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The Hackney Yearbook
Behold the wonders of commerce and retail over a century ago, courtesy of the Hackney Year Book 1906 from the archive at the Bishopsgate Institute! Images courtesy Bishopsgate Institute You may also...
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The Secretary Of State Steps In
. Thanks to all the letters written by you – the readers of Spitalfields Life – Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State, has stepped in and issued a Holding Direction to Tower Hamlet Council which...
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On The Eve Of The Bloomsbury Jamboree
The King of the Bottletops has been making festive crowns (Photo by Sarah Ainslie) Louise Lateur at E5 Bakehouse has been baking gingerbread figures (Photo by Patricia Niven) . Tim Mainstone of...
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Nicholas Borden’s Latest Paintings
Ever since I met Nicholas Borden painting at his easel in the midst of a blizzard in Bethnal Green in 2013, it has been my delight to follow his work and publish his new pictures here in the pages of...
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Join The Bottletop Royalty
Robson Cezar, the King of the Bottletops has been making these ingenious bottletop crowns for the forthcoming festive season. Ideal for all celebrations, especially parties, dinners and carol singing....
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Casting A Bell At Here East
. This week, some of us who have been campaigning for the past three years to Save the Whitechapel Bell Foundry met together to cast a bell as a symbol of our collective belief that the foundry has a...
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Some Old London Trade Cards
I discovered this selection of old London trade cards by rummaging down the back of a hypothetical sofa and searching under a hypothetical bed. Especially noteworthy are the cards for Lacroix’s and...
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Julie Price’s Christmas Cards
Julie Price is in thrall to the romance of old Spitalfields at Christmas and has painted a series of greetings cards on this theme Dennis Severs House, Folgate St A Gold, Brushfield St Leadenhall...
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Remembering Scars Of War
Last week, Tower Hamlets Council gave permission for the demolition of part of the Chamber St railway arches for a hotel extension, ignoring the fact that the best preserved wall of World War II...
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Rory Stewart Declares His Support To Save The Whitechapel Bell Foundry
. ‘An imaginative planner, in fact anyone with any imagination seeing the possibilities here, could not possibly turn this down’ says Rory Stewart . Independent Mayorial Candidate for London, Rory...
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At Whitechapel Mission On Christmas Eve
Today I recall a visit to the Whitechapel Mission with my friend the late photographer Colin O’Brien Before dawn one Christmas Eve, Photographer Colin O’Brien & I ventured out in a rainstorm to...
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My Panto Years
Traditionally, Boxing Day is the occasion for a visit to the pantomime and so I choose this day to publish my theatrical memoir . Longer ago than I care to admit, fortune led me to an old theatre in...
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Christmas At Dennis Severs’ House
I often wonder if those who visit the Christmas installation at Dennis Severs’ House in Folgate St in spellbound silence today have any idea of what it was like when the creator of this time capsule...
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Adam Dant’s Perpetual Drinking Calendar
At this vertiginous moment of beginning the new year and new decade, I have no doubt that many readers will share my need for a dose of something strong in order to summon sufficient courage to face...
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Toy Theatres In Old St
William Webb, 49 Old St, 1857 These days, Old St is renowned for its digital industries but – for over a hundred years – this area was celebrated as the centre of toy theatre manufacture in London....
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Packing Up Gardners Market Sundriesmen
All are welcome at a party to celebrate Paul Gardner and one hundred and fifty years of Gardners Market Sundriesmen – his family business through four generations – at his old shop at 149 Commercial St...
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The CR Ashbee Lecture 2020
For the East End Preservation Society’s CR Ashbee Lecture 2020, Oliver Wainwright, Architecture Critic of The Guardian, introduces Architect Peter Barber. The lecture is at 7pm on Thursday 23rd...
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The Dioramas Of Petticoat Lane
As soon as the landlord of The Bell in Petticoat Lane wrote to say he had discovered some neglected old models of Spitalfields in the cellar, I hurried over to take a look. Once upon a time, these...
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At Paul Gardner’s Party
Gardners Market Sundriesmen is moving to 78 Ruckholt Rd, Leyton, E10 5NP. Phone 0208 558 1289 “I am sure everyone here tonight will remember this little shop for years to come” Twelfth Night is a...
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Peter Barber In The East End
Taking advantage of the fleeting sunlight on Sunday morning, I set out to visit some of the exemplary examples of social housing designed by architect Peter Barber in the East End. Peter is giving this...
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