| Stepney | |
Winterton House, a typical Stepney tower block |
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Stepney
Stepney shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | TQ355814 |
|---|---|
| - Charing Cross | 3.6 mi (5.8 km) WSW |
| London borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E1 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Bethnal Green and Bow |
| London Assembly | City and East |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road. The area built up rapidly in the 19th century, mainly to accommodate immigrant workers and displaced London poor, and developed a reputation for poverty, overcrowding, violence and political dissent.[1] It was severely damaged during the Blitz, with over a third of housing totally destroyed; and then, in the 1960s, slum clearance and development replaced most residential streets with tower blocks and modern housing estates. Some Georgian architecture and Victorian era terraced housing survive in patches: for example Arbour Square, the eastern side of Stepney Green, and the streets around Matlock Street.[1][2]
The Siege of Sidney Street took place in Stepney in 1911.
The area has not yet experienced the levels of gentrification seen in nearby Bow, Wapping and Limehouse but some redevelopment has taken place. The former Arbour Square Police Station and the East End Mission building are also being redeveloped.
Stepney is roughly bounded by Commercial Road, part of the A13, in the south, Mile End Road, part of the A11, in the north and the Regent's Canal in the east. The Western Boundary with Whitechapel is rather ambiguous. It is administered by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
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As with most of the East End of London, Stepney was sparsely populated marshland until the 19th century, when the development of London's docks and railways, combined with slum clearance, pushed the displaced poor and various immigrants looking for work into cheap housing being built in the area.
The first community developed around the church of St Dunstan's, which was founded in 923. By the time of the Domesday Book survey of 1085 the land was held by the Bishop of London and was 32 hides large, mainly giving over to ploughing, meadows, woodland for 500 pigs, and 4 mills. There were over 100 serfs, split between villeins who ploughed the land, and cottars who assisted the villeins in return for a hut or cottage.
Bishop William held this land in demesne, in the manor of Stepney, on the day on which King Edward was alive and dead. In the same vill Ranulph Flambard holds 3½ hides of the bishop.[3]
The Manor of Stepney was held by the Bishop of London in compensation for his duties in maintaining and garrisoning the Tower of London. Further ecclesiastic holdings came about from the need to enclose the marshes and create flood defences along the Thames. Edward VI passed the land to the Wentworth family, and thence to their descendants, the Earls of Cleveland. The ecclesiastic system of copyhold, whereby land was leased to tenants for terms as short as seven years, prevailed throughout the manor. This severely limited scope for improvement of the land and new building until the estate was broken up in the 19th century.[4]
In the early 20th century, Stepney was one of the most Jewish neighbourhoods in England;[5] it was eventually replaced by Stamford Hill.[6]
The Siege of Sidney Street took place in Stepney in 1911.
Stepney formed a large ancient parish in the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex; bounded by Bromley and West Ham to the east, the River Thames to the south, Shoreditch and Hackney to the north and the City of London and the Liberties of the Tower of London to the west.[7] The parish included the hamlets of Mile End Old Town, Mile End New Town, and Ratcliff. At its early extent it additionally included Whitechapel, Wapping, Stratford Bow, Shadwell, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Limehouse and Poplar. Over time the parish was broken up with these settlements forming new independent parishes, leaving a residual parish of 830 acres (340 ha) comprising Mile End Old Town, Mile End New Town and Ratcliff.[7]
Stepney is an episcopal area in the Anglican Diocese of London, which covers the London boroughs of Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets, and has its own suffragan bishop.[8]
The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was formed in 1900, then dissolved in 1965 when it was absorbed into the newly created London Borough of Tower Hamlets which currently administers the area.[1]
Stepney is located 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east north-east of Charing Cross. It is roughly bounded by Commercial Road, part of the A13, in the south, Mile End Road, part of the A11, in the north and the Regent's Canal in the east. The Western Boundary with Whitechapel is rather ambiguous.
Due to cheap housing the East End of London and Stepney has been home to various immigrants who contributed to the culture and history of the area, such as the Huguenots in the 17th century,[9] the Irish in the 18th century,[10] Ashkenazi Jews fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe towards the end of the 19th century,[11] and the Bangladeshi community settling in the East End from the 1960s.[12] The area still contains a range of immigrants, particularly young Asian families, as well as elderly East Enders, some students, and the beginnings of a young middle class.[2] Based on 2001 census, Bangladeshis were the largest ethnic group (43%), then the White British (39%).
Stepney Green developed as a street of residential housing off the Mile End Road in the 15th century, and is now a conservation area.[13][14] A brewery was founded in 1738 that developed into Charrington and Co. in 1897. The brewery building, the Anchor Brewery, was on the north side of Mile End Road, opposite Stepney Green; and is now the site of the Anchor Retail Unit, owned by Henderson Global Investors,[15] though the Brewery Offices still remain on the corner of Mile End Road and Cephas Avenue.[14]
St Dunstan's, founded in 923, is Stepney's oldest church. The present building dates principally from the 15th century. St Dunstan's has a long association with the sea, being responsible for registration of British maritime births, marriages and deaths until the 19th century.
In the northern part of the district, the nearest London Underground stations are Mile End, Stepney Green and Whitechapel. All are on the Hammersmith & City and District Lines; Mile End is an interchange with the Central Line.
In the southern part of the district, the nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Limehouse. The station is also served by c2c, from Fenchurch Street station. It was formerly known as Stepney East.
The entertainer Des O'Connor was born in Stepney,[16] as were actors Steven Berkoff,[17] Terence Stamp and Craig Fairbrass, playwright Arnold Wesker, artist Frank Paton, drummer Kenney Jones, musician and writer Jah Wobble,[18] and singer Charles Coborn. In sport, Stepney lays claim to footballers Ledley King, Ashley Cole and Darren Purse, and heavyweight boxer "Bombardier" Billy Wells. Former armed robber, bare-knuckle boxer and businessman Roy Shaw was born in Stepney, whilst clergymen John Sentamu, formerly Bishop of Stepney, and Father Richard Wilson, founder of the Hoppers' Hospitals at Five Oak Green, Kent, lived in the borough at one time.[19] Actor Roy Marsden was born in Stepney, as was Eastenders actress Anita Dobson.
The Stepney Historical Trust was set up in 1989 in order to advance the public's education in the history of Stepney and the surrounding areas. It is based in the London Dockers Athletic and Social Club. It has put up a series of plaques on sites of historic interest.
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