Histories of Whitechapel
Welcome to the Survey of London’s Whitechapel project, where you can share and explore the many histories of Whitechapel’s buildings and places.
On our map you’ll find information about every building in Whitechapel in 2016, including photographs, stories and research, film clips and audio recordings added by historians, local people and others with an interest in the area. It will grow in content gradually until the end of 2018, a collaborative work in progress made up of the Survey’s own research alongside material that you and everyone else contributes.
This is an experiment in the making of the history of a place. Sharing our knowledge and experiences will help us to understand the histories of buildings, streets and neighbourhoods, and through them the lives of the people of Whitechapel. To start exploring, go to the map and click on a building to see content about that site, or you can explore buildings related to a particular historical period or theme.
If you have any information, research, images, or memories of Whitechapel, you can sign up and start contributing them here.
Stories Wanted
There are many buildings in Whitechapel about which we would welcome more information. If you know something, you can make an account or use the form below to tell us.
Latest Submissions
The draw of English Martyrs
Roman Catholic Church of the English Martyrs | interviewer2 | July 3, 2018
Interview with a parishioner, 'V', on 29th June 2018 Parishioner V: I have lived in this parish and attended English Martyrs Church for nearly forty years. However, my family's connection goes much further back - to the late 19th Century, and the years when Tower Hill was developing as a parish. My maternal grandparents lived here: my grandfather was a ...
The man who held out!
Premier Inn, 66 Alie Street | danny | June 18, 2018
Here is a composite image showing the SE junction of Alie Street and Leman Street before the current new Goodman ...
Leman Street gentrification NatWest commerce Alie Street
Leman Street looking south, 1980
Aldgate Tower | danny | June 18, 2018
This is a view looking south from just north of the recently demolished (2018) Beagle House, whose steps can be ...
Co-operative Wholesale Society Leman Street CWS Braham StreetBrowsing the Map
If you're not sure about how to get started, we've made a short video to give you a quick overview.
Explore Whitechapel
Not sure where to begin? Click on a theme to start uncovering Whitechapel's past. Sites are being tagged if they connect with certain overlapping aspects of Whitechapel's history, according to the thematic categories identified here.
