Mile End

**Mile End** is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East London. Mile End is contrasting district of 18th-century terraces and postwar tower blocks, student-centred area with a large amount of green space and is connected to the London Underground. Parts of what was Mile End now falls under modern Stepney Green.

Bow is located east and north, Bethnal Green to the west, Old Ford to the north-east, Bow Common to the south-east, Limehouse to the south, Stepney Green to the south-west.

## History

The Ragged School Museum, opened in 1990 in three canal side former warehouses in Copperfield Road, facing the western edge of the park, south of Mile End Road. The buildings previously housed Dr Barnado's Copperfield Road Ragged School.

A ground breaking project funded by the Millennium Commission called the Green Bridge, a pedestrian separation structure which was built over the A11 Mile End Road, which opened in 2000, connecting two halves of Mile End Park to form a linear park and included new retail frontages. Built over a part of Mile End that had remained mostly derelict for many years after the Second World War, until it was all cleared to extend Mile End park. Before demolition in 1993, local artist Rachel Whiteread made a cast of the inside of 193 Grove Road. Despite attracting controversy, the exhibit won her the Turner Prize for 1993.

During 17 June 1995, the Mile End Stadium hosted a gig by Britpop band Blur, where 27,000 fans saw the band supported by The Boo Radleys, Sparks, John Shuttleworth, Dodgy and The Cardiacs.

The Bancroft Unit for the Care of the Elderly opened at Mile End Hospital in the 1990s, The St Clement's Hospital was closed in 2005, with services transferred to a new Adult Mental Health Facility at the Mile End Hospital in October 2005.

In May 2007 during building work, a live World War II bomb weighing 200 kg was found north of Mile End station near Grove and Roman Roads. Approximately 100 local residents in Mile End were evacuated and stayed with friends and family or the Mile End Leisure Centre until the bomb could be deactivated and removed.

The Night Tube on a Friday and Saturday began service at Mile End station on the Central line on 19 August 2016.

## Governance

Mile End formed a hamlet within the large ancient parish of Stepney, in the Tower division of the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex. It was grouped into the Stepney Poor Law Union in 1836, becoming a single parish for poor law purposes in 1857. It formed part of the Metropolitan Police District from 1830. Upon the creation of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 the vestry of Mile End Old Town became an electing authority. The vestry hall was located on Bancroft Road. The parish became part of the County of London in 1889 and in 1900 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney. In 1965 Stepney was incorporated into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. There was a Mile End Parliament constituency from 1885 to 1950 which was notable for being one of two constituencies in the UK to elect a Communist Party MP.

## Geography

Mile End is in a part of London known as the East End and home to the main campus of Queen Mary, University of London. Parts of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry are also based on this campus. The main student halls of residence are also now located on this campus.

The area also boasts an unusual landmark, the "Green Bridge" (known affectionately as the banana bridge, due to its yellow underside). This structure (designed by CZWG Architects, and opened in 2000) allows Mile End Park to cross over the Mile End Road and makes an interesting contrast with the more usual approach of building bridges for cars. It contains garden and water features and some shops and restaurant space built in below.

## Transport

### Rail

Mile End is linked to the London Underground at Mile End on the District, Hammersmith & City and Central lines.

### Buses

Mile End is served by London Buses, including route 25 and 205 to Central London, and also routes 277, 309, 323, 339, 425, D6 and night routes N25, N205 and N277.

### Cycling

Mile End is on London-wide and National cycle networks. Cycling infrastructure in the locale is provided by both Transport for London (TfL) and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Routes include:

* **National Cycle Route 1 (NCR 1)** - a long-distance leisure cycle route between Dover, Kent and the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The route passes through Mile End Park on traffic-free shared use paths]]. In North London, the route runs from Canary Wharf to Enfield Lock.
* **Cycle Superhighway 2 (CS2)** - a commuter cycling route from Aldgate in the City to Stratford in the east. The route runs signposted, unbroken and traffic-free on cycle track for the majority of the route. The route follows the A11 (Mile End Road) through Mile End, and the track is coloured blue.
* **Cycleway between Hackney and the Isle of Dogs** - a proposed commuter cycle route. According to current proposals, the southern portion of the route will run unbroken, signposted and traffic-free on cycle track between Mile End and Canary Wharf.
* **EuroVelo 2 ("The Capitals Route")** - EuroVelo 2 is an international leisure cycle route between Moscow, Russia and Galway, Ireland. Through Mile End, it follows the route of NCR 1.
* **Regent's Canal towpath** - a shared use path from Limehouse to Angel. The route is unbroken and traffic-free for its entire length, and can be accessed at Mile End through Mile End Park. The route links Mile End directly to Hackney and Dalston *en route*.

## Reference

1. ↑ "Ragged School Museum in Mile End, London". Time Out Group.

 Archived September 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
2. ↑ Green Bridge. CZWG. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018.
3. ↑ Best and worst of art bites the dust. Library of Masters Universities. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.
4. ↑ Blur Gigography 1995 - Mile End Stadium, London, UK. Veikko's Blur Page. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019.
5. ↑ "Mile End Hospital". Barts Health NHS Trust.

 Archived February 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
6. ↑ "Derelict London Hospitals". Derelict London Hospitals.

 Archived April 13, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
7. ↑ "Over 50k journeys completed on London's first Night Tube services". Transport for London (TfL).
8. ↑ "Key bus routes in central London". Transport for London (TfL).
9. ↑ "Buses from Mile End". Transport for London (TfL).

 Archived August 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
10. ↑ "Buses from Mile End Stadium & Burdett Road". Transport for London (TfL).

 Archived August 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
11. ↑ "Route 1". Sustrans.

 Archived April 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
12. ↑ "CS2 Stratford to Aldgate" (PDF). Transport for London (TfL).

 Archived April 29, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
13. ↑ "Cycling and walking improvements between Hackney and the Isle of Dogs". Transport for London (TfL).

 Archived May 15, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
14. ↑ "EuroVelo 2". EuroVelo.
15. ↑ "EuroVelo 2: United Kingdom". EuroVelo.
16. ↑ "Cycling". Canal & River Trust.

 Archived April 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
17. ↑ "Regent's Canal". Canal & River Trust.

 Archived April 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

## External links

* Mile End on Wikipedia
* Stock Photography on Alamy