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Places to Visit
Spitalfields is one of the fastest
changing areas in London. It seems that almost every week another gallery
or attraction opens so there are guaranteed to be some new ones since
this list was put together. If you know of any which you think should
be featured please contact us (tourism@towerhamlets.gov.uk)
and we'll do our best to include them. Most of the places listed below
are fairly small, and often quirky - it's a good idea to combine visits
to several of them, and perhaps to stop off in Brick Lane for a curry
on your way. Don't forget to check out the local street markets at the
same time.
We do recommend that you check opening times and specific details before
setting out on a long journey as limited staff numbers at some venues
can mean their opening hours are sometimes a little erratic!
Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood
Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, E2 9PA
The National Museum of Childhood contains one of the largest and oldest
collections of toys and childhood artefacts in the world - over 6,000
items on display dating from the sixteenth century.
Tel: 020 8980 2415
Fax: 020 8983 5225
Christ Church
cnr Commercial Street and Fournier Street, E1
Built 1714-1729 by Nicholas Hawksmoor, this church’s beauty and
lofty spire was designed to impress the locals and show them that Anglicanism
was the most heavenly of denominations.
Tel: 020 7247 7202
www.christchurchspitalfields.org
Dennis Severs’
House
18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields, E1
Described as a “still-life drama” this restored house takes
visitors through a range of moods and times – one of the most
imaginative and atmospheric buildings in London, a time capsule in which
visitors are immersed in a unique form of theatre. Unsuitable for children.
Monday evenings by candlelight (not Bank Holidays) Booking essential for Monday evenings only.
First and third Sunday of each month 2-5pm (£8)
First and third Monday of
each month noon-2pm (£5)
Tel: 020 7247 4013
Geffrye Museum
136 Kingsland Road, E2
The Geffrye Museum presents the changing style of English urban middle-class
interiors through a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present
day. It is set in elegant 18th century almshouses with attractive gardens,
including an award-winning herb garden and a series of period garden
rooms (open April - October).
www.geffrye-museum.org.uk
Museum of Immigration and Diversity
19 Princelet Street, E1
London's 'museum of conscience', created to celebrate immigration and diversity is housed in a Grade II listed building, an unrestored 1719 Huguenot silk merchant's home which also contains a concelaed synagogue dating from 1869.
Free admission.
Tel: 020 7247 5352
Museum of London
London Wall, EC2
Film footage, photography, oral history recordings and more than 3000 objects evoke the capital's history between the French Revolution and World War I and a 'Victorian Walk' of original shopfronts and workshops recreates the atmosphere of the 19th century.
Tel: 0870 444 3852
Royal London Hospital Archives
& Museum Physical: St. Augustines with St.Phillips Church
Newark Street, E1 2AA
The London (founded 1740) became Britain's largest voluntary hospital.
Its story is told in the crypt of the former hospital church, St. Augustine
with St. Phillips, in Newark St. Exhibits feature: the lives and works
of individuals like Edith Cavell, Eva Luckes, Sydney Holland, Joseph
Merrick.
Monday-Friday 10am-4.30pm.
Closed at weekends, Bank holidays and adjacent Tuesdays.
Tel: 020 7377 7608
The Spitz
109 Commercial Street, E1
A gallery, restaurant, café and live music venue all in one.
Tel: 020 7392 9032
The Spitalfields Centre
19 Princelet Street, E1 6QH
19 Princelet Street is a particularly important Grade II listed building.
It is a mysterious and beautiful place, whose remarkable atmosphere
has moved people of all ages and
Tel: 020 7247 5352
Spitalfields City Farm
Weaver Street, E1
An urban oasis, the farm keeps a selection of farm and pet animals and
has developed gardens and growing areas in every available space.
Tel/Fax: 020 7247 8762
Spitalfields Gallery
Business Development Centre
7-15 Greatorex Street, E1 5NF
The Business Development Centre is a new building in Spitalfields and
the large expanses of bare new walls are used to display local art and
art generated through the arts organisations occupying the premises.
Exhibitions change monthly. Viewing is possible during office hours
(Monday to Friday 9am-5pm) Fully accessible to wheelchair users.
Tel: 020 7247 1892 or 020 7247 1960
Spitalfields Heritage Centre
19 Princelet Street, E1 6QH
A former Huguenot silk-weaver's home, converted into a tiny synagogue,
this is a particularly important grade II listed building. Restoration
is underway but the centre depends on donations to preserve & repair
this special building and to develop it as an intimate house museum
of immigrant life. Regd.Charity No.287279 , awaiting restoration. Rarely
open but may be visited by arrangement, especially by groups. Schools
and local community groups are most welcome.
Tel: 020 7247 5352 or 020 7229 2887
St Botolph’s Church
Aldgate
A haven of peace dedicated to the patron saint of travellers –
Botolph is sometimes called ‘the English St Christopher’.
A church has stood at this spot for over a thousand years, the present
building dating from 1744. Author Daniel Defoe got married at this church.
Tel: 020 7283 1670
Sutton House
2 & 4 Homerton High Street, E9
The oldest house in East London, built in 1535. Tudor, Jacobean and Georgian interiors are on show, as well as an Edwardian chapel, medieval foundations in the cellar and 1980's graffiti under the roof.
Tel: 020 8986 2264
Toynbee Hall
Commercial Street, E1
Opened in 1884 to educate and politicise poor local immigrants. Toynbee
Hall continues to offer community advice, alongside performance spaces
and the Arts Café.
Tel: 020 7392 6943
Whitechapel Art Gallery
80-82 Whitechapel High St,
E1
Founded in 1901 to “bring great art to the people of the East
End of London”. Many greats have been exhibited here, including
Constable, Hogarth and Rubens – at the first ever show –
through to Picasso, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.
Tel: 020 7522 7888
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
32-34 Whitechapel Road
Established in 1570 and the oldest manufacturing company in the UK,
this is where Big Ben and Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell were cast.
Tel: 020 7247 2599
www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk
The Women’s Library
Old Castle Street
The Women's Library is a cultural centre, housing the most extensive
collection of women's history in the UK with a changing programme of
exhibitions and events. The Library grew out of the London Society for
Women's Suffrage, which was founded in 1867
Tel: 020 7320 2222
Wilton's
Music Hall
Grace's Alley, E1 8JB
Wiltons Music Hall is the world's oldest surviving grand music hall
and home to Broomhill Opera. Hardly touched since the 1880's, Broomhill
are now restoring the theatre and is staging opera and music theatre
productions.
Tel: 020 7702 9555
Fax: 020 7702 1414
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