Hermes's Den

In the fall of my junior year at university, months before the world shut down due to Covid-19 precautions, I had the opportunity to study abroad in London. Initially I was somewhat dejected about the prospect as I believed London and the US, specifically my home city of New York, are too similar to make a difference. They are quite similar, but I fell head over heels in love and now I wonder how to feasibly live between the two. While there, I took a class on religion and power, something I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I did either. One of many walking tours we took on or around the fifteenth of October 2019 was the origin of this study. If there’s anything I left out, please let me know as I desperately want to return and would love more destinations.

London’s East End has had the unique history of not only playing host to many different groups of immigrants throughout the history of the city, but of also adapting, molding, and embodying all of the cultures and peoples that have lived in the area. When London was settled by the Romans in 47 AD, the East End was along the section of the wall known as Aldgate, and through here many people entered the settlement. As the city grew and developed, this and other gates (Ludgate, Moorgate, Newgate, etc.) marked the boundary between the outside world where one would be left to one’s own ability to protect oneself and the actual city where the King’s Peace ruled and safety was ensured throughout the medieval period. Despite being, or perhaps because it is, a section of London in such close proximity to the river Thames, the influx of people to the vicinity has often been tied to trade, manufacturing, and other economic factors. As a result of political tensions and reasons within Europe, specifically the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, many Huguenots fled to London and settled in this area, bringing with them their many skills. This fact is reflected in the names of certain streets in the area, such as Artillery Lane, Gun Street, and Fournier (French for baker) Street. Street names additionally attempt to reflect the current demographics of the area as it is common to see an additional sign bearing the name of the street in the current dominant language below the street sign in English. At the current moment, these extra signs are in Bengali.

In addition to this, things such as the Brick Lane Mosque exhibit the history of the area over the passage of time. At various points throughout its history, the building has served the surrounding community as, in its current life, a mosque, and previously a synagogue and church. Erected in 1743, it was built by Huguenot refugees who, not being members of the Church of England, had nowhere to worship in their new home. Following this period of being a Christian church (having changed hands as to which branch of Christianity it belonged to a number of times, having been at various times, Huguenot, Wesleyan, and Methodist), it then became a Jewish synagogue, specifically the Spitalfields Great Synagogue. During this period of its history, roughly taking place during the late 19th century, it served as the major place of worship for Jews fleeing persecution in Russia in conjunction with, in later years, the Great Synagogue of London and Sandys Row Synagogue.  In the 1970s, as the area became populated with a growing community of Bangladeshis looking for work, the building was purchased by the community to be a place of worship. 

Not too far from the Brick Lane Mosque is Altab Ali Park, whose face has also changed over the many years that it has existed. Originally being the site of  St. Mary Matfelon, a white chapel (from which Whitechapel derives its name), and known as St. Mary’s Park, it suffered major destruction due to The Blitz in World War Two, resulting in the only elements of the church and its grounds to survive being the layout of the floor as well as a few graves throughout the park. During the 1970s, the rise in black and brown immigrants was responded to with violence from many white British people, especially young men. One such victim of these racist attacks was Altab Ali, a twenty-five year old textile factory worker. On the fourth of May, 1978 Altab Ali was walking home from work when he was followed into St. Mary’s Park by three teenagers, two of them being seventeen and one being sixteen. While racially motivated attacks were, at the time, not entirely uncommon, when asked why they did it by police officers, the sixteen year old responded “no reason at all.” He then goes on to say “if we saw a Paki we used to have a go at them,” followed by, “we would ask for money and beat them up. I’ve beaten up Pakis on at least five occasions.” In 1998, the park was renamed in memory of Altab Ali including plaques commemorating him and other victims of racially motivated attacks and a Bengali style arch over the entrance to the park. 

As a result of this and other racially motivated attacks, protests sparked in the area and many people were radicalized in response. They began to seek revenge on those who were attacking them, having witnessed brutal attacks and murders, which saw a rise in street gangs. Part of the rhetoric of the recruiters was that the only thing that united and could possibly help to protect the immigrants in the area from attackers was the fact that they are Muslim. This saw a rise in Muslim owned businesses and programs meant specifically for Muslims, such as banks that are sharia-compliant and religious centers that help in times of tragedy such as the East London Mosque, which gave food, clothes, and other important items to people who were affected by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. 

A few steps from Altab Ali park stands the former Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Having opened at that location in 1670, they had remained in business there until May of 2017 when they closed after being open and producing bells for approximately four hundred fifty years, having produced such famous bells as the Bell of Hope in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the Royal Jubilee Bells, Big Ben, and the Liberty Bell. During World War Two, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was commissioned by the Ministry of War to produce munitions as part of the war effort. Alan Huges, a previous owner said of this “The government not only guaranteed the orders. They guaranteed good prices and they also guaranteed quick payment, which is something that the Church of England has never managed to do with us.” The drop in people associating themselves with organized religions saw a drop in the number of churches being built and as a result of this, the number of bells being ordered dropped dramatically. In response to this, the foundry began to produce a large number of table bells due to the popularity of the television show Downton Abbey.