Katharine Buildings

East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without Aldgate that was outside of the City of London.The old Royal Mint, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London are located in the vicinity.

Eastminster, also known as New Abbey, St Mary Graces, and other variants, was a Cistercian abbey on Tower Hill at East Smithfield in London. It was founded by Edward III in 1350 immediately outside the Roman London Wall in what is now the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It stood just to the north of an older royal foundation, the Hospital and Collegiate Church of St Katharine by the Tower. Among the abbey's endowments was the reversion of one of the four manors of Shere in Gomshall, Surrey, given by King Edward III in 1350. This manor acquired the name Towerhill, due to its patronage by the abbey.In 1375, Sir Nicholas de Loveyne bequeathed to the Abbot and Convent the reversion of the mills of Crash Mills, to endow the perpetual singing of masses for the donor. Crash Mills were situated on the River Thames, near East Smithfield.The Abbey's benefactors were mainly courtiers; it attracted relatively few bequests from the merchants of the City of London.The abbey was dissolved in 1538. From 1805 to 1966 the site was the home of the Royal Mint, after which it was renamed as Royal Mint Court and used for offices. A large-scale excavation of the site of the abbey took place between 1983 and 1988. An analysis of the archaeological and documentary evidence uncovered has been published by Museum of London Archaeology.

The Mission of Somaliland in Whitechapel, London is the diplomatic mission of Republic of Somaliland in the United Kingdom. The mission was established in 1991, shortly after Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence from Somalia.The mission is not a fully-fledged embassy because the British government does not recognise Somaliland as an independent state, instead of viewing it as part of Somalia; however, it is the highest-level representation of Somaliland's government in the United Kingdom. It acts largely like any other embassy, issuing visas and passports and representing Somalilanders in the UK.

Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It runs between Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east, parallel with Prescot Street to the North and the London, Tilbury and Southend line to the south. The London Infirmary was on the north side of Chamber Street, and the south side of Prescot Street, until it moved to Whitechapel Road in 1757 and became the London Hospital.The site of Abel's Buildings, (also known as White's Buildings), is now occupied by a Travelodge Hotel. Its name is sometimes given to an alley that runs under the Docklands Light Railway between Royal Mint Street (previously known as Rosemary Lane) and Chamber Street. Directly opposite to the Travelodge on the north side of the street is the back of the Grade II listed former Cooperative Wholesale Society building, once known as "The Tea House". Designed by L. G. Ekins, the building is "..an unusual example in Britain of the German Expressionist style."Leading from the north side of the road is Yeoman's Yard (backing on to the headquarters of the Royal College of Psychiatrists), and further to the east is Magdelen Passage, leading to Prescot Street, where an undeveloped bomb site from World War II can still be seen. The Magdalen House for Reception of Penitent Prostitutes which opened in 1758, took over from the London Infirmary.At its junction with Mansell Street, Chamber Street runs partially under the railway lines. Here the abandoned arches of the old spur line to the London and Blackwell Railway Haydon Square goods yard (built in the 1850s) can still be seen, though they are currently under threat of demolition as part of a hotel extension project. The brick wall is a rare surviving example of shrapnel damage from World War II. Until September 2019 Barneys Seafood, the last jellied eel company in Whitechapel, was at 55 Chamber Street in the railway arches, a site it had occupied since 1969. The business has now moved to Billingsgate.

Royal Mint Court is a building complex in East Smithfield, in London's East End, close to the City of London financial district. The site was the home of the Royal Mint from 1809 until 1967 and was earlier the site of a Cistercian abbey, built in 1348 and known in its time as Eastminster. Eastminster's foundations are relatively well preserved and visible in the partially open basement of the site.After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the 5.5 acre (2 hectare) property was used as a victualling yard for the Royal Navy, then as a tobacco warehouse, before becoming a mint in 1809. After the mint relocated, the site was redeveloped with a new office and residential block added to the complex alongside the two remaining Grade II listed mint buildings. In 2017, Royal Mint Court was again set to be redeveloped with plans for a new office, shopping and leisure complex. Planning permission was granted in July 2016. However, in May 2018 the site was sold to the People's Republic of China to be used for their new London embassy. Sir David Chipperfield was appointed as the architect for development of the site with some critics questioning if this was his most controversial job.

Prescot Street is a street in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It runs between Goodman's Yard and Mansell Street in the west and Leman Street in the east. The area, including Ayliff Street, Leman Street and Mansell Street as well as Prescot Street, was built up in the seventeenth century as part of the development of Goodman's Fields by Sir William Leman. Prescot was the maiden name of Leman's mother Rebecca.In the early 2000s, the street was part of a large archaeological dig which uncovered large quantities of remains from the Roman period. The finds were on the site where the Leonardo Royal Hotel now stands, and formed part of the East London Roman Cemetery. Roman funeral urns were first discovered here in 1678. Of the original 18th Century housing only one has survived, at number 23. The London Infirmary was on the south side of Prescot Street, and the north side of Chamber Street, until it moved to Whitechapel Road in 1757 and became the London Hospital. The Magdalen House for Reception of Penitent Prostitutes which opened in 1758, took over the building. An old alleyway, Magdalen Passage, survives to commemorate the name, just west of number 16.In the Regency period (by 1800) the street was known as Great Prescott Street and there was an adjoining Little Prescott Street.The Roman Catholic Church of the English Martyrs, designed by Edward Pugin and built between 1873 and 1876, is at number 30. At number 15 is a Victorian pub, The Princess of Prussia, built around 1880. It is adjoined to another Victorian building, number 16, once the Whitechapel County Court, built in Italianate style in red brick on the site of the old hospital.At number 1 Prescot Street (on the corner of Leman Street) is the Grade II listed former Cooperative Wholesale Society building, once known as "The Tea House" (1930–33). Designed by L G Ekins, the building is "..an unusual example in Britain of the German Expressionist style."During World War II the area was severely damaged during The Blitz (a bomb site can still be seen in Magdalen Passage). All of the buildings on the north side are modern. On the south side (at number 21) is the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which moved from its previous location in Belgrave Square to the new building in October 2013.

St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. From 1828 to 1968, it was one of the commercial docks that made up the Port of London. It is in the redevelopment zone known as Docklands and is now a popular housing and leisure complex.

The Silver Jubilee Crystal Crown is a perspex sculpture by Arthur Fleischmann which has been displayed at the St Katharine Docks in London since the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977. A plaque nearby claims that it is the largest solid block of acrylic in the world. The Crystal Crown is made from a large block of transparent perspex measuring approximately 10 feet 9 inches (328 cm) by 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) by 8 inches (20 cm) and weighting about 2 tons. The block was cast by Stanley Plastics, having been commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to be used as the monolith in his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Kubrick rejected the transparent block in favour of an opaque plywood structure painted black. Fleischmann acquired the unused perspex block after MGM's Borehamwood studio closed in 1970. Working in a temporary studio at St Katharine Docks, Fleischmann carved away on one side of the block, excavating a crown surrounded by the rays of a sunburst. The completed work was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II on 5 June 1977 as part of the celebration of her Silver Jubilee, mounted inside the colonnade of the Coronarium Chapel at the docks in London. The Coronarium was roofed over and converted into a coffee shop in 2000, and the Crystal Crown was moved and mounted on the side of the Tower Hotel as part of a lightbox that is backlit at night.

Refuge is a United Kingdom charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. It was founded by author and men's rights activist Erin Pizzey. Refuge provides a national network of specialist services, including emergency refuge accommodation (refuges), community outreach, independent domestic violence advocacy (IDVAs), culturally specific services and a team of child support workers. Refuge also runs the Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is only available for women. Founded in 1971 as the modern world's first safe house for women and children escaping domestic violence, in Chiswick, West London. It is the largest domestic violence organisation in the United Kingdom.On any given day, Refuge’s services supports thousands of women and children. The charity says it is committed to working towards a world where women and children can live in safety, free from fear.

The Garrick Theatre, also known as Garrick's Subscription was a small theatre located in Leman St, Whitechapel. The theatre opened in 1831, and closed in about 1881. The theatre was named for the actor, David Garrick, who had made his début at the nearby Goodman's Fields Theatre on 9 October 1741, playing the role of Richard III. The performance on 11 May 1840 was Marie! and Virginius the Rum’un!, from an existent playbill. The plays were probably melodramas and some indication of the fare available at the time. The first theatre burned down in 1846, and was rebuilt to open as The Albert and Garrick Royal Amphitheatre. During rebuilding from 1852 to 1854, the neighbour, a gun manufacturer, obtained an injunction against the proprietor, Lawrence Levy, to restrict the height of the adjacent wall so as not to impede light to his premises. The theatre was managed by Lawrence Levy from 1854 until 1864. He returned to manage the theatre between 1867 and 1868. In 1856 E.B. Gaston was Stage Manager. The second theatre had a capacity of 462, although when Lawrence Levy put the theatre up for sale in 1866–1868, he claimed it "will hold 1,600 persons" and "can be made to hold 2,500", and then in 1868 was claiming "Was built for a circus" and "Holds 1,700 persons; can be made for 8,000".A young Barney Barnato is reputed to have begged pass outs from theatre leavers, to sell them on to others for a halfpennyAfter actor-manager J. B. Howe's bankruptcy in 1875, the theatre remained empty until 1879. Actress-manageress May Bulmer then ran the theatre until it was demolished, having a personal success in the light opera A Cruise to China. Although Lawrence Levy had died in 1873, the theatre was still part of his estate in 1882 when his trustee testified at the Old Bailey in the trial of two men called Culver and Jacobs. They had been claiming to hold the lease of the theatre, and had fraudulently been taking payments from actors on the promise of providing them with engagements. The site of the theatre is today occupied by the old Leman Street Police Station, built in 1891.

The Brown Bear is a pub at 139 Leman Street, Whitechapel, London E1. It is a Grade II listed building, dating back to the early 19th century.

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