Stepney Areas |
Mile End North west of St Dunstans and at the end of Stepney Green is Mile End. Part is referred to as Mile End Old Town (MEOT) and part as Mile End New Town (MENT). The Mile End Rd was the pre-Norman route to Colchester and in the 13th century was still a hamlet one mile distant from Aldgate, the nearest City gate. The Mile End marked the end of the Roman mile from the Roman camp in London. In March/April 1572 orders were issued by the Queen for a muster on May Day or during Whitsun. Training sessions were to be held in Artillery Yard at end of March and on 18 April at Mile End. On 26, 27, 28 and 30 April 1585 the Grocer's contingent were training at Mile End and on 4 and 6 May at St George's Fields. Defoe wrote between 1724 and 1727 'The Town of Islington on the North of the City is in like manner joyn'd to the Streets of London, excepting one small field, and which is in itself so small that there is no Doubt, but in a very few years they will be intirely joyn'd, and the same may be said of Mile End, on the East End of Town'. On the Whitechapel side of Stepney Green is Brady Street and the place where the Mile End turnpike gates stood. The turnpike had been built in 1712 at Mile End gate and was to remain there until 1866. Thomas Turlis was hangman from 1752 to 1771. One of his tasks was whipping felons found guilty by a court. His bill for April 1767 included the charge of ten shillings for whipping Abraham Johnson from Mile End Turnpike to London Hospital. The person whipped was first tied to a cart's tail, and the cart was then pulled by a horse along the route while the felon was whipped.
Roads on which turnpikes were erected and tolls charged were under the jurisdiction of a trust which took proper care of the road and maintained it. It was called a turnpike because the bar resembled a pike. Various charges were made for different kinds of traffic. Roads which had been able to withstand the wear and tear of horse traffic were unable to do so with the advent of coaches and carriages. In the 19th century, Lord Tredegar developed a middle class estate where Tredegar Square, Mile End stands. Albert Gardens and Arbour Square, both off Commercial Road, held gracious comfortable homes and here and in Bow Road clerks and managers lived.
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