Bow, London
Bow is an area of East London, 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 area, 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 This was superseded by the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in 1900 until it, in turn, was absorbed into the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 1965.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.[1] 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)
The Tower Hamlets Partnership is concerned with improving the borough and works on a partnership basis. It brings togther key stakeholders based in the borough on a formal basis, namely residents, the council, the police, the health service, public services, voluntary and community groups, faith communities and businesses. It focuses on the delivery of the borough's Community Plan. Eight Local Area Partnerships together with community plan action groups form part of the framework for service planning and delivery. Local Area Partnership 5 covers the Bow West and Bow East wards. 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.
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.[2] 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 to run from the area of London Bridge, as one of the first paved Roman roads in Britain.[3] 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)[4] which over time has been shortened to Bow to distinguish it from Stratford Langthorne on the Essex bank of the Lee.[5] Land and Abbey Mill were given to Barking Abbey for the continued maintenance of the bridge. This endowment was later administered by Stratford Abbey.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
This was a barbed reference, as it implied the Prioress had learned French, from the Benedictine nuns, in a distinct Anglo-Norman dialect,[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
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
Emmeline Pankhurst 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 MP, 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[12] 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.[13]
In Fairfield Road stands the old Bryant and May Factory, Bow. It used to be the largest match factory in the UK[citation needed]. 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.[14]
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.[15]
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[16]. 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.[17]
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.
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.
Primary Schools
The following Primary Schools are located in Bow.
- Chisenhale Primary School (website)
- Old Ford Prinary School
- Olga Primary School (website)
- Malmesbury Pirmary School (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.
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
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 [citation needed]
- Roll Deep (hip hop group) [citation needed]
- Steve Marriott (of bands Small Faces and Humble Pie) — born in Bow[18]
- Graham Norton (comedian and television presenter) [citation needed]
- Sylvia Pankhurst (suffragette and social campaigner - see History section)
- Dizzee Rascal (rapper) [citation needed]
- Danny Wallace (writer, television presenter, and king of Lovely) — lives in Bow[19] and mentions it in his books
- Oona King (former Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and political commentator)[20]
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
- ^ Tower Hamlets Borough Council Election Maps 1964-2002
- ^ Mills, D., Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, (2000)
- ^ 'Bethnal Green: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 88-90 accessed: 15 November 2006
- ^ The Humanities Research Institute - Historical alternative names for Bow, London
- ^ How Stratford became Bow (East London History)
- ^ 'West Ham: Rivers, bridges, wharfs and docks', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 57-61 accessed: 14 November 2006.
- ^ 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
- ^ Line 125. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales accessed on 14 Nov 2006
- ^ Old Language Variety: Anglo-Norman
- ^ "The Copartnership Herald", Vol. I, no. 7 (September 1931) accessed 14 Nov 2006
- ^ '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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ Exploring East London accessed 27 Mar 2007
- ^ statue
- ^ Labour History (book review) accessed 29 Mar 2007
- ^ Minnie Lansbury Memorial Clock
- ^ Sleevenotes: The Small Faces - BBC Sessions 1965-1968
- ^ The Independent (UK newspaper) article on living in Bow: "My Home: Danny Wallace, comedian"
- ^ Oona King website accessed 30 Mar 2007
External link
- Local Area Partnership 5 covers Bow West and Bow East.