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London | Tower Hamlets
The County of London was formed in 1889 from parts of the ancient counties of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey, with the City of London remaining an independent body. In 1965 Greater London was formed, taking in the rest of Middlesex (which no longer existed as a county) together with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire and further areas of Kent and Surrey.



 Greater London is made up of 13 Inner and 19 Outer London boroughs together with the City of London.



 Tower Hamlets once lay in Middlesex and is today one of the 13 boroughs making up Inner London. Its western border is marked by the Tower of London (and the City of London beyond), to its north the London borough of Hackney, to its east the River Lea (and the London borough of Newham) and along its southern border the River Thames.

London Boroughs

Anglo-Saxons and Danes
Anglo-Saxon Kings Danish Kings
The borough once lay in Middlesex which once formed the kingdom the kingdom of the Middle Saxons, so named because their kingdom lay between those of the East Saxons (Essex) and the West Saxons (Wessex).

Famous People

The first woman to qualify as a doctor in England, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was born as Elizabeth Garrett in Whitechapel in 1836. In 1908 she also became the country's first woman mayor when she was elected to the office in Aldeburgh in Suffolk.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson



 The murders between August and November 1888 of six women in the Whitechapel area of East End led to the hunt for Jack the Ripper. He was never found and his identity is still a mystery today although many theories have been put forward.



Monarchs

House of Lancaster
In 1471 the last Lancastrian king Henry VI was murdered in the Wakefield Tower at the Tower of London. He ruled from 1422-61 and again from 1470-71. He was originally buried at Chertsey Abbey in Surrey but in 1484 he was reburied in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

 Henry VI
 Monarchs buried at Windsor

House of York
 House of York
Edward V became King on his father Edward IV's death in April 1483. But before he could be crowned he and his brother were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle, the future Richard III. In July Richard III was crowned and the Princes were never seen again. Presumably murdered at the Tower during 1483 what is thought to be their remains were found bricked up in the Garden Tower (now known as the Bloody Tower) in 1674. Edward's remains were then buried in Westminster Abbey.

Edward V
 Monarchs buried at Westminster Abbey
 Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London



House of Tudor
 House of Tudor
Queen for only nine days in 1553, England's first female monarch Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned in the Lieutenant's House at the Tower of London before being executed on Tower Green in 1554. Although never crowned she belongs to the Tudor monarchs who ruled England in the 16th century. She was buried in the chapel there.

Lady Jane Grey
 Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London


Places of Interest

Historic Locations
Tower Hamlets Cemetery was opened in 1841 the seventh and last of what became known as the "Magnificent Seven", seven new London cemeteries needed due to the booming population of London. All were built within a decade: the first in 1832, Kensall Green Cemetery.



Royal Consorts and Heirs

House of Tudor
Accused of adultery Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn was beheaded privately on Tower Green at the Tower of London in 1536. She is buried in the chapel there. Queen since 1533 when they had been secretly married, she gave birth to the future Elizabeth I the same year.

Anne Boleyn
 Anne Boleyn
Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London



 Henry VIII's fifth wife Catherine Howard became queen in 1540 but was beheaded in 1542 on Tower Green at the Tower of London. She is buried in the chapel there.

Catherine Howard
 Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London



Guilford Dudley, husband of - and for nine days consort to - Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned with his wife at the Tower of London on the orders of Mary I in 1553. He was executed publicly on Tower Hill on the same day as Lady Jane in 1554. He is buried with her in the chapel there.

 Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London


World Heritage Sites
The Tower of London was designated a World Heritage Site in 1988. During history the Tower has had many uses including that of a mint, a zoo, an armoury and a favoured Royal palace but the main and most famous use was as a prison and place of execution for many prominent people down through the ages. The Crown Jewels are also kept there.

 Famous people imprisoned at the Tower of London

Writers and Poets
The pioneering feminist and writer Mary Wollstonecraft was born in Spitalfields in 1759. She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women and was the mother of Mary Shelley.

Mary Wollstonecraft
 Mary Wollstonecraft


I do not wish them (women) to have power over men; but over themselves.
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

A slavish bondage to parents cramps every faculty of the mind.
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

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