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Immigration to Spitalfields

Spitalfields has experienced a number of waves of immigration from other countries, often driven from home due to difficult or dangerous conditions. The French Huguenots escaping religious persecution brought their silk weaving skills. Irish weavers arrived following the decline in the Irish linen industry. At the end of the 19th century Polish and Russian Jews came here fleeing pogroms. For almost 100 years Spitalfields was a predominantly Jewish area. Then in the 1970s the Bangladeshis arrived.

This is too big a topic for us to do it justice and we were surprised to find no appropriate website to which we could direct you. Wikipedia's East End of London is, for the time being, the best we could find.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Immigration to Spitalfields

Commemorated ati

Bowler plaque - World Map

We're read that this plaque, showing a map of the world, is intended to honou...

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Other Subjects

Globe Town

Globe Town

Area of London, approximately within Bethnal Green, Bow and Stepney Green. It was established to provide for the expanding population of Huguenot and Irish silk weavers. A track running north from ...

Place, Community / Clubs

1 memorial
Brixton Bomb Victims Appeal Committee

Brixton Bomb Victims Appeal Committee

Formed to assist victims of the Brixton nail bomb.

Group, Benefactor, Community / Clubs

1 memorial
Maureen Davies and the wild women of Wapping

Maureen Davies and the wild women of Wapping

Ran a vigorous campaign in the 1980s.  Set up the Turk's Head Company, a charity to improve local life, bought the derelict building from the Council and restored it. From the picture source: " It...

Group, Community / Clubs

1 memorial
Beaumont's Philosophical Institution

Beaumont's Philosophical Institution

Founded in Beaumont Square, Mile End, by Barber Beaumont. Initially called the Eastern Athenaeum, this was created for 'the mental and moral improvement' and benefit of local people. It included a ...

Place, Community / Clubs

2 memorials
Dave Squires

Dave Squires

Much-loved street sweeper in the area around Waterloo Station.  Employed by Veolia who were contracted by Lambeth Council.   Died after a long illness.  His coffin was driven through the Lower Mars...

Person, Community / Clubs

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Lady Mount-Temple

Lady Mount-Temple

Wife of Lord Mount-Temple.

Person, Benefactor

1 memorial
Keith Bowler

Keith Bowler

We cannot find any information about Bowler himself, only that in c.1990-2010, at least, he lived in Wilkes Street Spitalfields and created these unusual pavement plaques. We understand they were c...

Person, Sculpture

22 memorials
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Poet. Born at Field Place, near Horsham in Sussex. Had a habit of eloping with and then marrying 16 or 17 year olds: first Harriet Westbrook. When she, pregnant, drowned herself in the Serpentine P...

Person, Poetry, Seriously Famous, Italy

6 memorials
Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Bengali poet and philosopher. First non-European Nobel Laureate. Born into a large, rich, assimilated family which had made its fortune from the East India Company.  He read law at University Colle...

Person, Poetry, Bengal, India

3 memorials
H. Wells
War dead, WW1
1 memorial