One of the quirks of copyright is that even if an old map is well out of its copyright term, reproductions of that map automatically become the copyright of whoever made the copy. So that whilst it’s possible for academics to download and view old maps from the University of Edinburgh’s Digimap collections (https://digimap.edina.ac.uk/) for research purposes, it’s not possible to put them online for others to view. We have two historic map layers available on Histories of Whitechapel: the Rocque map of 1746 and the 1873 Ordnance Survey, donated by the Institute of Historical Research (http://www.history.ac.uk/) and Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives (https://www.ideastore.co.uk/local-history) respectively.
The Rocque Map scan was produced for the Locating London’s Past project (https://www.locatinglondon.org/), and the process by which it was created was quite involved due to the age of the map sheets and the way they were made. You can read about the process on their blog https://locatinglondonspast.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/recreating-rocque-london-1746/. We’ve published just a small excerpt on the Histories of Whitechapel map. There are some lovely details: taking a look at the area around East London Mosque, it seems quite likely that Fieldgate Street is so called because it was the street that led to the fields:
14 Whitechapel Road, Currently Haji Nanna Biryani, which the Survey have identified as formerly being the George public house, constructed c.1881, is on the site of an even older building, the George Inn. This suggests that food and drink have been served on this site for at least 270 years:
The 1873 Ordnance Survey map was provided by Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives, who are in possession of a complete set of this edition for the borough. Unlike the Rocque, we had to scan and georeference this ourselves. The map sheets (each around 1000x800mm) were scanned using a sheet-feed map scanner by Nick Mann at UCL, and then retouched in Photoshop. From here they were imported into QGIS (http://www.qgis.org/en/site/) and georeferenced, which involves matching up points on the scan with the contemporary street network. We used our building footprints (see https://surveyoflondon.org/blog/2016/how-we-made-map/) as our reference.
For some areas this was easier than in others: along Whitechapel Road, many of the original shop frontages are still in place, and pubs (easily identified by the 'P.H.' on the OS map), even if no longer being used for their original purpose, are in many cases still there. However, other areas (for example around Aldgate), have seen huge changes since the 1880s, and it’s trickier to align the old map with the new.
One of the nicest things about our 1873 OS layer is that the particular copies Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives lent us have obviously been heavily used. Some of the sheets are in quite poor condition: the south-western area of the study area (around the Royal Mint Estate, towards the Tower of London) in particular is quite tatty, and in places you can see where it’s been torn and taped to hold it together:
In other places it’s been annotated, for example on this area by Wellclose Square:
The buildings these marks refer to are gone, and we don’t know what the annotations mean, but it’s a nice illustration of the way that the historic maps aren’t just useful in that we can use them to see what’s changed between then and now, but are tangible documents whose condition testifies to their history of ownership and use.
It’s an exciting day for us at the Survey of London and CASA, as we’re proud to have officially launched the Histories of Whitechapel website. As well as providing a new interactive map for exploring the Survey’s ongoing research into Whitechapel, we’re inviting people to submit their own memories, research, photographs, and videos of the area to help us uncover Whitechapel’s long and rich history.
The site has been developed at The Bartlett between the Survey of London and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, with support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). You can download the full press release here.
This is a new venture for the Survey of London and CASA, and we’re looking forward to watching the site grow with contributions from the public. To start exploring Whitechapel’s history or to contribute your own knowledge of the area, visit the map at https://surveyoflondon.org/map/.
We have commissioned local photographer Rehan Jamil to make a series of photographs of people in their homes in Whitechapel. Some of the work he has produced is here, with more to follow.
Artist Judit Ferencz has been commissioned to produce a series of drawings around Whitechapel. In her charismatic style, she has evoked place and inhabitation, visually exploring aspects of Whitechapel in a new way. We'll post some of the drawings here very soon
We are keen to collect and share all kinds of research about Whitechapel, and on November 5th we are bringing together people working on their own research projects about the area for an informal, work in progress, research seminar.
If you are researching any aspect of Whitechapel, in whatever media, please get in touch and tell us about it shahed.saleem@ucl.ac.uk
You can meet us and try out the website at the Write Idea Festival, which is taking place at the Idea Store on the 12-13th November, and where we will have a stall. Come along and tell us about your stories, research and experiences of Whitechapel.
More information and a programme of events at http://writeideafestival.org
The currently vacant Royal London Hospital on Whitechapel Road has a rich history, and a bright future as the Borough's new Civic Hub. We are working with the Tower Hamlets Archives and the Royal London Hospital Archives to create a display along the 200m of blue hoardings along Whitechapel Road. The display will show archival material and tell stories of different aspects of the hospital's history.
Designs are currently being finalised, and we hope to have the panels in place before Christmas. Watch this space, and that space.
We are working alongside the East London Mosque Archives to produce a digital display about the history of the mosque. Material for the display will be taken from the newly catalogued archives of the mosque, and will tell stories of important characters in the history of the institution, as well as its architectural history.
The display will be installed in the foyer of the London Muslim Centre / East London Mosque in the Autumn, and we'll keep you updated on progress.
As part of the Being Human Festival 2016, and in collaboration with Spark London, we are holding a storytelling evening on the 25th November. Ten local people of Whitechapel will participate in a workshop with Spark London, then perform their true stories on the theme of Hope and Fear.
If you have a true story to tell of your life in Whitechapel, please let me know shahed.saleem@ucl.ac.uk
Keep watching this space for details of the location
For more about the festival http://beinghumanfestival.org
Focusing on architectural and social histories, this tour will highlight Whitechapel's rich stories of immigration, religion, industry, medical care, solidarity and entertainment.
