But there is some nasty anti-Semitism. A new year’s walk around Bow and Stepney, omitting Whitechapel and focussed on the Bow Road. I made the mistake of leaving the DLR – London Underground up the swannee again – at Bow Church, Walking to Bow Road and travelling to Bromley By Bow which is almost going in a full circle.
First stop St Mary’s Church in Bow opposite a pub that has become a mosque. The church is almost 700 years old, and the sepcentenery just misses the big sporting event that will marr HM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The church has always been in the middle of the road in what is now a coffin shaped churchyard. Outside the churchyard a statue of William Ewart Gladstone with red paint on his hands presides over a (closed) public lavatory. The red paint symbolises that the matchgirls in the Bryant and May factory paid for the statue in blood
After that it was down the road to Poplar’s former Town Hall. Poplar was where the councillors, including Angela Lansbury’s grandfather George, were imprisoned for withholding the county rate from the LCC. Council meetings had to be held in Brixton prison. The town hall was opened in 1938 and has art works by David Evans including the two pictured here. These include sculptures of the builders trade and a mosaic representation of the work of the borough. Even though the mosaics are sadly neglected they appear to have stood the test of time.
Next up, a park on a bridge crossing the busy Bow Road. This is a fairly recent project that gives a wave of green all up through the East End of London and links Victoria park with other open green spaces.
Just beyond the park is the people’s palace, for the education and delight of east end residents. I very much doubt that any of them, including the inhabitants of these flats opposite see inside the place now it has become part of Queen Mary College of London University. The middle classes appropriating the people’s charities for themselves. The Chapel of Queen Mary College is quite pleasant though – it is in the round.
The area near Stepney Green has the old trinity almshouses founded in the 17th century by Trinity House. Again these are rightly private but an oasis of calm dignity on the Mile End Road. General Booth of the Salvation Army began his work with London’s poor here and there are two statues to him – one a rather undignified one of him preaching and the other a dignified bust.
Stepney was once home to a strong community of Jews and their monuments are around. However the current inhabitants (gentiles all) were giving me filthy looks as I took pictures of that aspect of east end heritage, and one fountain commemorating someone called Montifiore, who had done work to benefit the community had been nastily defaced – and nobody had cleaned it off. Anti-semitism is alive and well - particularly among certain religious groups from the Indian sub continent.
A clock also commemorates a former mayor of Poplar and flowers were blooming here!
Stepney church of St Dunstan was locked when I called but is an oranges and lemons church where I have rung the bells.
Walking down to Limehouse I passed the old public hall with a very exuberant door, and finished at the gate to Limehouse Church of St Anne, which prevented access to the churchyard.
Cold but bright.
