath and that was how it was named

The last time we went down Hackney Road, we hadn’t enjoyed it as much as usual so this time we wandered slightly off the road and looked at what was around the corners. There were some cool discoveries along the way.

This has been a hotel for a while and now it’s a Mama Shelter. This chain calls itself an urban refuge – lively, unique and quirky There are hotels in 12 cities and 7 countries

Colourful houses on Pritchard's Road — Colourful houses on Pritchard’s Road, and the east end hold-out, Billy’s Cafe

Old council flats on Coate Street. The balconies seemed random

Lovely old Charrington's Pub on Coate Street — Lovely old Charrington’s Pub on Coate Street. Around here there would have been pubs on almost every corner

We also came across two very interesting buildings as we turned back to Hackney Road. On the corner with Garnet Street is the former Adelphi Chapel School date “1853, enlarged 1868”. This was a missionary school with 30 pupils built as a day and Sunday school, but also used as a chapel. And then we saw a baby blue building and couldn’t decide if it was cool or just ugly. It turned out to be a significant building. Built for £300,000 in 2002, FAT’s Blue House is a live-work house with an over-emphasised street-facing façade. The practice considers it to be one of the most important houses of the 21st century, or so the FAT website says.

Adelphi Chapel School building

The plan to divert occasionally was working out really well, but we were back on the main road and headed towards Columbia Road. At Goldsmith’s Row, there are two more treasures. First the old Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital. Also known as the North-Eastern Hospital for Sick Children, it was founded in 1867 and admitted 10,000 patients each year. For years we would walk past this then-derelict building. It was large and sombre. Then one day we noticed it was going to be developed into new flats. I seem to remember feeling a bit crestfallen that the blackened historical building would be gone. It’s not so bad, though.

It’s called Mettle & Poise, and was a sell-out success, with every new home sold off plan two years before the completion of the redevelopment in 2017.

On the other side from the old hospital (now M&P) is the lovely wooded Hackney City Farm. It was established in 1984 as a community and educational resource and to give borough residents, particularly young people, experience of animals. There’s a farmyard, area for grazing, garden and a tree nursery with butterfly house. The farm is home to a range of animals, including poultry, sheep, rabbits, bees, pigs and a donkey. Hackney City Farm also runs workshops and sells honey and free range eggs, among other things. A city oasis.

As you can probably tell, this is another area of Hackney (bordering on Tower Hamlets) that was overwhelming to read about. I’ve done my best!

There was one more stop for us before we found Columbia Road – the Phlegm mural on the Portuguese Love Affair cafe.

The Phlegm wall art in Ion Square on the Portuguese Love Affair Cafe building

Continue reading “Hackney Road and Columbia Road – incredible histories”