Before The East End

For most of London's history, there was no East End.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the first King William built the Tower of London and enclosed the city with a gated wall, using the remains of the Roman walls as foundations.

Beyond the medieval city wall, an old Roman road led eastwards from Aldgate to Colchester, crossing a landscape of fields and marshes dotted with small villages.

By the 13th century, eleven of these hamlets were brought under the jurisdiction of the Constable of the Tower of London and became known as the Tower Hamlets - a name that survives to this day.