Mile End

**Mile End** is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross and split between E1 and E3 postcodes. Bow is located east, Poplar and Limehouse to the south, Stepney and Bethnal Green to the west, and Old Ford to the north.

It developed on the London to Colchester road as one of the earliest suburbs of the City of London and the parish of Mile End Old Town became part of the metropolitan area of London in 1855.

## History

### Contemporary

 File:Mile end green bridge.jpg
The Ragged School Museum opened in 1990 in the premises of the former site of the Copperfield Road Ragged School.

A grand 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 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 were evacuated and stayed with friends and family or the Mile End Leisure Centre until the bomb could be deactivated and removed.

In August 2013, the St Clement's site was reopened to the public for the first time as the site of Shuffle Festival, a community festival showing films curated by Danny Boyle. There was also an art exhibition, music, and live projections. The Night Tube began service at Mile End station on the Central line on 19 August 2016. The Palm Tree, which was Grade II listed]] in 2015 by Historic England. It was a popular pub within Mile End Park but was closed in 2018 and was put up for sale.

## Governance

 File:Stepney Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg
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.

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.

## Transport

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

### Buses

There are major bus interchanges at the junction between Mile End Road, Grove Road and Burdett Road – 25, 205, 277, 323, 339, 425, D6 and D7 and night route N25, N205 and N277. On Roman Road to the north is route 8 and N8 which passes Haverfield Green and also route 309 to the south near Mile End Stadium.

### 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*.

## Maps

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## Reference

1. ↑ http://www.timeout.com/london/museums/ragged-school-museum
2. ↑ "Green Bridge". CZWG. Archived from the original on 06 September 2018.
3. ↑ "Best and worst of art bites the dust". Archived from the original on 06 June 2014.
4. ↑ "Blur live at Mile End Stadium, 1995". *Veikko's Blur Page*. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019.
5. ↑ https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/mile-end-our-history
6. ↑ "Hospitals". Derelict London. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019.
7. ↑ "Over 50,000 journeys completed on London's first Night Tube services". Transport for London (20 August 2016). Archived from the original on 06 September 2018.
8. ↑ http://www.barryoneoff.co.uk/mlend.html
9. ↑ http://www.timeout.com/london/museums/ragged-school-museum
10. ↑ "Mile End, London". bustimes.org.
11. ↑ "Route 1". Sustrans. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019.
12. ↑ "CS2 Stratford to Aldgate". Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original on 29 April 2019.
13. ↑ "Cycling and walking improvements between Hackney and the Isle of Dogs". Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original on 15 May 2019.
14. ↑ "EuroVelo 2". EuroVelo.
15. ↑ "EuroVelo 2: United Kingdom". EuroVelo.
16. ↑ "Cycling". Canal & River Trust. Archived from the original on 07 April 2019.
17. ↑ "Regent's Canal". Canal & River Trust. Archived from the original on 06 April 2019.