Pustules and plague corpses in Smithfield. Women disguised in men's clothing. A shark in the Thames. London's East End has a history soaked in blood. The Great Plague of London can be traced to its streets; Jack the Ripper prowled here, as did the Ratcliffe Highway murderer and the gunmen of the famous Sidney Street siege. Communists, fascists, suffragettes and the Skeleton Army have all fought through the streets of the East End, before it weathered the worst that the Nazi bombers could throw at it during the dark days of the Blitz. Historically viewed as a 'den of iniquity', and once teeming with opium dens, bodysnatchers and paupers, this is a story of dreadful odds and of determination, filled with horror, grim British humour and hundreds of incredible years of history.
Pustules and plague corpses in Smithfield. Women disguised in men's clothing. A shark in the Thames. London's East End has a history soaked in blood. The Great Plague of London can be traced to its streets; Jack the Ripper prowled here, as did the Ratcliffe Highway murderer and the gunmen of the famous Sidney Street siege. Communists, fascists, suffragettes and the Skeleton Army have all fought through the streets of the East End, before it weathered the worst that the Nazi bombers could throw at it during the dark days of the Blitz. Historically viewed as a 'den of iniquity', and once teeming with opium dens, bodysnatchers and paupers, this is a story of dreadful odds and of determination, filled with horror, grim British humour and hundreds of incredible years of history.
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Pustules and plague corpses in Smithfield. Women disguised in men's clothing. A shark in the Thames. London's East End has a history soaked in blood. The Great Plague of London can be traced to its streets; Jack the Ripper prowled here, as did the Ratcliffe Highway murderer and the gunmen of the famous Sidney Street siege. Communists, fascists, suffragettes and the Skeleton Army have all fought through the streets of the East End, before it weathered the worst that the Nazi bombers could throw at it during the dark days of the Blitz. Historically viewed as a 'den of iniquity', and once teeming with opium dens, bodysnatchers and paupers, this is a story of dreadful odds and of determination, filled with horror, grim British humour and hundreds of incredible years of history.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780750965606 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication date: | 08/03/2015 |
| Series: | Bloody History |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 96 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Bloody British History: East End
By Samantha L. Bird
The History Press
Copyright © 2015 Samantha L. BirdAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7509-6560-6
CHAPTER 1
600 BC
EARLY HISTORY
In the beginning, the East End would have been a dark and forbidding place. In fact the area would have been a bog. The Thames was a tributary of the Rhine less than a million years ago, and the North Sea was the Rhine basin. With Hampstead in the north on high ground and Dulwich on the south, the Thames formed lagoons and marshes that were surrounded by the forest that covered all of the land.
Living creatures, men and animals, must have crossed into England by the neck of land connecting Britain with Europe, but by the time we first learn of them the sea had broken through the Straits of Dover and Britain was an island. At this time it was a good deal colder, so there were hairy mammoths and woolly rhinoceros, boars, bears, wolves, wild oxen, and sabre-toothed tigers. These animals roamed the forests and hunted each other, eventually becoming extinct. For man, the East End would have been suited to cultivation with farm implements fashioned by Stone Age man. It would have been a difficult and perilous time for the East Ender, but man survived.
With a lot of forest came a lot of rain, and the consequence was that the Thames had many tributaries to carry the water down from the north. Two are of note, the Lea, London's defence on the east from time immemorial, and the Wallbrook. On the left bank of the Wallbrook, on a dry hillock near Cannon Street station, the first permanent settlement was made, at about the beginning of the Christian era. The Celts who built it probably called it Llyn-dim – the lake-fort – London. It was pretty safe from invasion, as it was 50 miles from the sea, but trade could flow up and down the river by boat.
The Celtic Britons were part of the territory of the Catuvellauni, the main group of the Belgic tribes who had invaded Britain in the second century BC. By the time Julius Caesar came in 55 BC and 54 BC, the Home Counties had become the Celts' stronghold in Britain. The Celts were fierce and undisciplined and prone to fighting amongst themselves. They were warriors who were tall, fair-skinned with red or yellow hair, and fond of bright clothes and ornament. They were energetic, musical, and idealistic. They were also daring and clever seamen who traded with the Continent. Ratcliff (the red cliff) as the Saxons were to later name it, was, for the Celts, a convenient landing place nearby. Ever since, the East End has had a close maritime link with the mother-city.
CHAPTER 2AD 43
THE ROMANS
Ninety years after Julius Caesar called off his invasion of Britain, Emperor Claudius began the real occupation of Britain by the Romans. In AD 43 Claudius marched with his legions and his elephants down the British trackway to Old Ford and crossed the Lea to capture Colchester. Within the space of twenty years all of southern England became Rome's. Boudicca's defeat and death in AD 61 marked the end of Celtic power in the South of England and the Roman's replaced 'Albion', the Celtic name for the area, with 'Britain'. The term 'Great Britain' was not invented for another 1,600 years, however, when James I joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland. The Romans also tried to change London's name to 'Augusta' but failed.
The Romans fortified London, which until then had been little more than a commercial port. They built their citadel on the other side of the Wallbrook and enclosed the ground from Cornhill to Thames Street and from Mincing Lane to the Wallbrook. They also built the first London Bridge. Their port was near the bridgehead and their market near the port, thus making Billingsgate the oldest London market. In the East End the Romans created orchards and gardens. Closer to the city, they buried their dead at Spitalfields and Ratcliff.
For 300 years Britain grew in wealth and importance. Roads were built. Notably the road following the line of Bethnal Green Road and Roman Road was built, joining the great port of Londinium to Colchester, the capital of Britain. Another Roman road went from the city wall along to Ratcliff, which may have been suitable as a landing place for ships. Just off the line of this road, at Shadwell, the remains were found of a Roman signal station. It is believed that the signal station would have been one of a series, designed to warn Londoners of impending enemy ships coming upriver from the sea.
When the Romans first conquered Britain they supressed the Druids, the priests of the Celts, but on the whole were tolerant of alien religions. In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, which appeared to challenge the Roman right to rule and had been persecuted previously under Roman law. Christianity never seems to have caught on very widely in Roman Britain. Less than 100 years after Constantine's edict the Roman legions had left Britain and Christianity was nearly obliterated by the Saxon invasions that began in AD 445. Some 300 years of Roman peace had made the Britons civilised but soft, unable to effectively defend against the fierce heathen tribes from across the North Sea.
CHAPTER 3AD 450
THE SAXONS
The name Stepney comes from the Saxon Stebunhithe, meaning the landing place of Stebba or Stephen. During Saxon times most of the manor of Stepney was a rural rather than a maritime area, with marshlands in the south near the Thames and forests to the north, part of which is now Victoria Park. Considering the area's later development into maritime affairs, it is interesting that its original name is related to shipping.
It has been suggested that London may have been abandoned for some time, at least during the fifth century, due to Saxon invaders having little interest in urban life. Britain was divided up into kingdoms and East London became part of the kingdom of the East Saxons, which included present-day Essex, Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Later this domain was absorbed into the larger kingdom of Mercia.
The Roman roads hastened the advance of the Saxons, enabling the heathen invaders to cut deep inland with much greater speed than would have been possible otherwise. Due to the focus on roads in London, it was certain that London would be a great city. However, London is not heard of between 457, early in the Saxon invasion when the people of London fled south over the bridge, and the seventh century when it was the chief town of the East Saxons.
When St Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, came from Rome in the sixth century to convert King Ethelbert of Kent and the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, he found no trace of an earlier Christianity, even though there were close connections with Christian France and Ethelbert's Queen Bertha was a Christian. King Ethelbert, deemed to be the most powerful prince in the land, was converted in a few months and in 604 he established a diocese of London. The diocese consisted of Middlesex, Essex and part of Hertfordshire. Ethelbert built St Paul's church in London for the bishop and granted much land in and about London. The vast manor of Stepney, which covered pretty much the whole of the modern East End, from Islington to the Thames and from Aldgate to the Lea, passed into the hands of the bishop. This manor prevented the eastward spread of London, and was the principal residence of the bishops of London.
Gradually village life became centred on the church as Christianity took hold. Rather than the old rite of dedication, baptism succeeded. Marriage continued to be ratified by handclasp but was now blessed by the priest. The burial rite was altered and slowly adapted the new faith. By AD 700 the English Church consolidated in absolute communion with Rome. The Christian faith became a common denominator across the separate kingdoms but this unifying factor did not prevent wars between different princes.
For England, unity came in the ninth century with the threat of a Viking invasion. The Vikings came from what are now Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Typically they arrived suddenly in their fast-sailing longboats and killed whoever got in their way before making their escape as quickly as they had come. In 870 the Vikings raided what is now Essex and, during this raid, they destroyed Barking Abbey. They carried on to London and in a short space of time they were in control of most of eastern England. The Vikings then entered the kingdom of Wessex but were defeated by Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington in 878. Guthrum, the Viking leader, was baptised and agreed to keep the peace. He also accepted the Treaty of Wedmore, which named the River Lea as the frontier between the Saxons to the west and the Danes to the east. As a result of the treaty, England became a rich commercial centre of trading, chiefly in wool and skins.
By 886 Alfred had occupied London and was accepted as the King of England by the other kingdoms, becoming the first king to visualise England as a whole. Alfred refortified the Roman perimeter of London and built a fleet to protect the coast as a new wave of Danish pirates came swarming up the Thames and the Lea. The Danes set up camp in Benfleet and Alfred's army marched through East London to destroy their camp and ships. However, the Danish fleet retaliated by sailing up the River Lea to Ware, where they built a fort from which they could plunder the surrounding countryside. In 896, the harvest in Stepney could not be gathered until the farmlands were protected by Alfred's forces. Unable to dislodge the Danes in battle, Alfred had the waters of the Lea diverted so that the Danes were unable to use their longboats. The Danes retreated to the Danelaw, their territory to the east of the Lea, where many of the raiders eventually settled down and intermarried with the Saxons.
During the reign of Edgar, with his adviser Dunstan, there was a period of peace. The tenth century was the great period of Saxon England, when Alfred's greatness lived on in the kings of his line, drove back the Danes and gave laws, peace and prosperity to the land. A religious revival also began in Glastonbury under Dunstan. However, after the death of Edgar in 975 the Danes attacked in force.
CHAPTER 4AD 909–988
ST DUNSTAN AND THE DEVIL
Dunstan was born in AD 909, the son of Heorstan, a nobleman of Wessex, and Cynethryth, a pious woman. He studied under the Irish monks in the famous, and already ancient, abbey of Glastonbury and, while still a child, he entered the service of King Æthelstan, grandson of Alfred, and soon became a favourite of the king. Other members of court were envious of his position, however, and a plot surfaced to disgrace him. Dunstan was accused of being involved with witchcraft and black magic, and he was banished from court. As he was leaving the palace his enemies physically attacked him, beat him severely, bound him, and threw him into a cesspool. Dunstan managed to crawl out and went to his relative Æthelstan, Bishop of Winchester, who tried to persuade him to become a monk. Dunstan was doubtful about this vocation but then came an attack of swelling tumours all over his body. The ailment was so severe that it was thought to be leprosy, but was probably some form of blood poisoning caused by being beaten and thrown into the cesspool. Whatever its cause, it clarified Dunstan's thoughts and he took holy orders in 943. Dunstan returned to the life of a hermit in St Mary's, Glastonbury, and built a small cell in which he studied, worked at his handicrafts and played the harp. It was at this time that, according to eleventh-century legend, the Devil tried to tempt Dunstan but he held the Devil by the face with hot tongs.
When Edmund, Æthelstan's brother, came to the throne in 940, he called Dunstan back to his court at Cheddar and made him a minister. Nevertheless, royal favour again fostered jealousy; he was banished once more but returned when Edmund made him Abbot of Glastonbury. Then, in 946, Edmund was assassinated and his brother Eadred succeeded the throne as king. Eadred's policy was of unification and conciliation with the Danish half of the kingdom, and the firm establishment of a royal authority. Dunstan was shown even greater favour as he became the king's guide in public policy. In 955, however, Eadred died and Eadwig, the elder son of Edmund, came to the throne as a headstrong youth devoted to the reactionary nobles. On the day of Eadwig's coronation, legend has it that Dunstan began a feud with the soon to be king when Eadwig failed to attend a meeting of nobles. Dunstan eventually found the young monarch cavorting with a noblewoman, Ælfgifu, and her mother. Dunstan was infuriated when Eadwig refused to return with him and he eventually dragged the youth away and forced him to renounce the girl as a 'strumpet'. Realising that he had offended the king, Dunstan escaped to the sanctuary of his cloister but Eadwig, incited by Ælfgifu whom he married, followed Dunstan and plundered the monastery.
Dunstan fled to Flanders but was recalled by Edgar who became king north of the Thames while the south remained faithful to Eadwig. On his return, Dunstan was made Bishop of Worcester and then Bishop of London by Edgar. As Bishop of London, Dunstan was also Lord of the Manor of Stepney. It was probably at this time that Dunstan either built or rebuilt the church of All Saints, on the site of the present church. The traditional date for this is 952, as Dunstan was heavily engaged in public work of all kinds at this time of his first pre-eminence.
The structure of Dunstan's church was probably timber and may well have been something like the Saxon church that still stands at nearby Greenstead near Chipping Ongar, some 15 miles away. When Dunstan was canonised in 1029, the church was rededicated and has ever since been the church of St Dunstan and All Saints. Above the altar in the church, the rood is one of the most precious items in East London and dates from about this time.
Edgar became sole king in 959 and soon afterwards Dunstan was made Archbishop of Canterbury. Dunstan was the most influential man in the land next to the king from this time until Edgar's death in 975. It has been suggested that Dunstan might be called the first Prime Minister of England.
Dunstan was a Saxon, but his temperament is said to be far more like a Celt. He was said to be energetic, idealistic, ascetic, versatile and attractive to women. Apart from being a holy man, he was a great politician, a smith, an artist and a musician. Evidence of Dunstan the artist can be seen by his self-portrait in a manuscript from Glastonbury. When King Eadred first offered him a bishopric he was too modest to accept it. His zeal was for the education of the clergy rather than a desire to enforce strictness in their lives. He loved church buildings and education, 'and thus all this English land was filled with his holy doctrine, singing before God and man like the sun and moon'.
However, in an age of loose living, Dunstan was a thorn in the flesh of the easy-going. On one occasion he even resisted the Pope, who had given permission for an unlawful marriage. Dunstan was totally absorbed in religion and it was said that, when he went to the altar, he spoke as if speaking face to face with the Lord.
After the king's death, Dunstan secured the succession of Edgar's elder son, Edward II 'the Martyr'. However, Edward's stepmother, Ælfthryth, who wished her own son Æthelred to reign, had the young king assassinated at Corfe Castle, Dorset, in March 978. Æthelred II 'the Unready', her son, then became king. At this point Dunstan's political career came to an end and he retired to Canterbury, where he died in 988.
Legends began to grow immediately after the death of Dunstan and in 1029 he was canonised with 19 May being set aside as his feast day. Prior to the Norman Conquest he was the greatest English ecclesiastic. His tomb was the most visited shrine for English pilgrims for 200 years, no doubt partly due to the peaceful and prosperous nature of Edgar's reign with Dunstan at his side. Dunstan is the patron saint of goldsmiths and blacksmiths and the date year on hallmarks run from 19 May to 18 May to match his feast day. He has twenty churches in England dedicated to him, four of which are in London – Dunstan's, Stepney; St Dunstan's, Mayfield; St Dunstan-in-the-East; and St Dunstan-in-the-West.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Bloody British History: East End by Samantha L. Bird. Copyright © 2015 Samantha L. Bird. Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Title,Dedication,
Acknowledgements,
600 BC Early History,
AD 43 The Romans,
AD 450 The Saxons,
AD 909–988 St Dunstan and the Devil,
AD 1078 The Building of the Tower of London and the Magna Carta,
AD 1329 The Naming of St Mary Matfelon,
AD 1348 The Black Death,
AD 1381 The Peasants' Revolt,
AD 1483 The Murdered Princes,
AD 1610–1648 Wapping's Famous Soldier: Colonel Thomas Rainsborough,
AD 1649 Charles I's Executioner: Richard Brandon,
AD 1652 The Witch of Wapping,
AD 1683 The Earl of Essex: Suicide or Murder?,
AD 1701 Pirate and Privateer: William Kidd,
AD 1702–1724 Highwayman, Thief and Escapologist: Jack Sheppard,
AD 1723–1792 Young Amazon Snell: Hannah Snell,
AD 1754–1817 William Bligh: Mutiny on the Bounty,
AD 1811 Calamity and Death: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders,
AD 1831 Resurrectionists: Bishop, Head and May,
AD 1875 The Murder of Harriet Lane,
AD 1887 The Whitechapel Mystery: Israel Lipski,
AD 1888 The Whitechapel Murders,
AD 1910–1911 The Houndsditch Murders and the Siege of Sidney Street,
AD 1917 Air Raid on Upper North Street School,
AD 1936 The Battle of Cable Street,
AD 1943 Bethnal Green Shelter Disaster,
Bibliography,
About the Author,
Copyright,