| DISTRICT | ||
| Cambridge Heath | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | ||
| Population | ||
| PostCode District | E2 | |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets | |
| OS Grid Reference | ||
| Latitude | ||
| Longditude | {{{longitude}}} | |
Cambridge Heath is an area in East London and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is considered to be a part of the East End.
Toponymy[]
The earliest written use of the name was to the heath was probably called Centbeorht, which might as easily have been corrupted to Canterbury as Cambridge.[1]
History[]
Apart from a house in 1275, there was very little beside vegetable patches and hayfields,[2] with the heath being a common pasture in 1275 adjoined London Fields,[3] where people grazed their sheep in the 13th century.[4]
There may have been a hermitage associated with the Austin Friars, who were granted land and a spring at the heath in 1394. Friars attached hermitage house may have been next to St. George's Chapel, which existed by 1512, and was used by the early 16th century.[5]
In 1722, the trustees of Parmiter's charity purchased land on the west side of Cambridge Road and on either side of Hackney Road. One house had been built at each end by 1760, with three houses in all by 1775. In 1724, Thomas Thorne, a carpenter built a house there. Several cottages had been built, probably by Thomas King, glazier and plumber in 1729.[6]
Cambridge Heath was mostly agricultural up until dwellings began to sprout in the mid-18th century,[7] when the trustees of Parmiters purchased a part of the west side of Cambridge Road, on either side of Hackney Road. Several cottages had been built in the settlement with more sustained activity began in 1786, when six more houses were built. By 1800, Cambridge Place formed the north-western boundary of the area.[8] Durham Place was then being built in 1789.[9]
In 1807 the Leeds family agreed with Joseph Brown of Durham Place to further develop the estate. By 1812, Cambridge Circus existed. By 1836 there were 1,276 houses in the area, all but 231 on the west side of Cambridge Road.[10] By the 1840s, the urbanisation of Cambridge Heath was largely complete.[11]
In 2015, a 500 lb device was found at a construction site on Temple Street. 150 people were evacuated from their homes while specialists worked overnight to defuse the bomb.[12]
Geography[]
South Hackney, on the east and south, borders Cambridge Heath to the north, while on the west it is surrounded by Haggerston.[13]
The streetside buildings of Vyner Street form part of the industrial heritage and character of Cambridge Heath and also Wadeson Street, which contains a row of three storey Victorian workshops mostly converted to residential use. Both types contribute to the character of the area.[14]