Heritage Walk

Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets

An illustrated walk through Tower Hamlets from Tower Hill to West India Docks, taking in sites important to the history of black people in this area. There is a lot to learn, but for the most part this important history remains frustratingly anonymous.

Unlike most of my recent London walks which have come from books or other printed material, this is one I found online. You can access it here on the Tower Hamlets Idea Store website. There are two walks: the one I did not follow in this post goes from Aldgate to Stepney Green

Exploring the Black History of Tower Hamlets

After a lot of general historic walks around my local area, I have been craving new ways of seeing Central and East London. One way is through the story of local communities. I came across a series of walks on the website of the local Idea Store (council services hub); black history seemed an interesting place to start, but future walks will take in the Bengali and Jewish history of the area. This walk follows a similar route to this one from Wapping to Westferry, but sees the area through a different lens.

An important part of 2020 was the Black Lives Matter movement. It is my belief that we each have a duty to learn more about the complex histories around us. It’s easy to learn about important local figures, key dates in history and all that, but it doesn’t tell us much about real people. Historic local communities are often far more rich and multicultural than we give them credit for. And the black experience in this country goes back millennia. Understanding who has lived in a place, how they got there, and what they did there, can bring history to life, as well as throw light on historic issues that we need to address in the present. And as a historian, I see understanding our past as key to making sense of the present, and ultimately working towards a just and equitable future.

The Problem of Locating Personal Black Stories

It is fitting in terms of the historic moment we are living in that this walk ended at the site of a statue that has recently been removed. Robert Milligan was a sugar plantation owner who profited from the labour of enslaved workers; the statue stood outside the Museum of London Docklands from 1997 until its removal in June 2020. This walk is not about white connections with black people, but this ending point to me is emblematic of a difficulty I encountered as I followed this walking trail.

While black people have resided in and contributed to Tower Hamlets for centuries, this history is largely invisible and anonymous. Throughout the walk we will encounter places that we know have connections to black sailors, for example, but very few named individuals. And even those few individuals we can point to are more often that not uncommemorated, so we look at a building to remember a person, rather than official markers. It’s much easier on this walk to point to white people with connections to black people than black people themselves. And that is despite the authors of this walking tour attempting to tackle this history head on, writing:

“Black people have been a feature of East London life since
Roman times. Their presence throughout successive eras
serves as a reminder of Britain’s slave trade, the nation’s
maritime history and the origins and resilience of one of
Britain’s earliest visible minority communities.”

Perhaps this walk can be a jumping off point for me (and my readers) to challenge themselves to uncover more personal histories in and around London, to celebrate ordinary lives, and proclaim extraordinary achievements. Don’t get me wrong – at the end of the day this is an illustrated walk like many others I’ve been on recently. But with more of a thoughtful focus perhaps that I hope you will appreciate.

Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – Around Tower Hill



Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – Royal Mint Street to Wilton’s Music Hall



Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – Bandele ‘Tex” Ajetunmobi and E. R. Braithwaite



Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – St George in the East Back to Cable Street



This mural commemorates the Battle of Cable Street which I wrote about earlier. Despite what I said about the multi-ethnic group of anti-fascist locals, there is only one black face in the crowd. You can see him in the image at top right, just above the banner.

Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – Limehouse to Commercial Road





Black History Walk in Tower Hamlets – Westferry to West India Dock

This is the Passmore Edwards Sailor’s Palace. John Passmore Edwards was a great philanthropist who funded many public buildings, including libraries as we saw earlier. This was another hostel for sailors waiting to sign onto their next ship, like the Empire Memorial Hostel but on a smaller scale. We know that black sailors stayed here, but like so many stops along this walk, we neither know their names nor can see any trace of them, aside from the ‘Africa’ engraved above the door.

Where this block of flats now stands, was once the Strangers Home for Asians,
Africans and South Sea Islanders
. It opened in 1857, and combined accommodation, repatriation service and mission. The Home closed in 1937, and Clement Atlee opened these flats in its place in 1946.



Another plantation owner is commemorated in this arch topped by a sailing ship. The ship is The Hibbert – George Hibbert was instrumental in the construction of West India Docks.

And To Finish – The Space Where Robert Milligan Used to Be

Final Thoughts

I hope that now, by the end of this walk, you have seen in action some of the factors I highlighted in the beginning. There is a rich history of black presence in Tower Hamlets. But a lot of it is either anonymous (eg. we know black sailors stayed here but we don’t have individual stories); or invisible (eg. we only know this or that person was here because the walking guide tells us, not because they are publicly commemorated).

That is not to say that this walk wasn’t fascinating. I really enjoyed following it and learning more about my neighbourhood’s history. I also enjoyed reading more about certain aspects when I got home, to further increase my knowledge of Tower Hamlets’ black history. But more than anything I hope this will be a jumping off point for me and anyone else who has been inspired to learn more. As a reminder, the walk I followed (and another from Aldgate to Stepney Green) can be found here.


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