London Borough of Tower Hamlets

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“Tower Hamlets” redirects here. For other uses, see Tower Hamlets (disambiguation).

Geography
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 348th 19.77 km²
ONS code	00BG
Admin HQ	Clove Crescent, Blackwall
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 61st (of 354) 213,200 10,784 / km²
Ethnicity	51.4% White (42.9% British, 1.9% Irish, 6.6% white other) 36.6% South Asian 6.5% Afro-Caribbean 2.6% Mixed Race 1.8% Chinese 0.1% Arab 0.1% Jewish
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Shafiqul Haque
Executive	Labour
MPs	Jim Fitzpatrick George Galloway
London Assembly — Member	City and East John Biggs
Coat of Arms

Official website	http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East London. It includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks and Canary Wharf. Many of the tallest buildings in London are located on the Isle of Dogs in the south of the borough.

Tower Hamlets is one of five London boroughs which will be hosting the Olympic Park of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

1 Geography and Administration
2 History
3 Local landmarks
- 3.1 Historical landmarks
- 3.2 Modern landmarks
4 Present Day
5 External links

[edit] Geography and Administration

[edit] Civic History

The name "Tower Hamlets" historically applied to the Tower division of the county of Middlesex, covering not only the present borough, but also part of the present-day London Borough of Hackney. The Constable of the Tower of London had special jurisdiction over the area from the 16th century until 1889. Inhabitants of Tower Hamlets were originally required to provide yeomen for the Tower of London. Later the Constable became Lord Lieutenant of the area, raising and organising the local militia. Under the Reform Act 1832 the area became a parliamentary borough. The name continued to be used for constituencies until 1918.

The borough itself was formed in 1965 out of the former area of the metropolitan boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney which formed the classic East End.

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[edit] Political and Parliamentary representation

For elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the borough has two constituencies:

Bethnal Green & Bow
Poplar & Canning Town. The geographical scope of thos constituency includes land located within the London Borough of Newham.

The current division of support at the local government level is as follows:

Labour Party - form the majority group with 26 councillors.
Respect party - 12 councillors
Conservative Party - seven councillors (including all those on the Isle of Dogs)
Liberal Democrats - six councillors.

Details of councillors at a local level are being detailed in the articles of individual areas within Tower Hamlets.

[edit] Physical Geography

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is located to east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East London. The London Borough of Hackney lies to the north of the borough while the London Borough of Newham lies to the east.

The Isle of Dogs sits in the middle of the largest current meander of the River Thames and the southern part of the borough forms part of the flood plain of the River Thames and but for the Thames Barrier would be vulnerable to flooding.

The Regents Canal flows through the borough on its way from North London to the River Thames at Limehouse Basin.

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[edit] Areas within the borough

Areas included in the borough:

[edit] History

See the articles for the abovementioned areas for the history of each of the areas within Tower Hamlets.

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[edit] Local landmarks

[edit] Historical landmarks

Canary Wharf, seen from a high-level walkway on Tower Bridge

Tower of London
site of the old Royal Mint
Hawksmoor's Christ Church, Spitalfields
Victoria Park
Cable Street - site of the Battle of Cable Street

[edit] Modern landmarks

In the Canary Wharf complex:

In the Heron Quays complex:

Also in the Docklands:
- One Churchill Place

Elsewhere in the Borough
- The Green Bridge, Mile End

[edit] Present Day

[edit] Demographics

According to the 2001 census key statistics for the borough include

a population of 196,106.
52% are under 30, the highest percentage in England (average 38%)
51% of the population is white, 33% Bangladeshi, 3% Black African and 3% black Caribbean.
29% of the borough are owner–occupiers.

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[edit] Economic Profile

At the 2001 census, the borough had the highest rate of unemployment in Great Britain at 12.7%. Part of the borough is within the boundary of the Thames Gateway.

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