East End of London
The term East End is most commonly used to refer to the East End of London, England. It's residents have traditionally been referred to as Cockneys.
Location
Historically the term was used exclusively to cover the districts of Whitechapel and Stepney which formed immediately to the east of, and entirely outside, the mediaeval walled City of London in the county of Middlesex. In 1888 with the creation of the County of London they became part of London proper. In 1899 the County of London was split into metropolitan boroughs. The boroughs of Stepney, Bethnal Green, Poplar and Shoreditch (the modern day borough of Tower Hamlets and part of Hackney) form the limit of what is commonly accepted as London's East End.
History
The East End has always been one of the poorest areas of London in stark contrast to the prosperous City of London it is immediately adjacent to. Throughout history the area has absorbed waves of immigrants who have each added a new dimension to the culture and history of the area. Most notably these have been the French protestant Huguenots, the Jews and the Bangladeshi community.
In 1888 the area became notorious as the site of the crimes of Jack the Ripper. In 1911 it was the site of the Sidney Street Siege, and in the 1960s it was the area most associated with gangster activity, most notably that of the Krays.
Traditionally the home of London's docks and industry the area was a continuous target during the blitz of World War 2. Much of what little housing remained was removed as part of 'slum clearance' programmes. Post war, specifically 1960s, architecture dominates the housing estates of the area. Over the 20th century, the docks declined in use as they were replaced by deep-water docks at Tilbury.
Today
The East End is now home to various urban regeneration projects, most notably Docklands, a huge commercial and housing development on the Isle of Dogs. Many of the 1960s tower blocks have been demolished or have been renovated. The area around Old Spitalfields market and Brick Lane has been extensively regenerated and is famous, amoungst other things, as London's curry capital.
With rising costs elsewhere in the capital the East End has become a desirable place for business, in particular new media business, to relocate to. With a boom in the property market and proximity to the city house prices in the East End have had considerable increase in recent years.
TV
The BBC soap opera EastEnders is set here.
Compare to West End of London.
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