Streets Of London: Old Nichol Street, E2
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By Simone Baird. Photography by Ed Marshall
Posted: Wed Aug 22 2007 -
Once the site of a notorious slum, this Shoreditch street has changed dramatically, with community picnics and designer shops
With its five-storey, red-brick, Victorian tenements, leafy side streets and buzz of activity, Old Nichol Street is a little like a piece of New York’s Lower East Side transported to the middle of Shoreditch. With one foot firmly in its run-down past and the other in its regenerated future, it’s a vibrant mix of Bengali families, City professionals, creative media folk and cockneys.
Old Nichol, Swanfield, Virginia and Boundary Streets enclose the Boundary Estate – so-called because it lay at the fringe of the City, apparently beyond where Victorian police would tread – and was the UK’s first council housing project, built in 1890 on the cleared ruins of the infamous Old Nichol slum.
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In the mid-eighteenth century, the East End was the centre of London’s rag trade. Weavers’ houses were built in the gardens of the local nunnery to cope with the explosion in people looking for work. When this industry collapsed in the latter half of the eighteenth century, under pressure from cheaper Continental imports, the houses were sub-divided into workshops where families lived on top of each other, attempting to scratch together a living making matches, shoes and clothes pegs. The last remaining weaver’s house on the Boundary Estate is at 74 Swanfield Street and is, incongruously, a shop selling foam for sofas and chairs. The Old Nichol slum was the thinly disguised and horrifying subject of Arthur Morrison’s 1902 novel, ‘A Child of the Jago’. Victorian social researcher Charles Booth is said to have declared Old Nichol the most poverty-stricken slum in London.
Following the tireless crusade of Reverend Arthur Jay, the slum was razed in 1900. Built in its place was the Boundary Estate, with streets that run like spokes from the pretty Arnold Circus bandstand in the centre. Formed in 2004, the Friends of Arnold Circus arranges community events each summer, including ‘bring and share’ picnics. Not all residents are thrilled by the activities. At a local meeting, one elderly resident complained that she had put up with enough brass bands playing in the bandstand as a child and shouldn’t be forced to endure them once again. The Rochelle Street School, built in 1899, is now an arts centre; it hosted British designer Giles Deacon’s last London Fashion Week show.
The Grade II-listed Boundary Estate is still in the hands of the local council – proposals to hand it over to a private housing association were voted out last year – but it is slowly being given a much-needed lick of paint. Repeated crackdowns by the police in recent years have swept away most of the drug dealers and gangs of troublesome youths. However, it’s a long way from sleepy suburbia: tipsy revellers frequently use the estate as a short cut from the Hoxton bars to Brick Lane on Friday and Saturday nights, and less salubrious folk still hang around the area.
Several years ago, the majority of shops in the vicinity were boarded up; now, low rents are attracting designers. Redchurch Street runs parallel with Old Nichol, and is an eclectic mix. Lisa Whatmough’s furniture shop, Squint (3 Redchurch Street, 020 7739 9275), is full of colourful, reclaimed and reupholstered sofas. Jimmie Martin (5a Redchurch Street, 020 7033 9507) is another furniture showroom; here you can find neoclassical armchairs covered in black leather and retro sideboards sprayed gold with graffiti tags. Vintage furniture fans should make for the shop with no name (45 Redchurch Street, 020 7033 8707); with its glittery handbags on the walls and ceiling crammed with covetable chandeliers, it looks just like a spillover storage room for nearby cult bar Loungelover (1 Whitby Street, 020 7012 1234) and decadent French brasserie Les Trois Garçons (1 Club Row, 020 7613 1924).
From edgy young designers to famous London names, the west end of Old Nichol Street is currently a construction site thanks to Terence Conran’s latest project: a restaurant and 18-bedroom hotel with the working name The Boundary, due to open in November. Swanky new members’ club Shoreditch House (Ebor Street, 020 7739 5040/www.shoreditchhouse.com) opened in June and has been chiefly attracting the designer-clad media set who live and work nearby. Green & Red (51 Bethnal Green Road, 020 7749 9670) is a sublime Mexican restaurant with a dangerous tequila bar in the basement. The Owl & the Pussycat (34 Bethnal Green Road, 020 7613 3628) is a proper boozer with a small beer garden. The Rich Mix Cultural Centre (35-47 Bethnal Green Road, 020 7613 7498) boasts a cinema, kids’ centre and gallery space. And no visit to the area would be complete without popping into Leila’s (17 Calvert Avenue, 020 7729 9789), an expensive but enjoyable organic café and small deli on Arnold Circus.
Grocery shopping is more difficult, although there are numerous corner shops (Anisha Cash & Carry, 83 Redchurch Street, is the best of the local lot). With sad predictability, however, Tesco dominates with a large store on Bethnal Green Road. Still, it would take a lot to drive the soul out of this area. The proximity of Columbia Road Flower Market means people carrying armfuls of bargain lilies and sunflowers can be seen in the streets every Sunday, dodging the party folk doing the ‘walk of shame’ home.
Transport
Liverpool Street tube and rail station (on the Central, Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan Lines) and Old Street (Northern Line) tube station, both in Zone 1, are ten minutes’ walk away.
Estate agents
Peach Properties (020 7739 6969/ www.peachproperties.com).
PJ Morgan (020 7033 4554/ www.pjmorganproperty.com).
Winkworth (020 7749 7659/ www.winkworth.co.uk).Can you afford it?
£270 per week
Two-double-bedroom, ground-floor flat in Sunbury House, Old Nichol Street.
£310 per week
Three-bedroom, top-floor flat in Henley House, Old Nichol Street.
£280,000
One-bedroom, ground-floor flat in Abingdon House, Boundary Street.
£799,950
Two-double-bedroom penthouse with roof terrace, Turville Street.- Add your comment to this feature
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19 comments
i was born in 71 laleham house in 1957 with my mother betty hampford nee donegan also grandparents dennis donegan,bridget donegan and aunt joyce donegan,we moved to hedsor house in 58/59 after my uncle died after falling out of the flat window.moved to coventry in about 1961 with my mother but still have strong links to the east end especially bethnall green
My grandfather had a waistcoat workshop in Boundary Passage in the 1890's and after.where my father, his brothers and sister were born.
He drank the family fortunes away in the Ship and Blue Ball, the pub on the corner of the Passage and Boundary street, alas, now converted into offices
My father and his siblings all attended the schools around the bandstand.which acted as a playground.
My aunt Rachel (known as Ginger or Genie) had a best friend whose surname was MIllan and could well be related to one of your other correspondants of the same name. I think my uncles caled her "Minkie"..
My grandfather, Herbert Foote, was the Resident Engineer of the Central Laundry and Baths and later became Estate Superindtendent from 1898 to 1945
My parents grew up and married on this estate. My Mother's family were the Freemans of Sunbury House. My Grandfather was killed in WW1 and my Grandmother married her Brother-in-law. There were 5 girls and 1 boy. My Father's family (Garcia) lived in Hedsor one of 3 (2 Sisters). My parents went to Rochelle Street and Virginia Road schools and met when my Dad would push my Mum's younger sister in her pram. They married in 1939. Sadly they are no longer with us. Does anyone remember them?
I'm actually researching Arnold Circus for a BBC History series about different streets of London. We'd love to hear from anyone who has memories of living or working there. Please contact me on 0207 378 6106
I lived in Leslie House, Brick Lane just round the corner from Virginia Road where I went to school. I left there during the War and have not been back, but I do remember Old Nichol Street, The Band Stand and it's environs where I spent most of my youth, much of it in poverty and bad housing conditions.
Would be pleased to hear from any girls or boys who may remember me. I now live in Australia with my family. My husband Jack Loftus passed away in 2003 at the age of 82.
I remember Lena Clements. She lived on the ground floor in Hedsor Buildings next door to Annie Parks who was a hairdresser.
I was bornin 1924 at 7 Hedsor Buildings, and lived there till 9 yrs old.then we moved to Chertsey Buildings.I grew up in that area and it was a good life as far as I remember.I went to Rochelle St. School, and Virginia Rd. school. I remember shopping at Raymonds, the greengrocer, Jones the dairy, and Kossof's the bakery all in Calvert Ave. It still looks very nice around the Bandstand.I was there in 2008.
i was born in laleham buildings in 1945 My mother was lena and my father was darby does anybody remember the woolf family from them days My father and all his brothers were in the racing game. My mothers dad was harry clements who was quite a character .
My family owned a shop at 11 Boundary Street on the corner of Boundary Passage opposite Old Nicol Street. They used to live in the area from the turn of the century when the estate was built over the slum. It was a Fruiterers and Greengrocer owned by my Great Great Grandparents and had the name L.Goldberg & Co on the glass front, now seen bricked up if you look it up on google earch (360 camera right in front), then the window was named A.Millanofsky as it was passed down to my Great Grandfather and then M. Millan when passed down as a dowry for my Grandfather when he married. Unfortunately they did not run it very well and the business was sold. I believe they all used to live above the shop in those days. The inlaws family at the time 'Grodzinski's' run a very successful bakery. I was very interested to hear of the history of the area, it must have been very tough for them as new immigrants to the country.
All the buildings on the Boundary Street Estate are names of places along the Thames. My Grandparents leased the green grocers shop at 15 Calvert Avenue in 1899. My parents took over the family business and finally retired in 1966. It was a great place to grow up.
The Boundary Estate is named because its western side runs along Boundary Street, which was the boundary of the old prioir that used to stand where St Leonard's Church now stands.
I lived on the Boundary Street Estate from 1926 to 1940. Thoroughly enjoyed this article although I agree with the above comment that Sarah Wise's book is not always accurate.
Anyone visiting the area should make sure they do not miss Leilas shop in Calvert Avenue. Tasty products, food and drinks all highly recommended. See you there!
I currently live in the street. I can tell you the area is *not* cheap to live in.
The street is home to 2 or 3 local 'ladies of the night' who seem to be rather friendly with the local strip bar. The 'ladies' like to smoke crack behind the building works too. Lovely. Often the local crack heads like to shout at each other in the street. I think it's a local eastend dialect- crackese I believe.
One can often find people snorting cocaine and urinating in the middle of the street too.
I will make sure to recommend the location to all of my friends.