More discoveries by the project volunteers

 'When I first visited Whitechapel High Street and discovered Black Lion House was in my section, I didn't think much of it. Then I started researching the building and I was very pleasantly surprised. 

Black Lion Yard, 1961. Photographer unknown

Black Lion House stands near the now demolished Black Lion Yard which used to be described as the ‘Hatton Garden of the East End’ due to its 18 jewellery shops. Black Lion Yard was a narrow passage that ran from Old Montague Street to Whitechapel Road. Before it became known for its jewellers it was known for its kosher dairy. Until 1902, The Jewish Soup Kitchen was based here and even had its own heard of cows. Despite petitions and media coverage Black Lion Yard was demolished in 1975.'
Niamh Linnane

Reflections on Photography

Jon Spencer (see his website here) is the architectural photographer for the Panorama High Street 2012 project. He is taking photos of the elevations of every building along High Street 2012, and he is about half way through this extensive task. Here are his thoughts about the process so far...

'The work I've done so far on producing the People's Panorama has already proved of great interest.  Although I knew the streets that make up High Street 2012 as a visitor – the Whitechapel Gallery, the old Atlantis site by the Bell Foundry, the living bridge and so on, the time I've spent walking along the street for this project means I'm getting to know it in much fuller way. From my own experience and distant memories of lectures at architecture school, the occasional visitor often misrepresents the relationship & relative position of elements spread along a long thoroughfare, and I now feel like I've got a much better sense of the street, its rhythm and tempo.

The diversity of buildings is remarkable – in period, style, scale and function.  I might not have given much consideration to many of them in the past, but looking at each one individually means I'm getting to know them all a little and am seeing interesting or intriguing details & relationships that I would have missed before.

Looking at the parts of the panorama completed so far, I'm really struck by the way this wide range of buildings produces a fluctuating roofline to the final image … it seems almost like we're in a canyon, but here the line rises and falls dramatically to reveal glimpses of the city beyond the road, whether that's at the junction with side streets, or more tantalisingly, in the small gaps between buildings.

From a technical perspective, the sheer scale of this project means I've come across a number of issues in how to effectively describe these building façades as a single panorama, when such a view doesn't really exist in reality. Relative position & height of neighbouring buildings, buildings that address the street at different angles, street clutter, distant towers and traffic. And then there's the weather … but I don't need to tell you about that, right?!'
Jon Spencer

Rapit Suvanajata discovers...

'There are many memories and historical layers to all these buildings. At the end of Whitechapel Road, the last building number is 337 at present but the numbers used to run up to 345 in the past. Numbers 339-345 now is the outdoor space of the Blind Beggar pub (no.337)'

Zahra Rajaei's thoughts on researching Whitechapel High Street

'I have had a great time exploring my section of the High Street 2012 so far! My section includes Whitechapel Art Gallery, which I’ve visited very often and it is one of my favourite buildings on the high street. During my first visit all my focus was on the gallery and it was only after coming home and doing a bit of on-line research that I realised my section has a lot more to offer.

I realised I had completely missed a fine work of art just above the entrance of 88 Whitechapel High Street. It is quite hard to spot the sign of 1934-5 by Arthur Szyk, it is said to be a sign showing the editorial heart of the Jewish Daily Post. Arthur Szyk was a US based Jewish artist well known for his illustrations, this piece was made while he lived in London and is one of his few 3D pieces.  
 

I also found that The White Hart Pub is not just any old pub, it has a fascinating history. It was only during my second visit that I learned about the mysteries of the pub and that it has been a pub for more than 200 years. It is definitely worth a visit if you are interested in finding our about the darker history of Whitechapel! 

Photo by Jon Spencer

Although I have gathered a lot of information I still think there is more to it, one more week to discover the wonders of Whitechapel High Street.'

Zahra Rajaei

Zahra has been recording information about buildings
along High Street 2012 using her iphone

Barry Blinko, one of the volunteers, writes about his research so far...

I recently received the section of High Street 2012 that I am to research and it is close to Bow Church.  'Easy' I thought! A group of council blocks of flats and a couple of large old buildings.  Then I went along to February's training session at the archives.  I realised that before the blocks of flats were built there was something else there.  Suddenly not quite so easy.

I began my archives research this week and it became really interesting. I began to get a sense of the area. There used to be lots of shops of bygone trades - a chandlers, an eel stew shop, a clog maker, harness maker and so on.  Also I found that at one time there was a music hall - The Eastern Empire Music Hall then renamed the Bow Palace Music Hall.

The trades that seemed almost guaranteed survival were the funeral directors and the public houses!  Within a short distance there was the Bow Bells, which still exists complete with a reported ghost in the ladies toilet, Bird in Hand, Black Swan, Three Cups, White Horse and the Bombay Grab. Six pubs, a music hall and a cinema all in a short distance and only on one side of the road!  It shows that it must have been a lively area. 

I look forward to continuing my research and learning more.


Barry Blinko

Visit to Tower Hamlets Archives!

The Peoples Panorama volunteers visited Tower Hamlets Archives over the weekend and then braved the cold to find out the current uses of buildings along High Street 2012. The archives are full of fantastic resources that will provide lots of information about the buildings along High Street 2012. For example; Post Office records dating back to the mid-18th century, which tell you exactly who was using all of the buildings along the high street over the last 150 years, alongside folders of images and many fascinating maps of the area.

Welcome to the People's Panorama Blog!

The People’s Panorama Project has begun, with the induction and training of 26 fantastic volunteers. The volunteers will research the history of every building along High Street 2012, and this work will form the majority of the content of a major on-line resource about this historic high street.  

The road is 6km long with approximately 600 distinctive buildings along it, so we are delighted to have a team of such dedicated volunteers to undertake this ambitious task. In carrying out their research, the volunteers will become the experts on High Street 2012, uncovering its history and hidden stories.

The team of volunteers will also contribute to the other exciting learning programmes that are part of the project. These will include an adults learning programme, a schools programme and a lifelong learning programme.  

The team of volunteers will be adventuring out onto High Street 2012 on 4th February, to start their research. Keep an eye on this blog for updates of what the volunteers discover!