For centuries, Whitechapel has been at the centre of multicultural Britain. It has offered sanctuary to successive waves of immigrants fleeing religious intolerance, pogroms and poverty: Huguenots from France, Irish, Jews from Eastern Europe and Bangladeshis, each overlaying their own vibrant culture on the area. Whitechapel has been associated with notorious crimes in the past, not least Jack the Ripper, nineteenth-century body snatchers, the Kray twins and other gangsters. Social reformers such as George Peabody and William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army in Whitechapel, have left their legacy on the area.In A–Z of Whitechapel author Andy Bull reveals the history behind the area’s streets, buildings, industries and the people connected with this part of East London. Alongside the famous historical connections, he includes some unusual characters, tucked-away places and unique events that are less well known. Readers will discover tales of Elizabethan theatres and Victorian freak shows, artists and writers, Whitechapel’s connection with Joseph Stalin and the area’s brewing and bell-founding heritage, among many other fascinating facts in this A–Z tour of Whitechapel’s history. Fully illustrated throughout, this book will appeal to all those with an interest in this historic East London district.
