Month: May 2021

There are three parts to this post, the first deals with the history of the area up until 1938, the second the clearing, demolition and eventual development of the park and the third and final part details each street in turn.

• Part one – Growth (1700 – 1938)
• Part two – Demolition (1938 -1968)
• Part three – The lost streets of Weavers Fields

There are three parts to this post, the first deals with the history of the area up until 1938, the second the clearing, demolition and eventual development of the park and the third and final part details each street in turn.

• Part one – Growth (1700 – 1938)
• Part two – Demolition (1938 -1968)
• Part three – The lost streets of Weavers Fields

Demolition and renewal 1930-1960s

“The whole of western Bethnal Green was scheduled for redevelopment under a 5-year plan for 1962-7, the southern part for industry, relieved by an open space called Weavers’ Fields around Mapes Street”

(from British History Online)

The Tower Hamlets archive holds a number of files filled with correspondence and drawings detailing the clearing and development of Weavers Fields. Much the information here is drawn from those files.

These are fascinating documents, filled with personal notes, annotations and asides. To recapture this era of local authority bureaucracy and drawing offices I’ve reproduced some of the actual documents. You can almost smell the tobacco filled council offices.