Toponymy Mile End is recorded in 1288 as
La Mile ende. It is formed from the
Middle English 'mile' and 'ende' and means 'the hamlet a mile away'. The mile distance was in relation to
Aldgate in the
City of London, reached by the London-to-Colchester road.
Expansion Speculative developments existed by the end of the 16th century and continued throughout the 18th century. It developed as an area of working and lower-class housing, often occupied by immigrants and migrants new to the city. In 1811
Bancroft Road Cemetery at Globe Fields was opened for its first burial by the separatist "Maiden Lane synagogue in Covent Garden". By 1884 it was in disrepair. The cemetery was full by 1895. The synagogue became bankrupt in 1907 and incorporated back into the larger Western Marble Arch Synagogue. In 1820 the
New Globe pub opened next to the new "Globe Bridge", with its licence possibly transferring from a nearby pub called the Cherry Tree which closed at around this time.
Mile End Hospital was originally an infirmary for the local workhouse, established in 1859. In 1883 the facility was rebuilt as the "Mile End Old Town Infirmary". A training school for nurses was added in 1892. In 2012 it was taken under the management of
Barts Health NHS Trust. In 1882 novelist and social commentator
Sir Walter Besant proposed a
Palace of Delight with concert halls, reading rooms, picture galleries, an art school, various classes, social rooms and frequent fêtes and dances. This coincided with a project by the philanthropist businessman Edmund Hay Currie to use money from the winding up of the "Beaumont Trust", (together with subscriptions) to build a "People's Palace" in the East End. Five acres of land were secured on the Mile End Road and the '''Queen's Hall''' was opened by
Queen Victoria on 14 May 1887. The complex had a library, swimming pool, gymnasium and winter garden by 1892 which provided an eclectic mix of populist entertainment and education. A peak of 8,000 tickets were sold for classes in 1892. By 1900, a
Bachelor of Science degree was introduced, awarded by the
University of London. The building was destroyed by fire in 1931 but the
Draper's Company (major donors to the original scheme) invested to rebuild the technical college and create
Queen Mary College in December 1934. A new "People's Palace" was constructed in 1937 by the
Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in St Helen's Terrace. This finally closed in 1954. In 1902
Mile End tube station was opened by the
Whitechapel & Bow Railway (W&BR). Electrified services started in 1905. The first services were provided by the
District Railway (now the District line). Then the
Metropolitan line followed in 1936 (this part was renamed in 1988 as the
Hammersmith & City line.) In 1946 (as part of the
Central line eastern extension) the station was expanded and rebuilt by
Stanley Heaps (Chief Architect of London Underground) and his assistant Thomas Bilbow. Services started on 4 December 1946. Following nationalisation of the W&BR, full ownership of the station passed to
London Underground in 1950. In 1903
The Guardian Angels Church (designed by
Frederick Arthur Walters) opened. It was paid for by
Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk as a memorial to his youngest sister
Lady Margaret Howard, who had performed charitable work in the East End. In 1933 a ring known as
Mile End Arena (covered with a canopy, crumbling walls and rickety corrugated iron) was opened behind Mile End station. It was only used in summer and closed in 1953.
Second World War As well as suffering heavily in earlier blitzes, Mile End was hit by the first
V-1 flying bomb to strike London. On 13 June 1944, that "
doodlebug" impacted next to the railway bridge on Grove Road, an event now commemorated by a
blue plaque. Eight civilians were killed, 30 injured, and 200 made homeless by the blast. After the Second World War, a part of Mile End remained mostly derelict for many years, until it was cleared to extend
Mile End Park.
Contemporary The Stepney Green Conservation Area was designated in January 1973, covering the area previously known as Mile End Old Town. It is a large Conservation Area with an irregular shape that encloses buildings around Mile End Road, Assembly Passage, Louisa Street and Stepney Green itself. It is an area of exceptional architectural and historic interest, with a character and appearance worthy of protection and enhancement. It is situated just north of the medieval village of Stepney, which was clustered around St. Dunstan's Church. in 2004 In 1990
Ragged School Museum opened in the premises of the former site of the Copperfield Road Ragged School. On 17 June 1995, the
Mile End Stadium hosted a gig by
Britpop band
Blur where 27,000 fans saw them supported by
the Boo Radleys,
Sparks,
John Shuttleworth,
Dodgy and the
Cardiacs. A groundbreaking project funded by the
Millennium Commission called
the Green Bridge opened in 2000 (a
pedestrian and cyclist separation structure over the A11 (Mile End Road) connecting the two halves of Mile End Park to form a
linear park). It included new retail frontages. The
St Clement's Hospital site was closed in 2005, with services transferred to a new Adult Mental Health Facility at Mile End Hospital in October 2005.
The Palm Tree pub building was
Grade II listed in 2015 by
Historic England. The
Night Tube service began at Mile End tube station (on the Central line) on 19 August 2016. Since 2016, northern Mile End has fallen under the remit of the Bow Roman Road Neighbourhood Forum. This includes the shops under The Green Bridge on the northern side of Mile End Road (A11), the Mile End Climbing Wall, and Palm Tree. A 165 year old historically important pub which had been one of the few buildings locally to survive the blitz, "The Carlton" closed in May 2018. This was an important part of local community history. It was sold to Trustee Properties Ltd who obtained permission from Tower Hamlets Council in 2017 to develop five flats but not to demolish the ground floor of the pub. But they demolished the whole building without approval. ==Governance==