The East End & Docklands

The East End is comprised of the districts immediately east of Tower Bridge and the City of London. Although it is so close to the City, the East End has traditionally been the working-class area of London, popular with immigrants. Today the East End has become famous for its multicultural population although the deprivation of the area is still all too evident. 

The Docklands cover 55 miles of waterfront beginning where the City of London ends. The area is unique in Europe, having been created in little more than 12 years from 22 square kilometres of derelict docks. The docks of the Port of London were once the hub of the British Empire and its enormous worldwide trade. The area continued to expand as the industry thrived, necessitating the construction of a new dock in 1921. However, in 1940 during the blitz, 25,000 bombs fell on the area over 57 consecutive nights. The docks never recovered and in the decades that followed, the Docklands gradually fell into dereliction and disrepair until the area was regenerated in the 1980's. Today it is a thriving area of offices, marinas and penthouse apartments.