Stepney Green: A thriving mix of cultures and heritage

Stepney Green is a district steeped in history. It forms part of the London borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London.

It was formerly a medieval village based around St Dunstan's church and is an incredibly popular area of London because there is plenty to see and do there. 

The area is home to many museums, sports centres, and art projects which are located either in or around the area.

But it also has an authenticity about it that can sometimes be missing in other parts of the UK, which can sometimes seem a little bit soulless.

Various communities have settled here, which has added to the cultural heritage of the district.

The area has seen a lot of redevelopment over the years, which has brought marked improvements. This has resulted in a fair few luxury apartments being introduced into the district.

Stepney Green is fairly residential with a great many estates of varying calibre. 

Queen Mary University of London isn't far from Mile End, and there are some light industry works scattered here and there.

Transport

Transport connections are fairly good, with a number of buses heading towards the City as well as the Underground.

In the northern part of the district, the nearest Tube Stations are Stepney Green, Mile End and Whitechapel. All three are on the Hammersmith & City and District lines. 

It is also served by Limehouse, which is the nearest Docklands Light Railway station.

But new developments are happening all the time, and work is being carried out on the Crossrail transport links, which will run through Stepney Green.

In fact, it was recently reported that engineers are celebrating a breakthrough in which a 1,000-tonne tunnel boring machine named Elizabeth broke into one of Europe's largest mined caverns below Stepney Green.

This is the very area where the tunnels from north-east and South-East London converge.

Joint venture Dragados Sisk is the company building the eastern tunnels between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green.

The breakthrough is the first of four that will take place at Stepney Green. Another drilling machine named Victoria is expected to complete a similar milestone into the site in the next few weeks.

Crossrail is one of the largest projects in Europe and includes 42km (26 miles) of 6.2m diameter tunnels built up to 40m beneath Central London and Docklands.

Property

Homes in Stepney Green vary widely depending on your location in the district. In this area, properties are a mix of terraced housing, townhouses, flats and luxury developments.

The average house price in Tower Hamlets, where Stepney Green is located, is £379,673, which is quite low when compared to other areas of London. There are also flats priced at around £300,000. 

However, some of the top-end housing in the area can cost over £1 million.

Rental properties start from around £900 per month for a studio flat and over £200 a week for a shared flat.

Demography

The area is famous for being a thriving mix of different cultures. It has traditionally been home to generations of immigrants over the centuries from the Hugenots and Russians to Jewish people and now Bangladeshis.

There is also a large African, eastern European, Chinese, Vietnamese and black population.

Lifestyle

Stepney Green has been described as colourful, gritty, historic, multicultural, arty and exciting. Nearby is the Columbia Road flower market, which takes place every Sunday.

Brick Lane is also close by, and is well known for its authentic Indian restaurants, while Spitalfields market is located near Stepney Green.

In the area, there are many old pubs to explore, and visitors can also take a Jack The Ripper walking tour and visit various museums and art venues.

St Dunstan's, founded in 923, is the oldest church in the district. It traditionally hosted the registration of British maritime births, marriages and deaths until the 19th century. 

Stepney Green is also home to many sports and leisure facilities within easy reach. These include Mile End Stadium and a leisure centre.

Two football clubs are also located in the borough of Tower Hamlets - Bethnal Green United FC and Sporting Bengal United FC.

Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is the borough in which Stepney Green is located. It is to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames.

There has been a significant amount of regeneration and redevelopment works in the area, especially in Docklands, Canary Wharf and West India Docks.

- Education

A number of universities are located in the borough of Tower Hamlets, including London Metropolitan University and Queen Mary, a constituent college of the University of London.
 
 The borough is also home to College of Technology London and Tower Hamlets College.
 
 In 2010, over 51.8 per cent of pupils achieved five A*–C GCSEs including mathematics and English - the highest results in the borough's history.

Famous faces

Some of the most notable people from Stepney Green include the great English physician, Richard Mead, who was responsible for advances in understanding transmissible diseases.
 
 Entertainer Des O'Connor was also born in the area, as were actors Terence Stamp, Steven Berkoff, and Craig Fairbrass.
 
 Perhaps some of the best-known faces in popular culture to come from Stepney Green are sports stars Ashley Cole, Ledley King and Darren Purse.

Published 6th December, 2013

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