For last week’s jaunt out, London Shoes travelled to the Whitechapel/Mile End district deep in the heart of London’s east-end.
It’s an area of London that I know well and have very fond memories of, having worked at the Barclays Bank-Whitechapel branch for a couple of years in the late 1980’s – a branch with a great social life.
Anyway – the purpose of my Whitechapel/Mile End visit was to track down a relatively ‘newish’ landmark that I knew all about, but had never actually seen in real-life, namely the:-
“Mile End Mural”
The ‘Mile End Mural’, situated a few hundred yards to the east of Whitechapel tube station – is a brilliant piece of art-work that adorns the external side wall of no.33 Mile End Road – the offices of a long-established local Law firm “T V Edwards”, who have been operating in the area since 1929.
The law firm had originally applied for permission to display a large advertisement for the company on the buildings external wall – but their request was refused.
So – they approached sarf-London artist Mychael Barrett with a request to brighten up the wall with a sort of ‘local’ theme.
Barrett’s mural took him 6 weeks to complete, and it depicts the history of the surrounding area via paintings of local legendary characters that left their mark on the district over the past years, and also within the mural are some of the areas more historic/iconic buildings and other landmarks.
For the purposes of this blog I not only photographed the Mural as a whole, I also zoomed in with my camera to photo a number of the individual characters and buildings – which include the following:-
George Bernard Shaw – the author was an early member of the Fabian Society who regularly met on the Whitechapel Rd
William Booth – who started The Christian Mission and The Salvation Army on the Mile End Rd
Captain James Cook – who lived at 88 Mile End Rd when not at sea exploring
Vladimir Lenin – whom planned the Russian Revolution whilst living in Whitechapel
Joseph Merrick – also known as The Elephant Man – was first publicly exhibited in a shop window on the Whitechapel Rd across the street from the London Hospital, where he ended up residing and where his skeleton is held today.
London Dockers – based on a statue of Dockers that stands down the road in Victoria Dock
Bushra Nasir – who studied at the local Queen Mary University and became the first Muslim head teacher of a state school
Mahatma Gandhi – who stayed at nearby Kingsley Hall in 1931 when he came to London to discuss Indian independence
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – who visited the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 2009 – the place where the Big Ben bell was made.
Samuel Pepys – frequented the Mile End Road, according to his famous diary. Also, his mother was the daughter of a Whitechapel butcher
Reggie & Ronnie Kray – the notorious London gangsters who regularly frequented ‘The Blind Beggar’ just a couple of hundred yards down the road from the Mural.
Gilbert & George – the legendary London designers and stylists, who live nearby in Spitalfields
Frederick Charrington – who turned his back on his family’s brewery to start a temperance mission. He is depicted in the mural, taking a dray horse out of service
Prince Monolulu – who was a gambling tipster who frequented Petticoat Lane and Mile End Market with his now legendary famous call “I gotta horse!”
David Hockney – the world famous artist – had his first exhibition at The Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1970
Isaac Rosenberg – who was a WW1 poet and a painter who was one of a group of artists known as The Whitechapel Boys
Mark Gertler – was another of The Whitechapel Boys group of artists
Anthony Edwards – is the senior partner of ‘T V Edwards’ whose office premises wall the Mile End Mural is painted on. As a young boy he would accompany his uncle on his rounds, carrying his briefcase – and this has been beautifully captured within the mural – a lovely little touch by the mural artist.
The following are just some of the historic local buildings captured within the mural:-
The Market Stalls – that line the Whitechapel end of the Mile End Rd
London’s Docks – depicted by a ship in-dock, at nearby London Docklands
The Gherkin – located at no.30 St Mary Axe in the City and a landmark that is clearly visible from the Mile End Road
The East London Mosque – another well-known London landmark, situated at the Aldgate end of the Mile End Road
Christ Church – a very famous old church situated in nearby Spitalfields, and designed by the renowned British architect ‘Nicholas Hawksmoor’.
The Royal London Hospital – a long standing main hospital for east-Londoners, which has dominated the Whitechapel area for a couple of 100 years, and is currently going through a massive redevelopment programme.
The Whitechapel Church Bell Foundry – the historically famous London bell-foundry notable casting the Big Ben bell.
Blooms – the world famous Jewish Kosher restaurant on the Whitechapel Road.
I never knew of the existence of this fantastic and interesting work of art, and I’m fairly sure that many others don’t either – which is a shame as in my opinion it would be an ideal ‘stopping-point’ for a London walking-tour.
So – that’s all about the Mile End-Mural – really worth taking a look at if you’re ever down Whitechapel way.
Having tracked down the Mile End Mural, and taken all the photos I needed, it was time to head-off back home.
However – with a slight difference to the blogs undertaken outside of the 2 lockdowns, and after an absence of approx. 9 months – I decided that the time was right to start partaking again in a ‘cheeky’ post-blog ‘beer’, as customary with all other London Shoes published blogs.
I didn’t really fancy having a ‘cheeky one’ up in the Whitechapel area at this present time, so instead, I stopped-off at the RAFA Club in Romford, a private members social club I belong to, and probably my 2nd home since my retirement almost 4 years ago now – where I tucked in to a plate of ‘substantial’, nicely washed down with a few ‘cheeky’ ones – very nice it was too.
This particular blog forms the initial posting of a new ‘Shoes’ on-going category that I’ve entitled “London-Street Art” – of which, there will hopefully be many more additional blogs on this theme, as we progress into 2021 and beyond.
Hope you enjoyed looking at the Mural.
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See below the entire gallery of photos taken to accompany this blog
Me – outside the newly built entrance to Whitechapel tube station (on the District Line & the Hammersmith & City Line – the green and orange ones on a standard tube map). I used to commute daily to this station in the late 1980’s when I worked at Barclays-Whitechapel branch – but used to use the old entrance/exit that was on the Whitechapel Rd
An eerily quiet ‘Mile End Road’-London E1 – looking west towards the City
A spookily deserted ‘Mile End Road’-London E1 – looking east towards Bow
The ‘Mile End Mural’ from the Mile End Road
A closer view of The ‘Mile End Mural’ – in its location set-back from the Mile End Road
Me – alongside the ‘Mile End Mural’
A close-up of the Mile End Mural
Legendary writer ‘George Bernard Shaw’ was an early member of the Fabian Society who regularly met on the Whitechapel Rd
“William Booth” – who started The Christian Mission and The Salvation Army on the Mile End Rd
“Captain James Cook” – lived at no.88 Mile End Rd when not at sea sailing around the world.
“Mahatma Gandhi” & “Bushra Nasir” Mahatma Gandhi – stayed at Kingsley Hall- in the heart of London’s east-end in 1931 when he came to London to discuss Indian independence. Bushra Nasir – studied locally at Queen Mary University and became the first Muslim headteacher of a state school
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the ‘Whitechapel Bell Foundry’ in 2009 – the famous bell foundry that produced the ‘Big Ben’ bell.
“Reggie & Ronnie Kray” – well known local gangsters who regularly drank in The Blind Beggar pub-Whitechapel, just a few hundred yards from the mural
A reference to the local London Docks
The buildings captured within the mural, represent the following:- > Christ Church, Spitalfields – designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor > The East London Mosque > Clock tower from in front of The People’s Palace > The Royal London Hospital – Whitechapel > The Whitechapel Art Gallery > Blooms – the famous kosher restaurant on the Whitechapel Rd > The Whitechapel Church Bell Foundry > Trinity Almshouses – in the Mile End Rd
Dockers at work – based on the statue of dockers that stands at Victoria Dock, just down the road
“Vladimir Lenin” & “Joseph Merrick” (also known as The Elephant Man) Lenin – planned the Russian Revolution whilst staying in Whitechapel Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man) – used to be on public display in a shop on the Whitechapel Rd across the street from the London Hospital
The long standing market stalls that line the Mile End Rd & Whitechapel
“Frederick Charrington” – turned his back on his family’s brewery to start a temperance mission. He’s seen in the Mural, enticing a dray horse to take it out of service Next to the horse is the well known charismatic local character who was known as “Prince Monolulu” – a gambling tipster who used to run around all over Mile End and Whitechapel, dressed up in flamboyant tribal gear, shouting his famous call “I gotta horse!”
“Gilbert & George” – the legendary London designers and stylists, live nearby in Spitalfields
No.30 St Mary Axe – also known as the “Gherkin” – can clearly be seen from the Mile End Road
“Samuel Pepys” – “Isaac Rosenberg” & “Mark Gertler” >>Pepys often visited the Mile End Rd, and wrote a lot about it is his famous his diary – and also, his mother was the daughter of a Whitechapel butcher >>Isaac Rosenberg was a WW1 poet and a painter who was one of a well known group of artists famously known as ‘The Whitechapel Boys’ >>Mark Gertler was another one of acclaimed The Whitechapel Boys
T V Edwards started a law firm T V Edwards in 1929, and it is the external side wall of the T V Edwards business premises in the Mile End Road, that this magnificent mural is painted on.
Anthony Edwards is the senior partner of T V Edwards. As a young boy he would accompany his uncle on his rounds, carrying his briefcase – and this has been beautifully captured within the mural
Me – alongside the Mural
Another final close-up of the Mile End Mural in its entirety
A cold & wet Me – across the road from Barclays Bank-Whitechapel branch – where I worked for a couple of years in the late 1980’s :-))
Me – (after an absence of almost 9 months) knocking back a much missed ‘cheeky one’ with an accompanying ‘substantial’ meal – at a Covid-Safe/Compliant “RAFA Club-Romford”, (my local social club, and some would say-2nd home!!) following a morning of seeking out and photographing the excellent and unique ‘Mile End-Mural’ :-))
A brilliant post! I too take photos of street art on my wanderings around London. Also ghost signs. This was so interesting and informative, I must go east to see it. There used to be a great ol’ boozer along there, they Grave Maurice. Is it still there? Apparently named after the brother of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Charles I’s nephews and of Civil War fame. Someone told me the Krays used to drink there too?
I used to live in Bow many years ago but didn’t know about the existence of the Mile End Mural until now! I really enjoy reading about it and thank you for researching and sharing the article, Geoff.
My Mum lived in Winthrop Street just behind Whitechapel Tube Station
Well done Geoff Clements. A good deal of research to make that story work. Hopefully the cheeky one or two will have lifted your spirits.
I so much enjoy all the blogs and would not be able to say what is the best but this last one on the Mural is certainly well up on the list. Thank you very much. I can’t understand why as an old East Ender having traveled about I am still learning.
Thank you Peter – really glad to hear that you are enjoying my blogs – I’ve got loads more on my ‘To Do List’ for next year – restrictions permitting :-))