St George in the East (parish)

St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of parish (areas of land) surrounding, one ecclesiastical which remains and one a Civil counterpart, a third tier of local government. The latter assisted public facilities in the late 19th century but ceded its dwindling purposes to the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney so was abolished in 1927. The church was designated a Grade I listed building in 1950.In the 1850s, Archibald Campbell Tait, then Bishop of London, appointed a Low Church lecturer, which was contrary to the High Church attitude of the rector and curate. As a protest, there were catcalls and horn blowing, and some male members of the congregation went into the church smoking their pipes, keeping their hats on, and leading barking dogs. Refuse was thrown onto the altar. The church was closed for a while in 1859, and the rector, owing to his poor health, was persuaded by the author Tom Hughes to hand over his duties to a locum.The church was hit by a bomb during the Second World War Blitz on London's docklands in May 1941. The original interior was destroyed by the fire, but the walls and distinctive "pepper-pot" towers stayed up. In 1964 a modern church interior was constructed inside the existing walls, and a new flat built under each corner tower. Ian Nairn wrote of it in his 1966 guide to London: “A ruin among ruins, in the lost part of Stepney [after the Blitz, and before being blitzed by the Borough Council?] ... The old life has gone ... the new has not yet come ... It makes no difference to Hawksmoor’s bizarre poetry. This is probably the hardest building to describe in London ... This is a stage somewhere beyond fantasy ... it is the more-than-real world of the drug addict’s dream.”The church still has an active congregation. In May 2015, the parish entered into a partnership with the Centre for Theology and Community (CTC), an ecumenical charity which is based in its East Crypt. Anglican clergy working for CTC now serve the parish, and the second floor is the home to the Community of St George, a group of lay Christians who assist in the worship and mission of the church. St George-in-the-East is located on Cannon Street Road, between The Highway and Cable Street, in the East End of London. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original graveyard, which was passed to Stepney Council to maintain as a public park in mid-Victorian times. In 1836, the parish of St George in the East was constituted as a Poor Law parish under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. It appeared in the 1980 film The Long Good Friday starring Bob Hoskins. It also appeared in S02E01 of Killing Eve.

Cannon Street Road was a short-lived railway station in Shadwell, east London, that was on the London and Blackwall Railway (LBR) between Minories and Shadwell stations. It opened in August 1842 but was closed c. December 1848. The reasons for its closure are unclear, but it may have been due to low patronage combined with its close proximity to other stations. In 1877 a new LBR station called Leman Street was opened slightly to the west of the Cannon Street Road site.

The Cable Street Mural is a large mural painting in Shadwell in East London. It was painted on the side of St George's Town Hall by Dave Binnington, Paul Butler, Ray Walker and Desmond Rochfort between 1979 and 1983 to commemorate the Battle of Cable Street in 1936. The original design was by Dave Binnington.

Tobacco Dock is a Grade I listed warehouse located in the East London district of Wapping, and thereby the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Part of the London Docks designed by Scottish civil engineer and architect John Rennie, the warehouse was completed in 1812 and primarily served as a store for imported tobacco, hence the name. During the early 20th century, economic activity in the area fluctuated due to World War I and World War II, and both London Docks and nearby St Katharine Docks had closed by 1969.After the London Docklands ceased seaborne trade, the warehouse and surrounding areas fell into dereliction until it was turned into a shopping centre which opened in 1989. However, due to the early 1990s recession, it was forced to close two years later. In 2003 English Heritage placed it on its "at risk" register, preventing many developers from attempting a rejuvenation of the former London Docklands site. For two decades Tobacco Dock stood largely empty; it was used as a barracks for military personnel providing security to the 2012 London Olympics. In 2012 the company Tobacco Dock Ltd launched the building as an events and conferencing space for up to 10,000 people. It also houses offices and co-working spaces operated by Tobacco Dock Venue Ltd, although the site and building itself are owned by Kuwaiti investment company Messila House.

St George's Town Hall, formerly known as Stepney Town Hall, and, before that, St George's Vestry Hall, is a municipal building on Cable Street, Stepney, London. It is a Grade II listed building.

The Highway, formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for vice and crime and was the location of the Ratcliff Highway murders. The name "Ratcliffe" literally means "red cliff", referring to the red sandstone cliffs which descended from the plateau on which the road was situated down to the Wapping Marshes to the south.

The Ratcliff Highway murders (sometimes Ratcliffe Highway murders) were two attacks on two separate families – the Marr and Williamson families – that resulted in seven fatalities. The two attacks occurred twelve days apart in December 1811, in homes located half a mile apart near the London Docklands district of Wapping, London, England, United Kingdom. The main suspect in the slayings, John Williams, committed suicide before he could be put on trial.

Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway. Wapping's proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, such as the Prospect of Whitby and Wapping Stairs. It also has a Royal Navy shore establishment base on the riverfront called HMS President and home to Tobacco Dock and King Edward Memorial Park. Many of the original buildings were demolished during the construction of the London Docks and Wapping was further seriously damaged during the Blitz. As the London Docklands declined after the Second World War, the area became run down, with the great warehouses left empty. The area's fortunes were transformed during the 1980s by the London Docklands Development Corporation when the warehouses started to be converted into luxury flats. Rupert Murdoch moved his News International printing and publishing works into Wapping in 1986, resulting in a trade union dispute that became known as the "Battle of Wapping".

Shadwell is a London Overground station in Shadwell in East London. It was formerly a London Underground station on the East London line until 2007. The station is between Whitechapel to the north and Wapping to the south. It is located near to Shadwell DLR station. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2. The Overground station is underground (the DLR station is on a viaduct). The Overground platforms are decorated with enamel panels designed by Sarah McMenemy in 1995.

Bluegate Fields (also known as Blue Gate Fields) was one of the worst slum areas that once existed just north of the old, east London docks during the Victorian era. Two streets in the area had actually been named Bluegate Fields at different times: present-day Dellow Street (along the eastern edge of the St. George's-in-the-East churchyard) and Cable Street (along the northern edge of the churchyard). The area is visited by the eponymous character in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and inspired a scene in The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. It is referenced in the title of a song (and live album recorded at Wilton's Music Hall in Graces Alley off Cable Street) by Marc Almond.

Raine's House, sometimes called Raine House, is a Grade II* listed house in Raine Street, Wapping, London E1. This listing recognises the building's special architectural or historic interest.

The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping, downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million.Traditionally ships had docked at wharves on the River Thames, but by the late 1700s more capacity was needed. They were the closest docks to the City of London until St Katharine Docks were built two decades later.