Roman era The
Romans had a cemetery to the east of the Bishopsgate thoroughfare, which roughly follows the line of
Ermine Street: the main highway to the north from
Londinium. In 2013, Janet Montgomery of
Durham University undertook
lead isotope analysis of
tooth enamel, identifying the first person from
Rome known to have been buried in
Britain. She was a 25-year-old woman, buried in a lead-lined stone
sarcophagus around the middle of the 4th century AD, and accompanied by
grave goods of
jet and
glass.
St Mary Spital attributed to Walter Brunus (or Brown), the founder of the priory in 1197 In 1197, a
priory,
The New Hospital of St Mary without Bishopsgate, latterly known as
St Mary Spital, was founded by Walter Brunus and his wife Roisia, and built on the site of the cemetery. It was one of the biggest hospitals in
medieval England and had a large cemetery with a mortuary chapel and stone
charnel house. The chapel has been uncovered by archaeologists and preserved for public viewing. The priory and hospital were
dissolved in 1539 under
Henry VIII. At the time of the dissolution, the hospital had beds for 180 sick poor. The inner precinct of priory hospital was adjacent to the area that later became the Hamlet and parish of Spitalfields, in the tiny extra-parochial area called the
Liberty of Norton Folgate. Although the chapel and monastic buildings were mostly demolished in the time of Henry VIII, the Liberty remained an autonomous area outside of any parish. The adjacent outer precincts, to the south, were re-used for artillery practice by the gunners of the
Tower of London. The area, known as the
Old Artillery Ground was placed under the special jurisdiction of the Tower of London as one of its
Tower Liberties. Other parts of the priory area were used for residential purposes by London dwellers seeking a rural retreat and by the mid-17th century further development extended eastward into the erstwhile open farmland of the Spital Field.
Huguenots Spitalfields consisted mainly of fields and nursery gardens until its development in the late 17th century. The main local industry at that time was weaving, and many of the weavers were
Huguenot refugees from France. Spitalfields' historic association with the
silk industry was established by French Protestant (Huguenot) refugees who settled in the area after the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. By settling outside the bounds of the
City of London, they hoped to avoid the restrictive legislation of the
City guilds. The Huguenots brought with them little, apart from their skills, and an
Order in Council of 16 April 1687 raised £200,000 to relieve their poverty. In December 1687, the first report of the committee set up to administer the funds reported that 13,050 French refugees were settled in London, primarily around Spitalfields, but also in the nearby settlements of
Bethnal Green,
Shoreditch,
Whitechapel and
Mile End New Town. The late 17th and 18th centuries saw an estate of well-appointed terraced houses, built to accommodate the master weavers controlling the silk industry, and grand urban mansions built around the newly created Bishops Square which adjoins the short section of the main east–west street known as Spital Square.
Christ Church, Spitalfields on
Fournier Street, designed by the architect
Nicholas Hawksmoor, was built during the reign of
Queen Anne to demonstrate the power of the established church to the
dissenting Huguenots, who had built ten chapels in the area. More humble weavers dwellings were congregated in the
Tenterground. The
Spitalfields Mathematical Society was established in 1717. In 1846, it merged with the Royal Astronomical Society. Spitalfields Market was established in 1638 when
Charles I gave a licence for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold in what was then known as Spittle Fields. The market currently receives around 25,000 visitors every week. From the 1730s Irish weavers came, after a decline in the Irish linen industry, to take up work in the silk trade. The 18th century saw periodic crises in the silk industry, brought on by imports of French silk – in a lull between the wars between the two rivals; and imports of
printed calicos. The depression in the trade and the prices paid to weavers led to protests. In 1769, the
Spitalfield riots occurred when attempts were made to disperse protest meetings by weavers during the downturn in the market for silk. The riots ended in an Irish and a Huguenot weaver being hanged in front of the Salmon and Ball public house at
Bethnal Green. In 1729, Spitalfields was detached from the parish of
Stepney, and became an independent parish; by this time parish areas had both civil and ecclesiastical (church) functions. The area's parish church was Christ Church, Spitalfields, with St Stephen Spitalfields added later. The church of St Stephen Spitalfields was built in 1860 by public subscription but was demolished in 1930. The adjacent vicarage is all that remains.
Victorian era map of Spitalfields
rookery, 1894 By the
Victorian era, the silk industry had entered a long decline and the old merchant dwellings had degenerated into multi-occupied slums. Spitalfields became a by-word for urban deprivation, and, by 1832, concern about a London
cholera epidemic led ''
The Poor Man's Guardian'' (18 February 1832) to write of Spitalfields: The low houses are all huddled together in close and dark lanes and alleys, presenting at first sight an appearance of non-habitation, so dilapidated are the doors and windows:- in every room of the houses, whole families, parents, children and aged grandfathers swarm together. In 1860, a treaty with France allowed the import of cheaper French silks. This left the many weavers in Spitalfields, as well as neighbouring Bethnal Green and
Shoreditch, unemployed and indigent. New trades such as furniture and boot making came to the area, and the
large windowed Huguenot houses were found suitable for tailoring, attracting a new population of Jewish refugees drawn to live and work in the textile industry. , Spitalfields, By the later 19th century, inner Spitalfields became known as the worst criminal
rookery in London and
common lodging-houses in the
Flower and Dean Street area were a focus for the activities of robbers and pimps. In 1881, Flower and Dean Street was described as being "perhaps the foulest and most dangerous street in the metropolis". Another claimant to the distinction of being the worst street in London was
Dorset Street, which was highlighted by the brutal killing and
mutilation of a young woman,
Mary Jane Kelly, in her lodgings here by the serial killer
Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888. The murder was the climax of a series of murders that became known as
the Whitechapel Murders. The renewed focus on the area's poverty helped prompt the decision to demolish some local slums in 1891–1894. Deprivation continued and was brought to notice by social commentators such as
Jack London in his
The People of the Abyss (1903). He highlighted 'Itchy Park', next to Christ Church, Spitalfields, as a notorious rendezvous for homeless people.
Modern Spitalfields In the late 20th century the Jewish presence diminished and was replaced by an influx of
Bangladeshi immigrants, who also worked in the local
textile industry and made
Brick Lane the
curry capital of London. By 1981, at least 60% of households were of minority ethnic origin. Another development, from the 1960s onwards, has been a campaign to save the housing stock of old merchant terraces west of Brick Lane from demolition. Many have been conserved by the
Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust which has led to
gentrification and a large increase in property prices. In the 21st century, large office blocks were built between Bishopsgate and Spitalfields Market, affecting the character of the area. Conservationists secured the preservation of Old Spitalfields Market and the provision of shopping, leisure amenities and a plaza (urban square) beside the blocks, == Demographics ==