East London History & Churches

[Cathy]

Ever wondered why your relatives were married at St James the Great, Bethnal Green when they didn't appear to live there? This article by Prebendary Arthur Royall gives the answer along with interesting historical detail.
It's among a number of well written historical notes, each with a bibliography, on East London Churches and Streets.
This section of the website is titled Articles by Prebendary Arthur Royall. Among other things he discusses the role of the Parish Clerk.

 

[Carla]

I found his articles about Poplar interesting as some of my paternal line lived there. Thank you.

 

[Heilan Lass]

I found his articles about Poplar interesting as some of my paternal line lived there. Thank you.

Me too - my gt gt grandparents lived therein the late 1830s/early 1840s. Carla - which part of Poplar were yours in?

 

[Carla]

Mine are all in the Bromley/Bow area, particularly Mile End, St George in the East and Devon Road. Oh and lots more. They were descended from immigrant Jews, mixed with a bit of Irish and the odd Londoner. My branch did not practice the Jewish faith but became anglicised changing their names from Martinez to Martin.

What about your ancestors? What area were they from?

 

[Heilan Lass]

Mine are all in the Bromley/Bow area, particularly Mile End, St George in the East and Devon Road. Oh and lots more. They were descended from immigrant Jews, mixed with a bit of Irish and the odd Londoner. My branch did not practice the Jewish faith but became anglicised changing their names from Martinez to Martin.

What about your ancestors? What area were they from?

My ggt grandfather and his younger brother came from Kent (at least they were baptised in Lamberhurst - where their parents came from is still a "brick wall" for me!) but the first mention I have of my ggt grandfather Thomas being in London, is his marriage in 1838 in "the Parish Church in Bow". In 1841 he and his wife Charlotte were living in George Place, MEOT, the by 1851 in Violet Street, Bethnal Green. Other members of the family on both maternal and paternal sides and all who came in from "out of town" were also scattered around the Bethnal Green area. Its fascinating to think they might have all been there at the same time and known eachother!!

 

[Carla]

My g grandfather and his father were in the confectionery business.....well sugar boilers really....i know that their neighbours were all tailors, butchers. etc so it was a community of people who probably all ran businesses of their own and had similar lives.

I have looked on Google Street to take a peek at the roads they lived in. Although i know it has changed, and indeed no. 1 Devon street has been demolished, it is still interesting to imagine how they would have lived, especially when you realise how many people often lived in one house!!

 

[Jacqueline]

Ever wondered why your relatives were married at St James the Great, Bethnal Green when they didn't appear to live there? This article by Prebendary Arthur Royall gives the answer along with interesting historical detail.
It's among a number of well written historical notes, each with a bibliography, on East London Churches and Streets.
This section of the website is titled Articles by Prebendary Arthur Royall. Among other things he discusses the role of the Parish Clerk.

How interesting, Cathy. I'll look at my St Jas. the Gt. marriages for their dates; I know I have some.
Re marrying in batches, Mrs George Linnaeus Bank's 1876 novel "The Manchester Man" has an unforgettable description of a batch wedding, too good to spoil by describing it. Not London but very appropriate to the subject.