Spitalfields

Spitalfields does not sound an attractive place, but the area East of the City takes its name from, a priory hospital known as St Mary's Spital founded in the late 12 th Century. Most of the area was built after the great fire of London in 1666 after the plague the previous year caused such devastation to the local population who were traders and market stall holders.

 

Nowadays Brick Lane is a centre of Bangladeshi culture beloved of Londoners for the hundreds of restaurants that line the street on both sides. Banglatown is the most recent incarnation of a neighbourhood that welcomed successive waves of immigrants. First it was the Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in continental Europe. They brought with them sklills in weaving, especially silk yarns. Their beautiful houses adorn Fournier St, Princelet St and Wilkes St. Our walk passes along all three of these lovely roads.

After the Huguenots came Irish weavers and Askenazy Jews. The Mosque in Brick Lane was originally a Huguenot chapel, but saw use for the Methodists, as an outreach to the Jews, and then a Synagogue.

Other sights along the walk are the churches of St Botolph - two of them dedicated to the same saint - and the famous Christ Church Spitalfields. Petticoat Lane Market occupies the streets around Wentworth St and Petticoat Lane itself (best visited during the week or on Sundays) and Old Spitalfields Market - now a trendy retail and catering venue off Bishopsgate.

The walk ends at Liverpool St Underground, after passing through Exchange Square and looking down over the mainline railway station below.

Paths for Google Earth:
GPX file
KMZ file