Stories Of London

As a child, I am sorry to say that Toynbee Hall did not stand out as anything special.  I was born in an old part of London that was rich in fascinating people and places, and although I remember liking the architecture of The Hall, I have to admit that it was but one of many sights of interest to me.  Later I was to learn that it was indeed a place of distinction.

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I was born in Borough of Bethnal Green, but lived and was brought up on the border with the Borough of Stepney at Cambridge Heath Road where it joins the Mile End Road.  This is Mile End Gate where, apparently, a Toll Gate once stood.  I went to school at Sir John Cass Foundation School on Dukes Place, Aldgate and was just inside the City of London.  During my school life at Sir John Cass School, I often walked to school from Mile End Gate.

For those interested in the past, Whitechapel is choc-a-block full of places of historical interest.  However, to me, as a child, the area was a treasure trove filled with colourful characters and numerous stalls and shops that know longer exist.  In those days, the place was a mass of colour and smells that seemed completely normal to me since I knew nothing else.  Of course, today, although the people are not the same, it is still a mass of colour and smells.

Some of the sights of my route included:

• Sidney Street, site of The Siege of 1911;  click here to watch a short video where the details of The Siege may be learned;
• The Blind Beggar Public House, which amongst other things, was the site of General William Booth’s first sermon that led to the foundation of The Salvation Army; 
• the huge brewery of Mann, Crossmann, Paulin; the brewery closed down and is now partly used as a Citizen’s Advice Bureau;
• The Royal London Hospital and the shop where The Elephant Man, Joseph (John) Merrick was once displayed; the area in front of the Hospital and extending back to Mile End Gate was known as The Waste and was, and still is, a street market; the smells of the area were often the result of rotting fruit and blocked drains!
• Whitechapel Underground Station, part of the East London Metropolitan Line; there was a Mission and Lecture Hall adjacent to the Station, which I visited often, as I was friendly with the son of the caretaker; 
• the Davenant Foundation Grammar School for Boys; the school apparently moved location in 1965;
• adjacent to the School was the massive Salvation Army Mission & Hostel, which was rebuilt, I believe, in the 1970s, and renamed as Booth House.General Booth opened a Soup Kitchen and Mission on Mile End Road not far from Mile End Gate. Today, a statue of The General has been placed close to the site of The Mission, thanks to the generosity of American Members of The Salvation Army;
• a large Jewish Immigrant Population who had come to London from Russia, Poland and Germany either before the Second World War or just after lived in the area when I was a child; this was the centre of Jewish Life in London; I remember seeing scores of Hasidim and less religious Jews in Whitechapel;  as a result, the area was home to a large number of Kosher Butchers etc and Religious Bookshops, which I found of great interest; further along Whitechapel High Street, were a number of tailoring establishments where many of the local populace worked;
• the Whitechapel Bell Foundry where Big Ben and The Liberty Bell, amongst others, were struck;
• the Whitechapel Art Gallery; I was never fond of this establishment!  This was as a result of one of the mean guards who accused me of touching a drawing.  I was at The Gallery with my parents and was POINTING to a drawing when this dreadful man came running up and was screaming at me NOT TO TOUCH THE DISPLAYS.  My parents had brought me up to respect the property of others and not to touch anything in a museum or art gallery.  I tried to explain that I had not touched the drawing, but the guard would not listen and continued to complain.  Although my mother and my father said that I had not, the guard continued to bellow and not listen!  I remember that other visitors to The Gallery soon began to look at me and I began to feel embarrassed, like a VILLAIN!  Eventually my parents had enough of the guard’s abusive manner and told him, once more, that I had not touched the painting and then we walked out.  We never returned to The Gallery again;
• Bloom’s Restaurant & Delicatessen; a wonderful restaurant that is sadly missed;
• Gardiner’s Corner where the large Gardiner’s Department Store stood and marked the joining of five roads including Commercial Street; and
• On the North-East corner of Gardiner’s Corner, and the start of Commercial Street, stood what I used to believe was Aladdin’s Cave ………..  Woolworth’s!   Woolworth’s, during my childhood days was every schoolboy’s idea of a magical kingdom, as it used to sell (almost) everything that could possibly be of value to such clientele:  cheap, tooth-rotting boiled sweets, little metal model cars and aeroplanes, cardboard masks, balloons, etc etc etc.  In addition, this branch of F.W. Woolworth Limited, had doors on both Commercial Street and Whitechapel High Street.  This meant that chasing games could be played in The Store since both sets of doors offered escape roots.  However, The Store was constantly patrolled by Floor Walkers who were nasty young men in suits with no sense of humour and who had forgotten that Woolworth’s belonged to us and spent their time trying to catch young boys and hurl them out into the street!

Top: F.W. Woolworth Limited at Gardiner’s Corner during the 1950s
Bottom: the building more recently

• Not far from Gardiner’s Corner, on Commercial Road (one of the five roads that met at The Corner) was the Grand Palais, a Yiddish Theatre, which was still there during my childhood.
• close to the union of Commercial Road and Gardiner’s Corner is Proof House, home of The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers;
• Middlesex Street-Petticoat Lane, one of the streets leading off Whitechapel High Street, is a Sunday Street Market that has existed since well over a hundred years; the market extends to Wentworth Street, which is a six-days-a-week market (see below); and
• For many years, at the union of Coulston Street and Whitechapel High Street stood the stall of Tubby Issacs where shellfish and Jellied Eels were sold.  My father used to prepare both hot and jellied eels and meat pies in the shop we once had at Mile End Gate.  The Tubby Issacs Stall opened in 1919, but sadly closed down for business in June 2013 after ninety-four years of business ……. a sad loss of yet another link to the old East End!

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Commercial Street is another street of interest and was filled with many places of note.  During early Elizabethan Times, the area was home to a number of theatres, however following their closure, they moved to the South Bank.  I read recently that the area was now the site of excavations in order to locate the sites of the theatres.

Further along the Street is the entrance to Wentworth Street, which was and still is a street market.  When I was a child, the market was filled with stalls and shops owned by Jewish venders.  My mother loved Jewish food and we often came here to buy tasty foods and would always get a Salt-Beef Sandwich.  My mouth waters at the thought!  Of course, English Salt-Beef Sandwiches were much smaller than those served in the U.S., but nonetheless, very, very tasty!

A little further along Commercial Street is the entrance to Spitalfields Fruit & Vegetable Market, which was still in use as a major centre of distribution when I was at school.

Commercial Street Entrance to Spitalfields Market

Opposite the entrance to Spitalfields Market is the Christ Church Spitalfields, now a Grade I Listed Building, but during my childhood, was rather the worst for wear.  Seemingly, The Church underwent major restoration in 1976 and has been returned to its former glory.  I can not say that this church was one of my favourite, which perhaps is due to my Grandmother, my mother’s mother.  She insisted that Jack the Ripper used to cut off the heads of women and put them on the spikes of the railings surrounding The Church.  I have since learned that she over-exaggerated the number of murders actually committed by Jack!  My Grandmother never really liked me and predicted that I would spend much of my life in prison!

Christchurch Spitalfields

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On the East side of Commercial Street was, to my childhood eyes, a church-like brown building that I always liked.  This was Toynbee Hall.  During those days, I never quite understood WHAT those that worked at The Hall actually did!  Why would I since I was fortunate enough to have enough food to eat and a warm, dry home to live in, unlike many children and adults in the area.

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It was not until I was a little older that I learned about one of the services offered at The Hall.  Things had changed and we were now about to join the troubled of society: sadly, we were on the verge of being evicted from our shop.  I remember that my parents became more and more desperate as to where we were going to live!  Rented accommodation was at a premium in Bethnal Green and Stepney during the early 1950s since little new home building and restoration had been done  since before the War.  I remember, one afternoon, after school had finished, my mother took me to Toynbee Hall to seek Legal Aid in the hope of avoiding the inevitable.  After speaking to a number of representatives, we left The Hall.  Later my mother said that although the people she spoke to tried to be helpful, since these were the days of Slum Lords where Landlords had total power over their housing and no decent Rent Acts were in place, they were unable to offer help except to give her the addresses of local Hostels, which my mother was not eager to accept.

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Over the years, I used to pass Toynbee Hall whenever I went to the East End.  I was pleased to see the new building and especially pleased to learn that one of these had been named in honour of Mr. Attlee.

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I am glad to see that the institution is still there for those in need, but it is disturbing to note what appears on their website:

Child Poverty is at 49% in Tower Hamlets – the highest in the U.K.

Just imagine what it would be if there was no Toynbee Hall!

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