Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is the neighborhood in the East End of London where we’re starting to put down roots! A few interesting things about our borough:

• Two people were both famous for working in Tower Hamlets during the Victorian era: William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, and Jack the Ripper.
• The neighborhood population is over one third Bengali. 9 out of 10 of these immigrants are from one particular region in northeast Bangladesh called Sylhet.
• Tower Hamlets has been a landing place for immigrants for centuries; the first wave was French Huguenots (Protestants), the next wave was Ashkenazi Jews, and the current wave is primarily Bengali Muslims. Somalis are becoming the next largest immigrant group.
• Tower Hamlets has three wildly different landmarks within it: the infamous Tower of London; Brick Lane, the heart of Banglatown; and Canary Wharf, the shiny financial district.
• During the last census Tower Hamlets had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
• Over 70% of the borough population lives in government housing.
• At the local school our teammates send their children to, there are SEVENTY-TWO languages spoken!
• (Here’s a list of sources with more information if you’re a numbers person.)

We’ll be posting a more detailed history of the area soon; in the meantime, you can take a look at our Support Page to see how you can join us in ministry to this neighborhood!