Whitechapel
| Whitechapel | |
|---|---|
 The new Royal London Hospital building |
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 Whitechapel
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| Whitechapel shown within Greater London | |
| Population | 14,862 (Whitechapel ward 2011) |
| OS grid reference | TQ335815 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E1 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| London Assembly | |
Whitechapel is a district in the East End of London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
It is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by Middlesex Street and Mansell Street to the west, Fashion Street to the north, Cambridge Heath Road and Sidney Street to the east and The Highway to the south.
Because the area is close to the London Docklands and east of the city, it has been a popular place for immigrants and the working class. The area was the centre of the London Jewish community in the 19th and early 20th century, and the location of the infamous Whitechapel Murders believed to involve Jack the Ripper in the late 1880s. In the latter half of the 20th century, Whitechapel became a significant settlement for the British Bangladeshi community, particularly on Whitechapel Road and Brick Lane.
Whitechapel's heart is Whitechapel High Street, extending further east as Whitechapel Road, named after a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary. The church's earliest known rector was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329. Around 1338, it became the parish church of Whitechapel, called, for unknown reasons, St Mary Matfelon. The church was destroyed through enemy action in World War II and its location and graveyard is now a public garden on the south side of the road.
Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road are now part of the A11 road, anciently the initial part of the Roman road between the City of London and Colchester, exiting the city at Aldgate. In later times, travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many coaching inns which lined Whitechapel High Street.
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Wikipedia