Brick Lane

File:Brick Lane Mosque.JPG, used first as a church and then a synagogue, reflecting changing demographics]]

The street was formerly known as Whitechapel Lane, and wound through fields. It derives its current name from brick and tile manufacture started in the 15th century, which used the local brick earth deposits.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22735 "Stepney: Economic History", A History of the County of Middlesex, Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 52-63] Retrieved 15 October 2007 The street featured in the 16th-century Woodcut map of London as a partially developed crossroad leading north from the city's most easterly edge, and by the 17th century was being developed northwards from the Barres (now Whitechapel High Street) as a result of expanding population.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22746 "Bethnal Green: The West: Shoreditch Side, Spitalfields, and the Nichol", A History of the County of Middlesex, Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 103-109] Retrieved 15 October 2007.

Brewing came to Brick Lane before 1680, with water drawn from deep wells.Robert Bard. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4w_XAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT145 Whitechapel & Stepney Through Time]. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2018. One brewer was Joseph Truman, first recorded in 1683. His family, particularly Benjamin Truman, went on to establish the sizeable Black Eagle Brewery on Brick Lane.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50162 The Black Eagle Brewery, Brick Lane, Survey of London: volume 27: Spitalfields and Mile End New Town (1957), pp. 116-122] Retrieved 15 October 2007. The Brick Lane Market first developed in the 17th century for fruit and vegetables sold outside the City.

Successive waves of immigrants settled in the area. In the 17th century, French Huguenots expanded into the area for housing; the master weavers were based in Spitalfields.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22743 "Bethnal Green: Settlement and Building to 1836", A History of the County of Middlesex, Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 91-5] Date Retrieved 17 April 2007 Starting with the Huguenots, the area became a centre for weaving, tailoring and the developing clothing industry. It continued to attract immigrants, who provided semi-skilled and unskilled labour.

File:Spitalfields Parish map 1885.jpg, {{circa|1885}}. Bethnal Green lies north and north-east, with Whitechapel south and south-east.]]

In the 19th century, Irish peopleJohn A. Jackson, The Irish in Britain, 137-9, 150 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964) and Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the area.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22113 "The Jews", 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 Century (1969), pp. 149-51] Date Retrieved 17 April 2007 Jewish immigration continued into the early 20th century.

The Sunday market, like those on Petticoat Lane and nearby Columbia Road, dates from a dispensation given by the government to the Jewish community in the 19th century. At the time, owing to the Christian observance of Sunday rest, no Sunday markets were open. Located at the junction of Cheshire Street and Sclater Street, the market sells bric-a-brac as well as fruit, vegetables and many other items.

In 2015 it was identified by police as the focal point of a trade in stolen bicycles and bicycle parts, many taken from people employed in the City of London who had used "cycle to work" schemes. Alongside seven arrests, the police also warned purchasers that buying bicycles or parts in deals "too good to be true" could make them guilty of handling stolen goods.{{cite news |title=Seven held at market as police target 'heart' of stolen bike trade |last=Watts |first=Matt |date=18 May 2015 |work=London Evening Standard |page=18 }} Near the junction with Hanbury Street are two indoor markets; Upmarket and Backyard Market. The Brick Lane Farmers' Market opened in 2010, intended to be held every Sunday in nearby Bacon Street;[http://www.lfm.org.uk/markets/brick-lane/ 'Brick Lane Farmers Market Opens'], LFM it has now closed.{{cite web |title=London Farmers' Markets {{!}} Brick Lane Farmers' Market |url=http://www.lfm.org.uk/markets/brick-lane/}}

In the later 20th century, Bengali Muslims (specifically the Sylhetis) comprised the major group of immigrants and gradually dominated the demography in the area.[http://www.spacesyntax.tudelft.nl/media/prcdngsabstracts/izaaftab.pdf The Spatial Form of Bangladeshi Community in London's East End Iza Aftab (UCL)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227015929/http://www.spacesyntax.tudelft.nl/media/prcdngsabstracts/izaaftab.pdf |date=27 February 2008 }} (particularly background of Bangladeshi immigration to the East End). Date Retrieved 17 April 2007 Many Bengali immigrants to Brick Lane were from the north-eastern region of Sylhet, of which became part of Bangladesh. These settlers helped shape Bangladeshi migration to Britain; many families from Beanibazar, Jagannathpur and Bishwanath tend to live in the Brick Lane area though they spread around the London city.Michael Smith, John Eade (2008). Transnational Ties: Cities, Migrations, and Identities. Transaction Publishers. pp. 148-149.

In 1742, La Neuve Eglise, a Huguenot chapel, was built on the corner of Brick Lane and Fournier Street. By 1809, it was used by Wesleyan missionaries as The Jews' Chapel, where they promoted Christianity to the expanding Jewish population. It was adapted as a Methodist chapel in 1819 for Protestant residents. (John Wesley had preached his first "covenant sermon" at the nearby Black Eagle Street Chapel).

Reflecting the changing demographics of the area, in 1898, the building was consecrated as the Machzike HaDath, or Spitalfields Great Synagogue. After decades of change in the area, with Jews moving out and Bangladeshis moving in, in 1976 it was adapted again as the London Jamme Masjid (Great London Mosque) to serve the expanding Bangladeshi community.[http://www.mytowerhamlets.co.uk/towerhamlets/community-history.htm Lucy Dixon, "A brief history of the Mosque"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828030358/http://www.mytowerhamlets.co.uk/towerhamlets/community-history.htm |date=28 August 2007 }}, My Tower Hamlets website, Retrieved 15 October 2007 The building is Grade II* listed.{{NHLE |num=1240697 |desc=Brick Lane Jamme Masjid (former Neuve Eglise) |access-date=14 April 2009}}

File:Bangladeshi man in Brick Lane, London.jpg

File:Brick Lane.JPG

In the 20th century the Brick Lane area was important in the second wave of development of Anglo-Indian cuisine, as families from countries such as Bangladesh (mainly the Greater Sylhet region) migrated to London to look for work. Some curry houses of Brick Lane do not sell alcoholic beverages, for most are owned by Muslims. According to EasyJet Traveller magazine,{{Cite web|title=London's Brick Lane: an insider's guide|url=https://traveller.easyjet.com/united-kingdom/england/london/guide-london-brick-lane/|access-date=2021-11-03|website=EasyJet {{!}} Traveller|language=en}} the top three curry houses on Brick Lane in 2021 are Aladin, Sheba and City Spice.

Bengalis in the United Kingdom settled in big cities with industrial employment. In London, many settled in the East End. For centuries the East End has been the first port of call for many immigrants working in the docks and shipping from Chittagong port in Bengal (the British Empire in India was founded and based in Bengal). Their regular stopover paved the way for food outlets to be opened; these catered at first for an all-male workforce, for family migration and settlement took place some decades later. Humble beginnings such as this gave rise to Brick Lane as the famous curry capital of the UK (alongside Birmingham's Balti Triangle).

Designed by Meena Thakor, the ornamental Brick Lane Arch was erected in 1997 near Osborn Street to mark the entrance to Brick Lane and to 'Banglatown'. Like Brick Lane's lamp posts, the arch displays the red and green colours of the Bangladesh flag.{{Cite web|title=Bengali Cultural Walk|url=https://www.ideastore.co.uk/assets/documents/Local%20History%20Archives%20Online/walks/Bengali_History_Walk.pdf|url-status=live|website=Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105072339/http://ideastore.co.uk/assets/documents/Local%20History%20Archives%20Online/walks/Bengali_History_Walk.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2018 }} Having contributed so significantly to the area, the Bengali community campaigned to get the arch installed to celebrate Bengali culture in Brick Lane.{{Cite web|title=Spitalfields Neighbourhood Plan 2020-2035|url=https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s177602/6.3a%20Appendix.%201%20for%20Spitalfields%20Neighbourhood%20Plan%20Validation%20of%20Submission.pdf|website=Tower Hamlets Council}}

File:Graffiti in Shoreditch, London - Lion in Brick Lane (13784222033).jpg

More recently the area has also broadened to being an art and fashion student area, with exhibition space. Each year most of the fine art and fashion courses{{from where|date=March 2025}} exhibit their work near Brick Lane.

Since the late 1990s, Brick Lane has been the site of several of the city's night clubs, notably 93 Feet East and The Vibe Bar, both built on the site of The Old Truman Brewery, once the industrial centre of the area, and now an office and entertainment complex. In 1999, it was the scene of a bombing that injured 13 people.

Brick Lane has a regular display of graffiti, which features artists such as Banksy, Stik, ROA, D*Face, Ben Eine and Omar Hassan.{{cite web |url=http://www.hookedblog.co.uk/2012/03/omar-hassan-bringing-colour-to-block.html |title=Bringing Colour to the Block |website=Hookedblog — UK Street Art |access-date=2016-03-21}} The street has been used in music videos, including "Glory Days" by Just Jack, "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers, and "Überlin" by R.E.M.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/please-put-the-camera-away-darling-2234156.html|title = Please put the camera away, darling| website=Independent.co.uk |date = 7 March 2011}} In 2023, some Chinese students painted the political slogan of the Chinese Communist Party, "Core Socialist Values", in Chinese, sparking significant controversy.{{Cite news |date=7 August 2023 |title=Brick Lane: Chinese political slogans appear on London street art wall |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66391605 |accessdate=8 August 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Kottasová |first1=Ivana |last2=Gan |first2=Nectar |date=8 August 2023 |title=Chinese propaganda slogans turn London street art wall into a protest site against Beijing] |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/china/chinese-political-slogan-brick-lane-london-intl-hnk/index.html |accessdate=8 August 2023}}

File:Flickr - Duncan~ - Chicksand Street.jpg

Large swathes of Brick Lane and its surrounding areas were once owned by the Osborne (later Osborn after 1720) family, Baronets, of Chicksands in the County of Bedford. The family's holdings survived until at least the 1970s. The family's history continues to be reflected by the naming of streets in the area around Brick Lane, including:

• Chicksand Street reflects the village of Chicksands in Bedfordshire, location of the family seat Chicksands Priory;
• The west end of what is now Chicksand Street was once Osborn Place (see 1787 map);
• Modern Osborn Street is a renaming of what was once the southernmost stretch of Brick Lane (see Rocque map of 1746 for this naming, altered by the time of the 1787 map);
• Heneage Street reflects the marriage of George Osborn, 4th Baronet, to Lady Heneage Finch (his 2nd wife) in April 1772;{{cite book |last=Cokayne (compiler) |first=G.E. |title=The Complete Baronetage, Volume 3 |year=1904 |publisher=William Pollard & Co Ltd |location=Exeter, UK |pages=243–44}}
• The modern Hopetown Street was originally Finch Street, reflecting the same marriage (see 1853 map, right);
• The modern Old Montague Street was originally just Montague Street, preserving the maternal family name of George Osborn, 4th Baronet, whose mother, Mary Montague, was the daughter of George Montague, 2nd Earl of Halifax. The continuation of Chicksand Street to the east (now demolished) was once Halifax Street, referencing the same marriage;
• Modern Hanbury Street is made up of four streets shown on the 1853 map: Browns Lane, Montague Street (triggering the addition of 'Old' to the earlier street of the same name), Well Street and Church Street.

File:1745 Roque Map.jpg|John Rocque's Map of London, 1746

File:Map of Spitalfields Area - 1787.jpg|Map, publisher unknown, dated 1787, showing Spitalfields ("Spittlefields") and its environs

File:Stepney Area, part of Cross's New Plan Of London, 1853.jpg|An extract from Cross's New Plan Of London, showing Stepney and surrounding areas. Published 1853 by J. Cross of London.

Nearby buildings of interest include Christ Church, Spitalfields, the Jamme Masjid or Great London Mosque on the corner of Fournier Street (the building represents a history of successive communities of immigrants in East End), and The Rag Factory on Heneage Street (once home to Turner Prize nominees Tracey Emin and Gary Hume, now a thriving arts space).

File:Aldgate East Tube Station in 2008.jpg

The nearest London Underground stations are Aldgate East and Liverpool Street. A campaign was launched in 2006 to change the name of Aldgate East station to "Brick Lane",{{cite news |title=Bid to name Tube stop Brick Lane |work=BBC News |date=15 December 2006 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6183977.stm |access-date=10 January 2007}} but received no official support.

The nearest London Overground station is Shoreditch High Street station. This line runs on part of the former East London Line which has now been converted to London Overground. At the junction with Pedley Street existed the former Shoreditch Underground station terminus, which closed in 2006 due to the construction of the East London Line extension, and replaced by the aforementioned Shoreditch High Street. Remnants of the station can be seen from overground trains entering and leaving Liverpool Street station.

File:Brick Lane Banglatown.jpg

{{anchor|Contemporary culture wars}}The street is the location for Monica Ali's book Brick Lane, published in 2003, and the film of the same name of 2007 starring Tannishtha Chatterjee. The novel provoked a controversy with some of the local South Asian community because of a perceived negative portrayal of them. Parts of the Bengali community were particularly opposed to plans by Ruby Films to film parts of the movie based on the novel in the Brick Lane area and formed the "Campaign Against Monica Ali's Film Brick Lane". Consequently, the producers of the film used different locations for certain scenes, such as that depicting Brick Lane Market. Despite this, the director of the film, Sarah Gavron, attests on the DVD commentary of the film that genuine footage of Brick Lane does appear in the finished movie. Activists told The Guardian they intended to burn copies of Ali's book during a rally to be held on 30 July 2006, but the demonstration passed without incident.Cacciottolo, Mario. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5229872.stm "Brick Lane protesters hurt over 'lies'"], BBC News, 31 July 2006.

Other notable books on the area are Salaam Brick Lane by Tarquin Hall,{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/brick-lane/features/icons-meets-tarquin-hall |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102183127/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/brick-lane/features/icons-meets-tarquin-hall |archive-date=2 November 2007 |title=Interview: author Tarquin Hall - Brick Lane |website=Icons of England }} On Brick Lane (2007) by Rachel Lichtenstein and An Acre of Barren Ground by Jeremy Gavron.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/apr/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview22 |title=Review: An Acre of Barren Ground by Jeremy Gavron |first=Julie |last=Myerson |date=1 April 2005 |journal=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230413163405/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/apr/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview22 |archive-date= Apr 13, 2023 }} A large collection of photographs of the characters and salespeople who worked on the markets in Brick Lane were taken by Fran May between 1976 and 1978, whilst she was a student of photography at the Royal College of Art.{{cite web |url=http://www.franmay.com |title=Fran May Gallery |website=franmay.com |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181204195116/http://www.franmay.com/ |archive-date= Dec 4, 2018 }}

The street was used for several filming locations for the third season of the BBC television series Luther (2013).{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

• Beigel Bake
• British Bangladeshi
• Green Street, London
• Balti Triangle, Birmingham, also known as 'The Halal Quarter'

{{clear}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Brick Lane}}

• [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50163 Brick Lane] entry at the Survey of London (1957)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070304225645/http://londonpublichouse.com/BrickLane-Spitalfields/BrickLane.shtml Brick Lane through the last two hundred years], including many genealogical pubs.
• [http://www.worldwrite.org.uk/londonbehindthescenes/bricklane/ Virtual e-Tour Brick Lane]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130523002647/http://www.hidden-histories.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=178 Our Brick Lane - Eastside Community Heritage]

{{LB Tower Hamlets}}

Category:Restaurant districts and streets in England

Category:Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Category:Ethnic enclaves in the United Kingdom

Category:Bethnal Green

Category:Shoreditch

Category:Spitalfields

Category:Whitechapel

Category:District centres of London