27A Commercial Road

1876-8, factory, rebuilt behind facade in 1936-7, demolished 2016

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Survey of London on June 20, 2016

27a Commercial Road was built in 1876–8 by A. P. Wootton as a speculation. The commercial premises first housed Hyam Goldstein’s cap factory, then Aaram Bagel's boot factory, Burstein Isaacs & Co.'s cigarette factory and then tea packing.1

The premises were redeveloped in  1936–7 with Nos 29–33 Church Lane, with George Coles as architect and Hudson Brothers as builders for M. Freedman, a gown manufacturer. Surprisingly, the façade of the 1870s was retained.

A scheme for redevelopment of Nos 29–37 and 27–27a Commercial Road was prepared in 2012, approved in 2014 and refined in 2016. Initiated by Reef Estates Aldgate Ltd, it proposes a 270-bedroom hotel in a 21-storey tower to be operated by Motel One, a German firm. The architects are Stock Woolstencroft.2


  1. Metropolitan Board of Works Minutes, 4 Jan. 1878, p.6: District Surveyors Returns: Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives, Building Control file 40299: Post Office Directories: The National Archives, IR58/84809/2656 

  2. Tower Hamlets Planning 

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Derek Kendall

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Derek Kendall

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Derek Kendall

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Derek Kendall

27A Commercial Road
Contributed by Derek Kendall