Follow Gen as she walks the 10 minute route to Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, via the former New Globe tavern and the People’s Palace
Video by @sophiaolaniyanfilms
#discover #localhistory #eastlondon
Follow Gen as she walks the 7 minute route to Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives from Stepney Green Station, taking in places of interest such as the Half Moon Theatre and the Ocean Estate
Video by @sophiaolaniyanfilms
#discover #localhistory #eastlondon
New Event!
Talk | London’s Lost Black Pubs & Taverns | Thursday 18 June 6.00-7.30pm
Venue: Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, Education Room
Join author S.I. Martin for an introduction to the forgotten world of London's Black pubs in the 1700s and 1800s.
Starting in Whitechapel and East Smithfield and ending in Leicester Square and Wigmore Street, Martin will explore how pubs with Black clientele or Black 'guvnors' were sites of change, resistance and community.
Book via What’s On page in Bio
We've been busy adding new books to our Local History Library this week, on everything from the General Strike to grime 📚 ✊ 🎤
You can find the latest titles on all things East End in our Reading Room, but we also have books dating back to 1583 if you're feeling nostalgic.
Today marks 100 years since the end of the 1926 General Strike, when the country came to a standstill for nine days as workers downed tools in solidarity with locked-out coal miners.
Tower Hamlets was a site of militant action as the docks shut down and troops were sent in to break the strike. There were clashes between police and strikers on East India Dock Road, and Joseph Hammond, the Mayor of Poplar, was injured by a police baton.
To find out more, you can explore our collections relating to the strike which include bulletins, newspaper articles, photos and Council minutes!
Happy St George's Day!
St George in the East Church in Shadwell is one of the six London churches designed by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. Built between 1714 to 1729 the Grade I listed building has been used by local communities for centuries. The church baptised many individuals of African Heritage with over 150 baptisms identified in parish records.
A celebration of some of these individuals lives will be on display at St George in the East church from today 4-8pm. Visit the exhibition daily 10-4pm until 23 May 2026
Image - Engraving of St George in the East Church, 1818
#eastend #london #history
⚠️ Event Alert ⚠️
Protest Then and Now: Digital Tools for Collective Action
Workshop | Saturday 16 May | 12-3pm
Venue: Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, Education Room
What does it mean to campaign, advocate and build solidarity in a digital age?
In 1921, the councillors of Poplar used every tool at their disposal - pamphlets, rallies, the press, and the power of a community united - to challenge an unjust system. A hundred years on, the tools have changed but the questions have not.
Through a mix of discussion, practical activities, and live experimentation with digital tools, participants will explore how movements craft and spread their messages across platforms.
No technical knowledge is required. Whether you're an experienced organiser or simply curious about the relationship between protest and technology, this workshop is designed to be accessible, participatory, and grounded in a rich local history.
Derek Curry and Jennifer Gradecki are media artists who critique the dominant technological powers by hacking technologies to reveal underlying assumptions and effects. They recreate technologies used for social control, including open-source surveillance systems, financial technologies, and artificial intelligence. They are Associate Professors in Art + Design at Northeastern University in Boston.
This workshop is part of The Art of Protest project, exploring the legacy of the Poplar Rates Rebellion, which also includes a walking tour of the sites and stories of the 1921 rebellion in Poplar, East London, by Sam Kemp.
Spaces are limited so please only book is you are able to attend. Book via our bio!
New Exhibition Sneak Peak!
Communities of Liberation is now preparing for a re-launch at the Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, after its successful display at Tower Hamlets Town Hall in 2025.
Join us on Thursday 26 March 6-7.30pm for the unveiling of the new exhibition. With added unseen pieces interpreting the collections at the archives.
Alongside an exhibition installation from Archaeology South-East UCL, you can explore objects unearthed in Whitechapel that uncover more stories of Black Communities living in Tower Hamlets.
Book your place at the launch via link in our Bio
Image One - New display at Tower Hamlets Archives
Image Two - Runways Map Locations
Image Three - UCL South East Archaeology Exhibition display
Image Four - Co-producers in Reading Room during workshop
Image Five - Town Hall Exhibition 2025
Image Six - Town Hall Exhibition 2025
#blackhistory #londonhistory
Join us at @qmarchives for Threads of Liberation: Women’s Liberation in East London past, present, and future
Location: G.47, Mile End Library, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green, London, E1 4NS
Date: 5:30-8:30pm, Wednesday 25 March
Join the Centre for Public Engagement for Women’s History Month as we explore Women’s Liberation in East London. View materials from Queen Mary and Tower Hamlets Archives, and reflect on what liberation means to you through a Nakshi kantha embroidery workshop with OITIJ-JO Collective. Connect with others passionate about gender equity and women’s justice in East London.
This event is free and open to people of all genders.
Book via Link in our bio 🔗
For Women's History Month we are hosting an event with local historian Carolyn Clark
'Women and the Regent's Canal, and its industries'
Thursday 12 March, 6.00pm-7.30pm
Tower Hamlets Archive - 277 Bancroft Road, Stepney E1 4DQ
Carolyn Clark will present stories and images of women's lives, both on and living by the eastern reach of the Regent’s Canal.
Carolyn runs the Regent’s Canal Heritage projects, working with Laburnum Boat Club in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and the Young Actors Theatre in Islington.
Carolyn is the author of ‘The East End Canal Tales‘, ‘Tales of Old Ford, Bow’, 'The Lower Clapton Tales’ and ‘The Shoreditch Tales’. She lives by the Hertford Union Canal in Bow.
Booking link in bio via What's On page
Join us for a fitting finale for the exhibition, for our last event in the Next Stop programme we're thrilled to welcome the esteemed London railway historian Jim Connor to give a talk.
A prolific local history author and publisher, in 1994 Jim co-founded the magazine London Railway Record with his late partner Barbara and subsequently published two bestsellers on disused London Underground stations. Join Jim and exhibition curator Genova Messiah for a talk about the East End's lost stations, followed by a Q&A.
Book via link in Bio
