View source for Whitechapel

{{Short description|Area in London, England}}
{{about|the East London district|other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Whitechapel
| london_borough           = Tower Hamlets
| region                   = London
| country                  = England
| static_image_name        = File:Whitechapel LU roundel totem pole.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Entrance to [[Whitechapel tube station|Whitechapel station]]
| population               = {{london ward populations|00BGGN|population}}
| population_ref           = ({{london ward populations|00BGGN|ward}} ward {{london ward populations|year}}){{london ward populations|reference}}
| coordinates              = {{Wikidatacoord|Q124539|display=inline,title}}
| constituency_westminster = [[Bethnal Green and Stepney (UK Parliament constituency)|Bethnal Green and Stepney]]
| post_town                = LONDON
| postcode_area            = E
| postcode_district        = E1
| dial_code                = 020
| os_grid_reference        = TQ335815
}}

'''Whitechapel''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ʌ|ɪ|t|'|tʃ|æ|p|ə|l}}) is an area in the [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]], London, England. It is in [[East London]] and part of the [[East End of London|East End]]. It is the location of [[Tower Hamlets Town Hall]] and, therefore, the borough town centre. Whitechapel is {{convert|3.4|mi|km|1}} east of [[Charing Cross]].

The district is primarily built around [[Whitechapel High Street]] and [[Whitechapel Road]], which extend from the [[City of London]] boundary to just east of [[Whitechapel station]]. These two streets together form a section of the originally Roman road from the [[Aldgate]] to [[Colchester]], a route that later became known as the ''Great Essex Road''. Population growth resulting from ribbon development along this route led to the creation of the parish of Whitechapel, a daughter parish of [[Stepney#Manor and Ancient Parish|Stepney]], from which it was separated in the 14th century.

Whitechapel has long been known for its diverse immigrant communities. From the late 19th century until the late 20th century the area had a very high [[Jews|Jewish]] population, with multiple [[Yiddish]]-language theatres, newspapers and [[Synagogue|synagogues]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Jewish East End |url=https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/jewish-east-end/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=[[London Museum]] |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Lichtenstein |first=Rachel |date=2020-04-02 |title=The Memory Map of the Jewish East End |url=https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/digital-history/the-memory-map-of-the-jewish-east-end/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=History Workshop |language=en-US}}</ref> Much of this community moved away after the area suffered extensive bomb damage during the [[The Blitz|Blitz]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> It subsequently became a significant settlement for the [[British Bangladeshi]] community, which now makes up approximately 40% of the population of Whitechapel.<ref name="BanPop" /> According to the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021 UK census]], 56.3% of Whitechapel residents identify as [[British Asians|Asian]], 28.8% as [[White British|White]], 6.6% as [[Black British people|Black]], 4.1% as [[Multiracial people|Mixed]], and 4.3% as [[Other ethnic group (United Kingdom Census)|Other]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Census Maps, ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/ethnic-group/ethnic-group-tb-6a/asian-asian-british-or-asian-welsh |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=[[Office for National Statistics]] |language=en}}</ref>

Whitechapel and neighbouring [[Spitalfields]] were the locations of the infamous 11 [[Whitechapel murders]] (1888–91), some of which were attributed to the unidentified [[serial killer]] known as [[Jack the Ripper]]. These factors and others have led to Whitechapel being seen by many as the embodiment of [[East End of London|London's East End]], and for that reason it is often used to [[East End literature|represent the East End in art and literature]].<ref>''Brewers Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable'', Russ Willey, Chambers, 2009</ref>

Landmarks include the [[Royal London Hospital]], the [[Whitechapel Gallery]], and the [[East London Mosque]], one of the largest mosques in Western Europe.

==History==

===Origin and toponymy===
[[File:Stepney Civil Parish Map 1870.png|thumb|right|250px|The daughter-parishes of Stepney that would evolve into the modern [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]]]
Whitechapel was originally part of the [[Stepney#Manor and Ancient Parish|Manor and Parish of Stepney]], but population growth resulting from its position just outside the [[Aldgate]] on the Roman Road to [[Essex]] resulted in significant population growth, so a [[chapel of ease]], dedicated to [[St Mary]] was established so people did not have to make the longer journey to Stepney's parish church [[St Dunstan's, Stepney|St Dunstans]]. The earliest known rector was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329.

Whitechapel takes its name from that church, [[St Mary Matfelon]], which like the nearby [[White Tower (Tower of London)|White Tower]] of the [[Tower of London]] was at one time whitewashed to give it a prominent and attractive appearance. The etymology of the ''Matfelon'' element is unclear and apparently unique.

Around 1338, Whitechapel became an independent parish, with ''St Mary Matfelon'', originally a [[chapel of ease]] within Stepney, becoming the parish church.

===Geography of the ancient parish===
Whitechapel's spine is the old Roman Road, that ran from the [[Aldgate]] on [[London Wall|London's Wall]], to [[Colchester]] in [[Essex]] ([[Roman Britain|Roman Britannia's]] first capital), and beyond. This road, which was later named the ''Great Essex Road'', is now designated the [[A11 road (Great Britain)|A11]]. This historic route has the names Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road as it passes through, or along the boundary, of Whitechapel.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22732 'Stepney: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 7–13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928030615/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22732 |date=28 September 2007 }} accessed: 9 March 2007</ref> For many centuries travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many [[coaching inns]] that lined Whitechapel High Street.<ref name="Christopher Hibbert 1983">Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (eds) (1983) "Whitechapel" in ''The London Encyclopaedia'': 955-6</ref>

The area of the parish extended around 1400 metres from the City of London boundary, originally marked by ''Aldgate Bars'' around 180 metres east of the [[Aldgate]] itself, to vicinity of the junction with Cambridge Heath Road where it met the boundaries of [[Mile End]] and [[Bethnal Green]].

The northern boundary included Wentworth Street and parts of Old Montague Street. The parish also included an area around [[Goodman's Fields Theatre|Goodman's Fields]], close to the City and south of St Mary's, the parish church.

===Administrative history===
[[File:Stepney Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|The parish of Whitechapel formed three of the wards, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney, which was created in 1900.]]
The area became an independent parish around 1338. At that time parish areas only had an ecclesiastical (church) function, with parallel civil parishes being formed in the Tudor period. The original purpose of the civil parishes was poor relief. The area was part of the [[Historic counties of England|historic (or ancient) county]] of [[Middlesex]], but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the [[Tower division|Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets)]].

The role of the ''Tower Division'' ended when Whitechapel became part of the new [[County of London]] in 1889, and most civil parish functions were removed when the area joined the [[Metropolitan Borough of Stepney]] in 1900.

In 1965 there was a further round of changes when the ''Metropolitan Borough of Stepney'' merged with the [[Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green]] and the [[Metropolitan Borough of Poplar]] to form the new [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]. The new borough of Tower Hamlets covered only part of the historic Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets). At the same time, the area became part of the new [[Greater London]], which replaced the older, smaller ''County of London''.

===Early history===
[[File:Whitechapel High Street 1905.JPG|thumb|Whitechapel High Street, and St Mary Matfelon, in 1905]]

====Early development====
Whitechapel, along with areas such as neighbouring [[Shoreditch]], [[Holborn]] (west of the city) and Southwark (south of the Thames), was one of London's earlier extra-mural suburbs. Beyond controls of the [[City of London Corporation]], Whitechapel was used for more polluting and land-intensive industries the city market demanded, such as tanneries, builders' goods yards, laundries, clothes dyers, [[slaughterhouse]]-related work, soaperies, and breweries. Whitechapel was strongly notable for foundries, foremost of which was the [[Whitechapel Bell Foundry]], which later cast [[Philadelphia]]'s [[Liberty Bell]], Westminster's [[Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster|Big Ben]], [[St Mary-le-Bow|Bow Bells]] and more recently the London [[Olympic Bell]] in 2012. Population shifts from rural areas to London from the 17th century to the mid-19th century resulted in great numbers of more or less destitute people taking up residence amidst the industries, businesses and services ancillary to the [[City of London]] that had attracted them.

====Whitechapel Mount====
{{main|Whitechapel Mount}}

The [[Whitechapel Mount]] was a large, probably artificial mound, of unknown origin, that stood on the south side of Whitechapel Road, about 1200 metres east of the [[Aldgate]], immediately west of the modern Royal London Hospital. The Mount is widely believed to have formed part of London's defences during the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] in the mid-17th century. This was either as part of a ring of fortifications known as the [[Lines of Communication (London)|Lines of Communication]], which were in operation from 1642 to 1647,<ref>Civil War London, David Flintham, Helion and Company, 2017</ref> or additionally or alternatively, as one of the three forts replacing that system of defence immediately afterwards.

The mount was removed to allow residential development in 1807–1808.
[[File:The London Hospital, Whitechapel; seen from the northern sid Wellcome L0002107.jpg|thumb|The [[London Hospital]], Whitechapel in 1753. The [[Whitechapel Mount]] stands immediately to the right (west).]]

====Davenant Foundation School====
{{Main|Davenant Foundation School|Davenant Centre}}

In 1680, [[Ralph Davenant]] (rector of the parish of Whitechapel), his wife and his sister-in-law bequeathed a large sum for a schoolmaster to teach literacy, numeracy and the "principles of the Church of England" to forty boys of the parish. In the same deed Henry and Sarah Gullifer undertook to provide for the education of thirty poor girls; namely a schoolmistress was to teach them the "catechism, reading, knitting, plain sewing, and any other useful work".<ref name=davenant /> In 1701 an unknown donor gave the foundation £1,000 ({{Inflation|GBP|1000|1700|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) so the children might be suitably clothed as well as educated.<ref name=davenant /> Between 1783 and 1830 the school received twenty gifts totalling over £5,000.<ref name=davenant /> Typical income seems to have been about £500 per year, which was much more than most vicar's and rector's livings, net.<ref name=davenant /> Supporting modern education, the [[Davenant Centre]] continues and the [[Davenant Foundation School]] has, since 1966, been based at [[Loughton]] in [[Essex]].<ref name=davenant>''[[Victoria County History|A History of the County of Middlesex]]: Volume 1, Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, the Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes To 1870, Private Education From Sixteenth CenturySchools'': Davenant Foundation Grammar School, editors: J S Cockburn, H P F King and K G T McDonnell (London, 1969), pages 293–294. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp293-294 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231154400/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp293-294 |date=31 December 2022 }}</ref>

====Royal London Hospital====
The London Infirmary was established as a [[voluntary hospital]] in 1740, and within a year soon moved from [[Finsbury]] to Prescot Street, a very densely populated and deprived part of southern Whitechapel. Its aim was "The relief of all sick and diseased persons and, in particular, manufacturers, seamen in the merchant service and their wives and children".

The hospital moved to the then largely rural Whitechapel Road site in 1757, and was renamed the London Hospital. It became known as the [[Royal London Hospital]] on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The new building, adjacent to the old building it replaced, was opened in 2012.<ref>History section of the official website https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/the-royal-london-our-history {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428175711/https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/the-royal-london-our-history |date=28 April 2023 }}</ref>

In 2023 the old hospital building became the new [[Tower Hamlets Town Hall]], replacing the [[Mulberry Place]] site in [[Poplar, London|Poplar]].

===18th and 19th centuries===
In common with many other parts of the [[East End of London]], Whitechapel gained a reputation for severe poverty, overcrowding, and the social problems that came with it.<ref>Whitechapel CP through time : Housing Statistics : Total Houses, A Vision of Britain through Time, GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10071306/cube/HOUSES {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231163420/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10071306/cube/HOUSES |date=31 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>Whitechapel CP through time : Population Statistics : Total Population, A Vision of Britain through Time, GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10071306/cube/TOT_POP {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231163421/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10071306/cube/TOT_POP |date=31 December 2022 }}</ref> 
[[File:Booth map of Whitechapel.jpg|thumb|right|Part of Charles Booth's map of Whitechapel, 1889. The red areas are "middle-class"; the black areas are "semi-criminal".]]
[[File:Booth poverty map colour key.jpg|thumb|400px|right|{{center|Colour key for Booth's [[poverty map]]}}]]

[[William Booth]] began his ''Christian Revival Society'', preaching the gospel in a tent, erected in the ''Friends Burial Ground'', Thomas Street, Whitechapel, in 1865. Others joined his ''Christian Mission'', and on 7 August 1878 the [[Salvation Army]] was formed at a meeting held at 272 Whitechapel Road.<ref>[http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/titles/1878_Foundation_Deed_Of_The_Salvation_Army 1878 Foundation Deed Of The Salvation Army] accessed 15 February 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525050352/http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/titles/1878_Foundation_Deed_Of_The_Salvation_Army |date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> A statue commemorates both his mission and his work in helping the poor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/london/attractions/whitechapel-road/a/poi-sig/1278840/358914 |access-date=14 September 2021 |title=Whitechapel Road |website=Lonely Planet |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407090407/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/london/attractions/whitechapel-road/a/poi-sig/1278840/358914 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Edward VII Whitechapel.jpg|left|thumb|Plaque commemorating King Edward VII, with the inscription "erected with subscriptions raised by Jewish inhabitants of East London 1911"]]
[[File:"The London" - geograph.org.uk - 36866.jpg|thumb|Royal London Hospital's old building from the 18th century]]

The population grew quickly with migrants from the English countryside and further afield. Many of these incomers were [[Irish people|Irish]] or [[Jews|Jewish]]. Western Whitechapel, and neighbouring areas of Wapping, became known as ''Little Germany'' due to the large numbers of German people who came to the area; many of these people, and their descendants, worked in the sugar industry. The [[St George's German Lutheran Church]] on [[Alie Street]] is a legacy of that part of the community.<ref>East London Record - No 13 - 1990 https://www.mernick.org.uk/elhs/Record/ELHS%20RECORD%2013%20(1990).pdf</ref>

Writing of the period 1883–1884, [[Yiddish theatre]] actor [[Jacob Pavlovich Adler|Jacob Adler]] wrote, "The further we penetrated into this Whitechapel, the more our hearts sank. Was this London? Never in Russia, never later in the worst slums of New York, were we to see such poverty as in the London of the 1880s."<ref>Jacob Adler, ''A Life on the Stage: A Memoir'', translated and with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld, Knopf, New York, 1999, {{ISBN|0679413510}}. p. 232–233</ref>

This endemic poverty drove many women to prostitution. In October 1888 the [[Metropolitan Police]] estimated that there were 1,200 prostitutes "of very low class" resident in Whitechapel and about 62 brothels.<ref>Donald Rumbelow (2004) ''The Complete Jack the Ripper'': 12. Penguin</ref> Reference is specifically made to them in [[Charles Booth (philanthropist)|Charles Booth]]'s ''[[Life and Labour of the People in London]]'', especially to dwellings called [[Blackwall Buildings]] belonging to Blackwall Railway. Such prostitutes were numbered amongst the 11 [[Whitechapel murders]] (1888–91), some of which were committed by the legendary serial killer known as "[[Jack the Ripper]]". These attacks caused widespread terror in the district and throughout the country and drew the attention of social reformers to the squalor and vice of the area, even though these crimes remain unsolved today.<ref>Nicholas Connell (2005) ''Walter Dew: The Man Who Caught Crippen'': 7–55</ref>

[[London County Council]], founded 1889, helped deliver investment in new housing and [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]]; objectives which were a popular cause at the time.

The "Elephant Man" [[Joseph Merrick]] (1862–1890) became well known in Whitechapel – he was exhibited in a shop on the Whitechapel Road before being helped by [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Frederick Treves]] (1853–1923) at the [[Royal London Hospital]], opposite the actual shop. There is a museum in the hospital about his life.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/seven-places-in-london-connected-with-the-elephant-man-020117 |title=Seven places in London connected with the Elephant Man |website=Time Out London |date=February 2017 |language=en |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222317/https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/seven-places-in-london-connected-with-the-elephant-man-020117 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1902, American author [[Jack London]], looking to write a counterpart to [[Jacob Riis]]'s seminal book ''[[How the Other Half Lives]]'', donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in ''[[The People of the Abyss]]''.
[[File:Winston Churchill at the Siege of Sidney Street, 3 January 1911.jpeg|thumb|Home Secretary [[Winston Churchill]] observing the events at Sidney Street, Whitechapel]]

The [[Siege of Sidney Street]] (also known as the ''Battle of Stepney'', after the [[Metropolitan Borough of Stepney]] of which Whitechapel was part) in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces, and Latvian revolutionaries. Then Home Secretary [[Winston Churchill]] took over the operation, and his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time. His biographers disagreed and claimed that he gave no operational commands to the police,<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Addison |first=Paul |title=Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer |author-link=Paul Addison |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/32413 |date=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Jenkins |title=Churchill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BmOzDFxEdtQC |year=2012 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |location=London |isbn=978-0-330-47607-2 |page=195 |access-date=28 August 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831071608/https://books.google.com/books?id=BmOzDFxEdtQC |url-status=live }}</ref> but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions"{{Citation needed|date=October 2025|reason=Quote not found in source given.}}.{{efn|Subsequent stories that a bullet passed through Churchill's top hat are apocryphal, and no reference to such an occurrence appears in either the official records, or Churchill's accounts of the siege.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Waldren |first1=Mike |title=The Siege of Sidney Street |url=http://www.pfoa.co.uk/uploads/asset_file/The%20Siege%20of%20Sidney%20Street%20v3.pdf |publisher=Police Firearms Officers Association |access-date=30 January 2016 |date=July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323052214/http://www.pfoa.co.uk/uploads/asset_file/The%20Siege%20of%20Sidney%20Street%20v3.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2016 |page=11}}</ref>}}

The [[Freedom Press]], a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in the leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism. He{{who|date=January 2025}} concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitative work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from [[George Bernard Shaw]], whose [[Fabian Society]] met regularly in Whitechapel, to [[Vladimir Lenin]], who led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/first-thursdays/galleries/first-thursday-gallery-46/ |title=First Thursday GALLERY 46 |website=Whitechapelgallery.org |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=29 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029012722/http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/first-thursdays/galleries/first-thursday-gallery-46/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The area is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by [[Charlotte Wilson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/first-thursdays/galleries/first-thursday-gallery-46/ |title=First Thursday GALLERY 46 |website=Whitechapelgallery.org |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=29 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029012722/http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/first-thursdays/galleries/first-thursday-gallery-46/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On Sunday 4 October 1936, the [[British Union of Fascists]] led by [[Oswald Mosley]], intended to march through the East End, an area with a large Jewish population. The BUF mustered on and around [[Tower Hill]] and hundreds of thousands of local people turned out to block the march. There were violent clashes with the BUF around Tower Hill, but most of the violence occurred as police tried to clear a route through the crowds for the BUF to follow.

The police fought protesters at nearby [[Cable Street]] – the series of clashes becoming known as the [[Battle of Cable Street]] – and Tower Hill, but the largest confrontations took place at [[Aldgate]] and Whitechapel, notably at [[Gardiner's (department store)|Gardiner's Corner]], at the junction of [[Leman Street]], [[Commercial Street, London|Commercial Street]] and [[Whitechapel High Street]].<ref name="Guardian newspaper">{{cite web |publisher=Guardian newspaper |title=Fascist march stopped after disorderly scenes |date=5 October 1936 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1936/oct/05/fromthearchive |access-date=2 November 2022 |archive-date=2 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102204141/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1936/oct/05/fromthearchive |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Halal restaurant on the junction of St Mark Street and [[Alie Street]] opened in 1939 to serve the many Indian seamen living in the area.{{citation needed|reason=The article mentions the year the restaurant opened, but says nothing about Indian sailors.|date=February 2025}} It is now the oldest Indian restaurant in East London.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barrie |first=Josh |date=2020-08-06 |title='East London's oldest Indian restaurant' under threat as City workers stay home |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/east-london-oldest-indian-restaurant-threat-city-workers-custom-572955 |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=The i Paper |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Whitechapel Marker.jpg|thumb|Whitechapel was the centre of British Jewish refugee immigrant life in the late 19th and early 20th century.]]

Whitechapel remained poor through the first half of the 20th century following the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]], though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage from enemy bombers during [[the Blitz]], and from the subsequent [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[V-weapons|V-weapon]] attacks,  leading to widespread rebuilding and the dispersal of much of its Jewish population to suburban districts. The parish church, [[St Mary Matfelon]], was badly damaged in a raid on 29 December 1940, a raid so damaging that it caused the [[Second Great Fire of London]]. The remains were demolished in 1952, with St Mary's traced stone footprint and former graveyard remaining as part of [[Altab Ali Park]].<ref name="Christopher Hibbert 1983" /><ref>Andrew Davies (1990) ''The East End Nobody Knows'': 15–16</ref> 

Post-war slum clearance and the decline of the [[London Docks]] deepened economic hardship. From the 1950s onwards, the area saw new waves of immigration, notably from [[South Asia]], including [[Bengalis|Bengali]] seamen and later [[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]] families who established community centres, cafés and mosques.

On 4 May 1978, three teenagers murdered [[Altab Ali]], a 24 year old Bangladesh-born clothing worker, in a racially motivated attack, as he walked home after work. The attack took place on Adler Street, by St Mary's Churchyard, where St Mary Matfelon had previously stood. The reaction to his murder provoked the mass mobilisation of the local Bengali community. The gardens of the former churchyard were later renamed [[Altab Ali Park]] in his memory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/wkaldgateroute.htm |title=Aldgate |publisher=London-footprints.co.uk |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204083623/http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/wkaldgateroute.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwrite.org.uk/londonbehindthescenes/bricklane/altabalipark.html |title=Brick Lane Tour :: Stop 10: Altab Ali Park |publisher=Worldwrite.org.uk |date=4 May 1978 |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-date=31 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031174902/http://www.worldwrite.org.uk/londonbehindthescenes/bricklane/altabalipark.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Metropolitan line]] between Hammersmith and Whitechapel was withdrawn in 1990 and shown separately as a new line called the [[Hammersmith & City line]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Douglas |title=The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History |edition=8th |date=December 2007 |orig-year=1980 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-315-0}}</ref><ref name="T90">{{cite web |title=London Underground map 1990 |url=http://www.clarksbury.com/cdl/maps/tube90.jpg |work=The London Tube map archive |access-date=21 November 2012 |archive-date=16 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816005041/http://www.clarksbury.com/cdl/maps/tube90.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Whitechapel Station.jpg|thumb|Bengali signage on [[Whitechapel station]]]]
[[Crossrail]] calls at Whitechapel station<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/whitechapel/ |title=Whitechapel station |website=Crossrail.co.uk |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=22 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122041112/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/whitechapel/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> on the [[Elizabeth line]]. Eastbound services will be split into two branches after leaving the historic station, which underwent a massive redevelopment that started in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/route-map |title=Route map |website=Crossrail.co.uk |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=28 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228093702/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/route-map |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In order to prepare for Crossrail, in January 2016, the old Whitechapel station was closed for refurbishment and modernisation work in order to improve services and increase capacity in the station.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/january/whitechapel-station-to-be-modernised-in-preparation-for-crossrail |title=Whitechapel Station to be modernised in preparation for Crossrail |website=Transport for London |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=7 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107061043/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/january/whitechapel-station-to-be-modernised-in-preparation-for-crossrail |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Royal London Hospital was closed and re-opened behind the original site in 2012 in a brand new building costing £650 Million.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17214333 |title=New Royal London Hospital opens |date=2 March 2012 |access-date=6 January 2018 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-date=26 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026044229/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17214333 |url-status=live }}</ref> The old site was then repurchased by the local council to open a new town hall,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/politics/old-royal-london-hospital-sold-for-9m-to-tower-hamlets-council-for-a-new-town-hall-1-3947250 |title=Old Royal London Hospital sold for £9m to Tower Hamlets council for a new town hall |first=Mike |last=Brooke |website=Eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk |date=6 February 2015 |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=7 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107061156/http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/politics/old-royal-london-hospital-sold-for-9m-to-tower-hamlets-council-for-a-new-town-hall-1-3947250 |url-status=live }}</ref> replacing the existing Town Hall at Mulberry Place.

In March 2022, [[Whitechapel station]] signs had "হোয়াইটচ্যাপেল" in [[Bengali script|Bengali]] installed.<ref name=tha>{{cite news |date=16 March 2022 |title=Whitechapel Station gets new Bengali signage ahead of Elizabeth line opening |publisher=[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]] |url=https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2022/March-2022/Whitechapel-Station-gets-new-Bengali-signage-ahead-of-Elizabeth-line-opening.aspx |access-date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924230525/https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2022/March-2022/Whitechapel-Station-gets-new-Bengali-signage-ahead-of-Elizabeth-line-opening.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[British-Pakistani]] [[Mayor of London]] [[Sadiq Khan]] was "delighted" that the signage was installed ahead of [[Independence Day (Bangladesh)|Bangladesh Independence Day]] on 26 March.<ref name=tha/> The installation was attended by [[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]] diplomats and [[Mamata Banerjee]], the [[List of chief ministers of West Bengal|Chief Minister]] of [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/whitechapel-station-in-london-gets-bengali-signage-mamata-banerjee-is-proud-2821293 |work=[[NDTV]] |location=[[India]] |title=London Station Gets Bengali Signage. Mamata Banerjee Reacts |date=14 March 2022 |access-date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=16 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316200956/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/whitechapel-station-in-london-gets-bengali-signage-mamata-banerjee-is-proud-2821293 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Also in 2022 a historical marker was placed in Whitechapel, on the site of the former Adler House at the junction of Adler and Coke Streets by the [[Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation]] UK Branch. Adler House was named in honour of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Herman Adler, 1891–1911. The marker recognises the significance of Whitechapel as the centre of British Jewish refugee life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=201062 |title=Whitechapel Historical Marker |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730142959/https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=201062 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Governance==
{{Main|London Borough of Tower Hamlets}}

Local council facilities will be grouped within the old [[Royal London Hospital]] building as a civic centre. The local [[library]], now called an ''Idea Store'' is located on [[Whitechapel Road]].

==Culture==
[[File:Whitechapel art gallery 1.jpg|right|thumb|upright|The distinctive tiled frontage of the [[Whitechapel Art Gallery]]]]
[[File:Aerial view of East London Mosque complex - Feb 2014.jpg|thumb|The [[East London Mosque]] was one of the first in Britain to be allowed to use loudspeakers to broadcast the [[adhan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eade |first1=John |editor1-last=Metcalf |editor1-first=Barbara Daly |title=Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe |date=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0520204042 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingmuslimspac0000unse |access-date=24 April 2015 |chapter=Nationalism, Community, and the Islamization of Space in London |quote=As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest. |url-access=registration}}</ref>]]
Whitechapel Road was the location of two 19th-century theatres: The Effingham (1834–1897) and [[Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel|The Pavilion Theatre]] (1828–1935; building demolished in 1962). [[Charles Dickens Jr.]] (eldest child of [[Charles Dickens]]), in his 1879 book ''[[Dickens's Dictionary of London]]'', described the Pavilion this way: "A large East-end theatre capable of holding considerably over 3,000 persons. Melodrama of a rough type, farce, pantomime, [[et cetera|<!--SIC, &c.-->&c.]]"<ref>{{cite web |author=Dickens, Charles Jr. |year=1879 |title=Pavilion Theatre |work=[[Dickens's Dictionary of London]] |url=http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-p.htm |access-date=22 August 2007 |author-link=Charles Dickens Jr. |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203338/http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-p.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In the early 20th century it became the home of Yiddish theatre, catering to the large Jewish population of the area, and gave birth to the Anglo-Jewish 'Whitechapel Boys' avant-garde literary and artistic movement.

Since at least the 1970s, Whitechapel and other nearby parts of East London have figured prominently in London's art scene. Probably the area's most prominent art venue is the [[Whitechapel Art Gallery]], founded in 1901 and long an outpost of high culture in a poor neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood has gentrified, it has gained citywide, and even international, visibility and support. From 2005 the gallery underwent a major expansion, with the support of £3.26&nbsp;million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The expanded facility opened in 2009.

Whitechapel in the early 21st century has figured prominently in London's punk rock and skuzz rock scenes, with the main focal point for this scene being Whitechapel Factory and Rhythm Factory bar, restaurant, and nightclub. This scene includes the likes of The Libertines, Zap!, [[Nova (Italian band)|Nova]], [[The Others (band)|The Others]], Razorlight, and The Rakes, all of whom have had some commercial success in the music charts.
[[File:Whitechapel market.JPG|thumb|left|Whitechapel Street Market at night]]

===Demographics===
According to the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021 UK census]], Whitechapel has a total population of 18,841.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/london/wards/tower_hamlets/E05009336__whitechapel/|title= Whitechapel Ward in London|date=2021|accessdate=23 July 2024}}</ref> 

56.3% of Whitechapel residents identified as Asian, [[British Asians|Asian British]] or Asian Welsh, [[White British|White]] (28.8%), [[Black British people|Black]] (6.6%), [[Multiracial people|Mixed]] (4.1%), and [[Other ethnic group (United Kingdom Census)|Other]] (4.3%).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

55.2% identified as [[Muslims|Muslim]], 19.2% as [[Atheism|no religion]], 16.1% as [[Christians|Christian]], 1.1% as [[Hindus|Hindu]], 0.5% as [[Buddhists|Buddhist]], 0.5% as [[Jews|Jewish]], and 0.2% as [[Sikhs|Sikh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion - Census Maps, ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/religion/religion-tb/muslim |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=[[Office for National Statistics]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[British Bangladeshi|Bangladeshis]] are the single-largest ethnic group in the area, making up approximately 40% of the Whitechapel ward total population.<ref name="BanPop">{{NOMIS2011|id=1237320252|title=Whitechapel 2011 Census Ward|access-date=9 February 2018}}</ref> The [[East London Mosque]] at the end of Whitechapel Road is one of the largest mosques in Europe. The mosque group was established as early as 1910, and the demand for a mosque grew as the [[Sylhet]]i community grew rapidly over the years.

In 1985 this large, purpose-built mosque with a dome and [[minaret]] was built in the heart of Whitechapel, attracting thousands of worshippers every week, and it was further expanded with the [[London Muslim Centre]] in 2004.<ref>[http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/?page=history History of East London Mosque] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210110847/http://eastlondonmosque.org.uk/?page=history |date=10 February 2009 }} East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre. Retrieved 24 April 2009.</ref>

A library, the Whitechapel [[Idea Store]], constructed in 2005 at a cost of £12&nbsp;million by [[William Verry]] to a design by [[David Adjaye]], was nominated for the 2006 [[Stirling Prize]].<ref>[http://www.ajplus.co.uk/b_bank/search_results_details/?report_ID=7048] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ideastore.co.uk/ |title=Idea Store website |publisher=Ideastore.co.uk |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416125010/http://ideastore.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Whitechapel compared 2021<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/london/wards/tower_hamlets/E05009336__whitechapel/|title= Whitechapel Ward in London|date=2021|accessdate=23 July 2024}}</ref> 
![[White British]] or [[Other White]]
![[Asian British|Asian]]
![[Black British|Black]]
|-
|Whitechapel Population 18,841
|34.6%
|51.3%
|4.9%
|-
|[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
|39.4%
|44.4%
|7.3%
|}

===In literature===
[[File:Bangla lights Whitechapel.jpg|thumb|The Whitechapel Library with the word "[[Bengali language|বাংলা]]" illuminated in its front]]
Whitechapel features in [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[Pickwick Papers]]'' (chapter 22) as the location of the Bull Inn, where the Pickwickians take a coach to [[Ipswich]]. En route, driving along Whitechapel Road, [[Sam Weller (fictional character)|Sam Weller]] opines that it is "not a very nice neighbourhood" and notes the correlation between poverty and the abundance of oyster stalls here.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.victorianlondon.org/etexts/dickens/pickwick-0022.shtml |access-date=14 September 2021 |title=The Pickwick Papers |chapter=Chapter XXII Mr. PICKWICK JOURNEYS TO IPSWICH AND MEETS WITH A ROMANTIC ADVENTURE WITH A MIDDLE-AGED LADY IN YELLOW CURL-PAPERS |author=Charles Dickens |year=1836 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425051204/https://www.victorianlondon.org/etexts/dickens/pickwick-0022.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> One of [[Fagin]]'s dens in Dickens's ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' was located in Whitechapel, and Fagin himself was possibly based on a notorious local [[fence (criminal)|'fence']] named [[Ikey Solomon]] (1785–1850).

Whitechapel is also the setting of several novels by Jewish authors such as ''Children of the Ghetto'' and ''[[The King of Schnorrers]]'' by [[Israel Zangwill]] and ''Jew Boy'' by [[Simon Blumenfeld]]. Several chapters of [[Sholem Aleichem]]'s classic [[Yiddish]] novel ''[[Adventures of Mottel the Cantor's Son]]'' take place in early 20th-century Whitechapel, depicted from the point of view of an impoverished East European Jewish family fleeing the pogroms. The novel ''[[Journey Through a Small Planet]]'' by [[Emanuel Litvinoff]] vividly describes Whitechapel and its Jewish inhabitants in the 1920s and 1930s.

The prostitute and daughter of a [[Luddite]] leader Sybil Gerard, main character of [[William Gibson]] and [[Bruce Sterling]]'s novel [[The Difference Engine]] comes from Whitechapel. The novel's plot begins there.

One of the episodes in [[Michael Moorcock]]'s novel ''[[Breakfast in the Ruins]]'' takes place in 1905 Whitechapel, described from the point of view of an eleven year old [[Polish Jews|Jewish refugee from Poland]], working with his parents at a [[sweatshop]], who is caught up in the deadly confrontation between Russian revolutionaries and agents of the [[Okhrana|Czar's Secret Police]].

''[[Brick Lane (book)|Brick Lane]]'', the 2003 novel by [[Monica Ali]] is based in Whitechapel and documents the life of a young Bangladeshi woman's experience of living in [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]] in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Whitechapel is used as a location in most [[Jack the Ripper fiction]]. One such example is the bizarre ''White Chappel Scarlet Tracings'' (1987) by [[Iain Sinclair]].<ref>Glinert, Ed (2000). ''A Literary Guide to London''. London: Penguin. Page 256.</ref> It also features as the setting for the science fiction [[Webcomic]] ''[[FreakAngels]]'', written by popular comics writer [[Warren Ellis]].

Whitechapel is one of the worldwide locations referenced in [[Edith Piaf]]'s song ''C'est à Hambourg'' [https://www.google.co.il/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02PwU2vEUrq71kz2idNxlAhbeJzjQ%3A1599481773385&ei=rSdWX7PdFofgkgXXtK6wCQ&q=edith+piaf+c%27est+a+hambourg+lyrics&oq=%22Edith+piaf%22+%2B+C%27est+%C3%80+Hamburg+lyrica&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgYIABAWEB46CAghEBYQHRAeOgYIABANEB5QkBhYoHFg8IABaABwAHgAgAGkAYgBiA6SAQQwLjEzmAEAoAECoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesABAQ&sclient=psy-ab], describing the harsh life of prostitutes.

In 2002, Whitechapel was used as the setting for a [[Sherlock Holmes]] film, ''[[The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire]]'', based on the [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] story ''[[The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire]]''.

Whitechapel serves as the setting for the television series ''[[Ripper Street]]'', which aired 2013–2016.

===In music===

Whitechapel is the setting for the song "Fogwalking", a track on the 1970s album ''[[A Black Box]]'', by English musical artist [[Peter Hammill]].

==Education==
{{main|List of schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets}}

==Transport==
===Current railway stations===
Whitechapel has two underground stations: [[Aldgate East station|Aldgate East]] and [[Whitechapel station|Whitechapel]]. Aldgate East is served by the [[District line]] and the [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]]. Whitechapel is also served by these lines, as well by the [[Elizabeth line]] and the [[London Overground]] [[Windrush Line]]

===Historic railway stations===
Whitechapel station was originally called ''Whitechapel (Mile End)'' to reflect its position just inside Whitechapel's boundary with [[Mile End]] and also its boundary with Bethnal Green.

Aldgate East station was originally 150 metres west of its current location and there was once an additional district line station immediately east of the modern [[East London Mosque]] called [[St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) tube station|''St Mary's (Whitechapel Road)'']].

In the 1930s, Aldgate East station was relocated 150 metres east of its original position, meaning there would then be three stations in very close proximity; as a result, the railway economised by closing St Mary's, in the middle of the three stations.

===Other modes===
[[London Buses]] [[London Buses route 15|15]], [[London Buses route 25|25]], [[London Buses route 106|106]], [[London Buses route 115|115]], [[London Buses route 135|135]], [[London Buses route 205|205]], [[London Buses route 254|254]], [[London Buses route D3|D3]], [[London Buses route N15|N15]], [[London Buses route N205|N205]], [[London Buses route N253|N253]], [[London Buses route N550|N550]] and [[London Buses route N551|N551]] all operate within the area.

Whitechapel is connected to the [[Roads in the United Kingdom|National Road Network]] by both the [[A11 road (Great Britain)|A11]] on [[Whitechapel Road]] in the centre and, to the south, the [[A13 road (Great Britain)|A13]] and [[The Highway (London)|The Highway]] A1203 running east–west.

[[List of cycle routes in London|Cycle Superhighway CS2]] runs from [[Aldgate]] to [[Stratford, London|Stratford]] on the A11.

==Nearest places==
;Districts
*[[Aldgate]]
*[[Bethnal Green]]
*[[City of London]]
*[[East Smithfield]]
*[[Spitalfields]]
*[[Tower Hill]]
*[[Wapping]]
*[[Shadwell]]
*[[Stepney]]
*[[Mile End]]
*[[Mile End New Town]]
{{Geographic Location|title='''Neighbouring areas of London.'''|Northwest=[[Spitalfields]]|North=[[Bethnal Green]] and Spitalfields|Northeast=Bethnal Green|West=[[City of London]]|Centre=Whitechapel|East=[[Stepney]]|Southwest=[[Wapping]]|South=[[Shadwell]] and Wapping|Southeast=Stepney and Shadwell}}

==Notable natives or residents==
In addition to the prominent figures detailed in the article:

===Born in Whitechapel===
*[[Damon Albarn]] – musician, lead singer of [[Blur (band)|Blur]] and co-creator of virtual cartoon rock band [[Gorillaz]], born 1968<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/comment/story/0,6903,529057,00.html |title=The Observer Profile: Damon Albarn – Comment – The Observer |website=Theguardian.com |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=29 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029064816/https://www.theguardian.com/observer/comment/story/0,6903,529057,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Julius Stafford Baker]], cartoonist<ref>'BAKER, JULIUS STAFFORD (1869–1961), British cartoonist' in [[Maurice Horn]], Richard Marschall, eds., ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons'', vol. 1 (Gale Research Co., 1980), p. 96</ref>
*[[Abraham Beame]], first Jewish mayor of New York City, 1906–2001
*[[Jack Kid Berg]], boxer, "The Whitechapel Windmill", British Lightweight Champion 1934
*[[Stanley Black]], bandleader, 1913–2002.
*[[Simon Blumenfeld]], novelist, playwright and columnist, 1907–2005.
*[[Georgia Brown (English singer)|Georgia Brown]] (born Lillian Klot), actress and singer, 1933–1992
*[[Tina Charles (singer)|Tina Charles]], 1970s disco artist, born 1954
*[[Peter Cheyney]], mystery writer and journalist, 1896–1951
*[[Jack Cohen (businessman)|Jack Cohen]], Anglo-Jewish businessman who founded the Tesco supermarket chain, 1898–1979
*[[Ashley Cole]], [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] and [[England national football team|England]] footballer 1980
*[[Jack Comer|Jack "Spot" Comer]], Jewish gangster and anti-Fascist, 1912–1996
*[[Roger Delgado]], actor (known for playing "The Master" in ''Doctor Who''), 1918–1973
*[[Lloyd Doyley]], footballer
*[[Bud Flanagan]] (born Chaim Reuven Weintrop), music hall comedian on stage, radio, film and television, 1896–1968
*[[Micky Flanagan]], comedian
*[[Kemal Izzet]], footballer
*[[Muzzy Izzet]], footballer
*[[Kenney Jones]], drummer
*[[Morris Kestelman]], artist
*[[Charlie Lee (English footballer)|Charlie Lee]], [[Leyton Orient F.C.|Leyton Orient]] footballer
*[[Emanuel Litvinoff]], Anglo-Jewish author of ''[[Journey Through a Small Planet]]''
*Margaret Pepys (née Kite), mother of diarist [[Samuel Pepys]], d. 1667
*[[Brendan Perry]], founding member of music group [[Dead Can Dance]]
*[[Ella Purnell]], actress
*[[Abe Saperstein]], founder of the [[Harlem Globetrotters]] basketball team
*[[Barry Silkman]] (born 1952), footballer
*[[Sarah Taylor (cricketer)|Sarah Taylor]], cricketer
*[[Alan Tilvern]], film and television actor, 1918–2003
*[[Anwar Uddin]], captain of Dagenham and Redbridge
*[[Gary Webster (actor)|Gary Webster]], actor

===Resident in or otherwise associated with Whitechapel===
*[[Altab Ali Park|Altab Ali]], murdered in a Whitechapel park in 1978
*[[Barney Barnato]], diamond mining industrialist and [[Randlord]], 1851–1897
*[[Richard Brandon]] (? – 20 June 1649), the reputed [[Executioner of Charles I|executioner]] of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] was buried at the Whitechapel parish church of St Mary Matfelon. The church register records that he lived in Rosemary Lane (modern [[Royal Mint Street]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.casebook.org/victorian_london/whitechapel1881.html |title=Casebook: Jack the Ripper – Whitechapel |website=Casebook.org |access-date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=18 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318125801/http://www.casebook.org/victorian_london/whitechapel1881.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Mary Hughes (social worker)|Mary Hughes]] (1860–1941), a voluntary parish worker who initially lived in the [[Blackwall Buildings]] before moving to a converted pub on Vallance Road where she offered food and shelter to the needy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/MileEnd/EarlGreysCastle.shtml |title=Earl Grey's Castle, 71 Vallance Road, London, E1 |website=pubshistory.com |access-date=19 March 2018 |archive-date=20 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320043707/https://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/MileEnd/EarlGreysCastle.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Jack the Ripper]], [[serial killer]]
*[[Charles Lahr]] (1885–1971), German-born anarchist, London bookseller and publisher, secretary of the Whitechapel branch of the Industrial Union of Direct Actionists (IUDA)
*[[Jack London]], who wrote ''[[The People of the Abyss]]'' while staying in Whitechapel – an account of his 1902 stay amongst the East End poor
*[[Richard Parker (mutineer)|Richard Parker]], [[Royal Navy]] mutineer buried in [[St Mary Matfelon]]
*[[Rudolf Rocker]], [[anarcho-syndicalist]] writer, historian and prominent activist, active in Whitechapel 1895–1918, 1873–1958
*[[Obadiah Shuttleworth]], composer, violinist and organist of the parish church, d. 1734
*[[Abraham Nahum Stencl|Avrom Stencl]] (1897–1983), Polish-born Yiddish poet, early companion of [[Franz Kafka]], published ''Loshn and Lebn'' in Whitechapel

==Future developments==
Whitechapel Market and the A11 corridor is currently the subject of a £20&nbsp;million investment to improve the public spaces along the route. The London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets & Newham are working with English Heritage and Transport for London to refurbish the historic buildings at this location and improve the market.

==See also==
{{Portal|London}}
*[[British Bangladeshi]]
*[[Stepney Historical Trust]]
*[[Whitechapel Mount]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140107204055/http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/800001-800100/800018_in_your_ward/whitechapel.aspx Official website] for the ward of Whitechapel
*[http://www.casebook.org/victorian_london/index.html Primary source articles]
*[http://www.thhol.org.uk/ Tower Hamlets History Online]
*[http://www.jacktheripper.de/schauplaetze/nachtaufnahmen Nighttime photos of Whitechapel and environs]. Commentary is in German, but it is mostly photos.

{{LB Tower Hamlets}}
{{London Districts}}
{{Queen Mary University of London}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitechapel}}
[[Category:Whitechapel| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:District centres of London]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]