'Bow' is an area of
East London, England, in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) east of
Charing Cross, and is a part of the
East End.
Geography and administration
Geography
Bow is part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. The centre of Bow remains the church of St Mary, and the bridge across the River Lee. Today, the bridge is a four lane flyover, with both the Lee and
Blackwall Tunnel approach passing beneath. The High Street has few active shops, with large scale post-war housing located to the south. The island church, remains as a useful turning point for buses. The Blackwall Tunnel approach road's expansion from the two lane road existing at the beginning of the 20th century, to a six lane urban motorway has occupied land, at the expense of industry. What remains on the eastern side of the road, is a canal side enclave of small businesses and warehouses, with a large supermarket located at the canal bridge to
Three Mills.
Bow has become associated with the
E3 postcode district, which includes the surrounding districts of
Bromley-by-Bow,
Old Ford,
Mile End and the transpontine
Three Mills in
Newham. The modern Tower Hamlets wards of west and east Bow are associated more with the postcode, than the settlement, and bounded by the Mile End Road, in the south; the
River Lee, to the east;
Victoria Park to the north; and Grove Road, in the west.
The
Hertford Union Canal links the River Lee (Navigation) and the
Regent's Canal, running west from Old Ford Lock, along the southside of Victoria Park and linking at a basin, just to the west of Grove Road and the park, in the north of Mile End.
Administration
Bow formed a part of the medieval parish of
Stepney until becoming an independent parish in 1719. The parish vestry then undertook this responsibility, until a rising population created the need for the Poplar Board of Works, in 1855. This was superseded by the
Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in 1900 until it, in turn, was absorbed into the modern
London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 1965.
Between 1986 and 1992, the name ''Bow'' was applied to one of seven neighbourhoods, to whom power was devolved from the council. This resulted in replacement of much of the street signage in the area, that remains in place.
Bow West and Bow East are two wards formed in 2002 that incorporate
Old Ford and the eastern end of
Bethnal Green (to Grove Road, parts of which used to comprise Mile End New Town, north of the Mile End Road). Bow, in turn lost its territory, south of the Mile End Road, to neighbouring
Bromley-by-Bow.
[Tower Hamlets Borough Council Election Maps 1964-2002 accessed 14 April 2007] These boundary changes are driven by the need to ensure a comparable number of electors for each ward within the modern borough.
The councillors for
Bow West are:
★ Councillor Anwara Ali (Labour)
★ Councillor Ann Jackson (Labour)
★ Councillor Joshua Peck (Labour)
The councillors for
Bow East are:
★ Councillor Marc Francis (Labour)
★ Councillor Alex Heslop (Labour)
★ Councillor Ahmed Omer (Labour)
History
Bridges at Bowe
Stratforde was first recorded as a settlement in 1177, the name is derived from its
Old English meaning of ''paved way to a ford''.
[1] The ford originally lay on the route of a pre-
Roman trackway at
Old Ford about 600 metres to the north, but when the
Romans decided on
Colchester as their initial capital for their occupation, the road was upgraded to run from the area of
London Bridge, as one of the first paved Roman roads in
Britain.
[2] The 'paved way' is likely to refer to the presence of a stone causeway across the marshes, which formed a part of the crossing.
In 1110
Matilda, wife of
Henry I, reputedly took a tumble at the ford, on her way to
Barking Abbey and ordered a distinctively bow-shaped, three-arched, bridge to be built over the
River Lee, ''The like of which had not been seen before''; and the area became known variously as ''Stradford of the Bow'', ''Stratford of the Bow'', ''Stratford the Bow'', ''Stratforde the Bowe'', and ''Stratford-atte-Bow' (at the Bow)
[3] which over time has been shortened to Bow to distinguish it from
Stratford Langthorne on the
Essex bank of the Lee.
[4] Land and Abbey Mill were given to
Barking Abbey for the continued maintenance of the bridge. This endowment was later administered by
Stratford Abbey.
[5] By 1549, this route had become known as ''The Kings Way''.
Responsibility for maintenance of the bridge was always in dispute, no more so than with the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, when local landowners who had taken over the Abbey lands were found responsible. Tolls were levied to defray the cost, but the litigation lasted until 1834, when the bridge needed to be rebuilt and landowners agreed to pay half of the cost, with Essex and Middlesex sharing the other. The bridge was replaced in 1834, by the ''Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust'', and in 1866
West Ham took responsibility for its upkeep and that of the causeway and smaller bridges that continued the route across the Lee. In 1967 this bridge was in turn replaced by the
Greater London Council with a two-lane flyover spanning the
Blackwall Tunnel approach road, the traffic interchange, the
River Lee and some of the
Bow Back Rivers. This has since been expanded to a four-lane road.
Religious life
In 1311 Bow remained an isolated village, often cut off from
Stepney church by flood. Permission was given to build a
chapel of ease to allow the residents a local place to worship. The land was granted by
Edward III, on the King's highway, thus beginning a tradition of ''island'' church building.
In 1556 at Bow, during the reign of
Mary I of England, and under the authority of
Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London, many people, were brought by cart, from
Newgate, and burned at the stake, in front of Bow Church, in one of the many swings of the
English Reformation.
[6]
In 1719, the parish became independent and St Mary Stratford Bow consecrated. The parish also included the
Old Ford area which has also been known as North Bow.
Chaucer and Stratford-atte-Bowe
A convent of Benedictine nuns was established at the nearby Priory of St Leonards, in modern
Bromley-by-Bow. Geoffrey
Chaucer immortalised this Priory in his
Canterbury Tales:
: ''Ther was also a nonne, a prioresse,''
: ''That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy;''
: ''Hire gretteste ooth was but by seinte loy;''
: ''And she was cleped madame eglentyne.''
: ''Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne,''
: ''Entuned in hir nose ful semely,''
: ''And frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,''
: ''After the scole of stratford atte bowe,''
: ''For frenssh of parys was to hire unknowe''.[7]
This was a barbed reference, as it implied the Prioress had learned
French, from the
Benedictine nuns, in a distinct
Anglo-Norman dialect,
[8] that by this time had lost prestige, and was being ridiculed as sub-standard French. (''see
Bromley-by-Bow'').
Goose Fair
Fairfield Road commemorates the Green Goose fair, held there, on the Thursday after
Pentecost. Bow Fair attained a rowdy reputation, and by the mid-1800s, it had been suppressed by the authorities.
[9]
Bow porcelain
During the 17th century both Bow, and the Essex bank, became a centre for the slaughter and butchery of cattle for the City market. This meant a ready supply of cattle bones, and local entrepreneurs,
Thomas Frye and
Edward Heylyn, developed a means to mix this with clay and create a form of fine porcelain, said to rival the best from abroad, this became known as ''Bow Porcelain''. In November 1753, in Aris's ''Birmingham Gazette'', the following advertisement appeared:
''This is to give notice to all painters in the blue and white potting way and enamellers on china ware, that by applying at the counting-house at the china-house near Bow, they may meet with employment and proper encouragement according to their merit; likewise painters brought up in the snuff-box way, japanning, fan-painting, &c., may have an opportunity of trial, wherein if they succeed, they shall have due encouragement. N.B. At the same house a person is wanted who can model small figures in clay neatly.''
The ''
Bow China Works'' prospered, employing some 300 artists and hands, until about 1770, when one of its founders died, by 1776 all of its moulds and implements were transferred to another manufacturer at
Derby. In 1867, during some drainage operations at the match factory of Messrs. Bell & Black at Bell Road, St. Leonard's Street, the foundations of one of the kilns were discovered, with a large quantity of 'wasters' and fragments of broken pottery. The houses close by were then called China Row, but now lie beneath modern housing. Chemical analysis of the firing remains showed them to contain high quantities of bone-ash; thereby pre-dating the claim of
Josiah Spode to have invented the ''
bone china'' process.
[10]
Bryant and May
The
match girls strike at the
Bryant and May match factory in the 1888, which was a forerunner of the
suffragette movement, occurred here on Fairfield Road. The factory was rebuilt in 1911.
Suffragettes
Sylvia Pankhurst 1882-1960
had begun the
Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), in 1903, with her daughters
Christabel and
Sylvia.
Sylvia Pankhurst became increasingly disillusioned with the
Suffragette movement's inability to engage with the needs of working class women, like the match girls. Sylvia formed her own breakaway movement, the
East London Federation of Suffragettes and based it at 198 Bow Road, by the church, in an Baker's shop. This was emblazoned with "
Votes for Women" in large gold letters, and opened in October 1912. The local Member of Parliament,
George Lansbury, resigned his seat in
Parliament to stand for election on a platform of women's enfranchisement. Sylvia supported him in this and Bow Road became the campaign office, culminating in a huge rally in nearby
Victoria Park, but Lansbury was narrowly defeated in the election and support for the project in the
East End was withdrawn.
Sylvia refocused her efforts, from Bow, and with the outbreak of
World War I, began a nursery, clinic and cost price canteen for the poor, at the bakery. A paper, the
Women's Dreadnought was published to bring her campaign to a wider audience. At the close of war, the
Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 1918 gave limited voting rights to property owning women over the age of thirty, and equal rights were finally achieved ten years later.
Pankhurst had spent twelve years in Bow, fighting for women's rights. During this time, she risked constant arrest
[11] and spent a lot of time in
Holloway Prison, often on hunger strike. She finally achieved her aim, but along the way had alleviated some of the poverty and misery, and improved social conditions for all in the East End.
Railways
Bow was also the site of the headquarters and maintenance depot of the
North London Railway who also had two stations in the area named ''Old Ford'' and ''Bow''. During
World War 2 the North London Railway branch from Dalston to Poplar through Bow was so badly damaged that it fell into permanent disuse.
Landmarks
St Mary's Church stands on the traffic island in Bow Road. Part of the church dates back to 1311. The base of the tower dates back to the late 1400s and the top of the tower was rebuilt after bomb damage in the
second world war. ''Bow Church'' (St Mary's, Bow Road) is sometimes mistaken as the home of the ''Bow Bells'' which actually reside at
St Mary-le-Bow Church on Cheapside in the
City of London.
[12]
In Fairfield Road stands the old
Bryant and May Factory, Bow. It used to be the largest match factory in the UK. The brick entrance includes a depiction of Noah's Ark and the word 'Security' used as a trademark on the matchboxes. Match production ceased in 1979 and the building is now private apartments known as the
Bow Quarter.
[13]
A statue of William Ewart
Gladstone stands outside Bow Church. The statue was donated by Theodore H Bryant, part-owner of the Bryant and May match factory.
[14]
Poplar Town Hall at the junction of Bow Road and
Fairfield Road. (July 2006)
A memorial to
George Lansbury (1859-1940) stands on the corner of Bow Road and Harley Grove, near 39 Bow Road, his family home in the constituency until it was destroyed in
the Blitz.
[15] It describes him as "A great servant of the people". Lansbury was twice Mayor of Poplar and also
MP for
Bromley and Bow. In 1921, he led the Poplar Rates Rebellion. His daughter-in-law, Minnie Lansbury was one of the 30 Poplar Councillors sent to prison and who died six weeks after leaving prison. A memorial clock to her is situated over a row of shops on Bow Road, near the junction with Alfred Street.
[16]
The original
Poplar Town hall is situated on the south side of Bow Road, near the DLR station. It continues in use for registrations of births and marriages, as ''Bromley Public Hall''. It was rebuilt in the 1920s, and this Town Hall stands at the corner of Bow road and Fairfield Road in a dilapidated condition, now used as commercial offices. The latter Town Hall contains the ''Poplar Assembly Rooms'', now no longer used. ''The Builders'', by sculptor David Evans is a frieze on the face of the building, unveiled by Lansbury on 10 December 1938, these Portland Stone panels commemorate the trades constructing the Town hall, other panels symbolise the borough's relationship with the
River Thames and the youth of Poplar.
[17]
A plaque marks the spot, in
Mile End where the first German
V1 rocket to fall on London fell, close to the railway bridge on the
Great Eastern Main Line over
Grove Road.
In 2000 and 2001 the
Big Brother UK house was located at Three Mills Studios in nearby
Newham, often reported as Bow because the studios are included in the E3 postal district.
Present day
Communal Facilities
Local council facilities are grouped around
Roman Road market in
Old Ford. The local library, now called an ''Idea Store'' is situated in Gladstone Place. A community and tenants' hall is nearby. Access to council services is dealt with by the ''Bow and North Poplar One Stop Shop'', in Ewart Place.
Education
:''For details of education in see the
Tower Hamlets article''
These primary Schools are located in Bow:
Chisenhale (
website),
Old Ford,
Olga (
website), and
Malmesbury (
website)
Transport
Nearby tube and DLR stations
''There are no longer any stations on the
National Rail network in Bow. The
No 8 bus terminates at Bow Church''.
★
Mile End
★
Bow Road
★
Bow Church
Bow is served well by bus and road, being sited at the
junction of the
A12 East Cross Route, and
A11 Mile End Road. The proximity of tube stations mean that parking restrictions apply throughout the area.
Nearby places
★
Mile End
★
Old Ford
★
Bromley-by-Bow
★
Stratford
★
Victoria Park
★
River Lee
Access to the River Lee is via the tow-path at Three Mills. South leads to the
River Thames, but the tow-path can often be blocked. North leads to ''Duckett's Cut'' (the Hertford Union), which provides access to Victoria Park, and proceeding north along the Lee to
Hackney Marshes. As this latter is within the
Olympic Park the tow-path may be closed unpredictably while building works are undertaken.
Notable people associated with Bow
★
Girls Aloud (band) — when first formed, had a flat in Bow
★
Roll Deep (hip hop group)
★
Graham Norton (comedian and television presenter)
★
Sylvia Pankhurst (suffragette and social campaigner — see
Suffragettes section, above)
★
Wiley (rapper)
★
Dizzee Rascal (rapper)
★
Danny Wallace (writer, television presenter, and king of
Lovely) — lives in Bow
[18] and mentions it in his books
★
Oona King (former
Labour MP for
Bethnal Green and Bow and political commentator)
[19]
★
Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur/England defender) was born in Bow.
See also
★
Bow Group (centre-right
think tank that first met in Bow)
★
Kingsley Hall, in nearby
Bromley-by-Bow
★
Bromley Hall, the
Tudor Manor House for Bromley and Bow
References and notes
1. Mills, D., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names,'' (2000)
2. 'Bethnal Green: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 88-90 accessed: 15 November 2006
3. The Humanities Research Institute - Historical alternative names for Bow, London
4. How Stratford became Bow (East London History)
5. 'West Ham: Rivers, bridges, wharfs and docks', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 57-61 accessed: 14 November 2006.
6. John Foxe's Book of Martyrs - The Martyrdome of Hugh Lauerocke & Iohn Apprice, at Stratford the Bow. An.1556. May. 15'' accessed: 18 Nov 2006
7. Line 125. Chaucer: ''The Canterbury Tales'' accessed on 14 Nov 2006
8. Old Language Variety: Anglo-Norman
9. "The Copartnership Herald", Vol. I, no. 7 (September 1931) accessed 14 Nov 2006
10. 'Industries: Pottery: Bow porcelain', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton (1911), pp. 146-50 accessed: 18 November 2006
11. ''One of Sylvia's first actions occurred when she climbed a cart, in nearby Bromley High Street, and commenced to speak. Unfortunately, no one listened, she picked up a rock and threw it through the window of Selby's Undertakers. Her colleagues smashed windows in nearby buildings, and were taken to Bow Police station.
12.
There is a local belief that this Statforde-atte-Bow was concerned with the legend of Dick Whittington. It is suggested that ''The Black Cat'' was in fact a barge travelling the River Lee
13. Exploring East London accessed 27 Mar 2007
14. statue
15. Labour History (book review) accessed 29 Mar 2007
16. Minnie Lansbury Memorial Clock
17. Public Monument & Sculpture Association date accessed 1 April 2007
18. The Independent (UK newspaper) article on living in Bow: "My Home: Danny Wallace, comedian"
19. Oona King website accessed 30 Mar 2007
External link
★ Bow West and Bow East wards are within the Borough's
Local Area Partnership 5.
Key areas of concern and action relate to community safety, access to health care provision and activities for young people, especially in the Victoria Park area.
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