Place · United Kingdom
The history of Tower Hamlets, one place at a time
Assembled from 2 dug tiles · 27 sourced records · last reviewed 15 August 2026
Tower Hamlets holds a Roman bath house buried beneath Wapping's streets and the Norman keep William the Conqueror began at the Tower of London in the early 1080s. Between them lie centuries of upheaval: murder on Ratcliff Highway, executions at Tower Green, and a 1974 bomb in the White Tower's mortar room.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Tower Hamlets — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Tower Hamlets
A bomb reached the room where two kings had already fallena bomb tore through the White Tower White Tower
1078–1974 A Roman bath house lies beneath Wapping Lane
Roman bath house buried beneath Wapping Lane Eluna Apartments
1799–1936
Tower Hamlets in layers
Roman period
A scheduled Roman bath house, the Shadwell Roman Bath House, sits almost directly under this spot, 31 metres away. UK Heritage / Wikidata
centuries, prior to early 19th century
For centuries before the 19th century, condemned pirates were gibbeted at Execution Dock on the Wapping waterfront, their bodies left until covered by three tides, some 300 metres south. Wikipedia: Wapping
St George-in-the-East, an Anglican church with its original churchyard now St George's Gardens, stands 131 metres away on Cannon Street Road. Wikipedia
White Tower
The White Tower beside you, begun in the early 1080s by William the Conqueror and whitewashed on Henry III's orders in 1240, is the Norman keep that gave the whole castle its name. Wikipedia
Window of the White Tower
Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham and the Tower's first recorded prisoner, escaped in 1101 by climbing from a White Tower window on a rope smuggled to him inside a wine cask. Historic Royal Palaces
Beneath the grounds outside the chapel, Inner Ward
Excavations outside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, a short walk from here, have uncovered medieval burials, including victims hastily interred during plague outbreaks. National Geographic
Council chamber, second floor, White Tower
In 1399 Richard II was brought into the White Tower's council chamber and compelled to abdicate the throne. 1066.co.nz
Tower of London
During the Wars of the Roses, Yorkist forces besieged the Lancastrian garrison holding the Tower in June and July 1460 after taking London. Wikidata
Bowyer Tower
George, Duke of Clarence, died a prisoner here in 1478, and the story handed down by guides is that he was drowned in a butt of malmsey wine. Medievalists.net
White Tower or Bloody Tower
Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were held here and disappeared in 1483, most likely within the White Tower itself, their fate never resolved. Historic Royal Palaces
Council chamber, White Tower
Richard III had Lord Hastings summarily sentenced to death in the White Tower's council chamber in 1483, with execution following almost immediately. 1066.co.nz
Tower Green, Inner Ward
Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor and author of Utopia, was beheaded here on 6 July 1535 for refusing to accept Henry VIII's supremacy over the Church. Exploring Castles
Tower Green, Inner Ward
On 19 May 1536 Henry VIII's second queen was beheaded by a French swordsman on Tower Green, within this Inner Ward. Exploring Castles
Tower Green, Inner Ward
Henry VIII's chief minister was beheaded on Tower Green on 28 July 1540 after a swift and engineered downfall. Exploring Castles
Tower Green, Inner Ward
Henry VIII's fifth wife was executed here on 13 February 1542 for adultery and treason and buried nearby in St Peter ad Vincula. Exploring Castles
Tower Green, Inner Ward
Deposed after just nine days on the throne, Jane Grey was executed privately on Tower Green on 12 February 1554, a mark of her rank. Historic Royal Palaces
Tower Green, Inner Ward
Robert Devereux, once Elizabeth I's favourite courtier, was beheaded on Tower Green on 25 February 1601 after his rising against the Queen collapsed. Wonders of the World
1799–1815
The London Docks, built between 1799 and 1815 at a cost exceeding £5.5 million, transformed this stretch of Wapping into the closest dock complex to the City of London, centred 345 metres away. Wikipedia
19 December 1811
On 19 December 1811 John and Elizabeth Williamson and their servant Bridget Harrington had their throats cut and skulls smashed at the Kings Arms on New Gravel Lane, the old name for the street you are standing beside. Londonist; Spitalfields Life; The East End
7 December 1811
Twelve days earlier, on 7 December 1811, linen draper Timothy Marr, his wife, infant son and servant were beaten and had their throats slashed in their shop on Ratcliff Highway, 200 metres south. Ratcliff Highway murders, Wikipedia
19th century
The Highway, dating to Roman times and known through the 19th century for vice, crime, and the Ratcliff Highway murders, runs 106 metres from here. Wikipedia
1 January 1812
John Williams, blamed for both massacres, hanged himself in prison and was carted through Wapping's streets before burial with a stake through his heart at Commercial Road and Cannon Street Road, 600 metres north. New Crane Wharf; Spooky Isles
completed 1812
Tobacco Dock, a Grade I listed warehouse designed by John Rennie and completed in 1812 to store imported tobacco, stands 83 metres away. Wikipedia
Victorian era
Bluegate Fields, one of the worst slum districts near the docks, once occupied streets now called Dellow Street and Cable Street, 241 metres north and inspiring scenes in Dickens and Wilde. Wikipedia
Questions about Tower Hamlets
What is Tower Hamlets known for historically?
It holds two very different layers of history: a scheduled Roman bath house buried beneath Wapping Lane, and the Tower of London's White Tower, begun by William the Conqueror in the early 1080s and the site of executions, escapes and imprisonments across nearly nine centuries.
What happened at the Tower of London's White Tower?
The White Tower has seen kings deposed, prisoners escape, and executions on nearby Tower Green, including Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey, who was beheaded at seventeen. On 17 July 1974 an IRA-suspected bomb exploded in its mortar room, killing one visitor and injuring forty-one.
What happened at Ratcliff Highway in 1811?
Two entire households, including the Marr family on 7 December 1811 and the Williamson family on 19 December 1811, were murdered within a fortnight near what is now Wapping Lane. The chief suspect was buried on 1 January 1812 with a stake through his heart.
Is there Roman history in Wapping?
Yes. A scheduled Roman bath house lies buried beneath Wapping Lane, close to the site of Eluna Apartments and near the locations of the 1811 Ratcliff Highway murders.
What other sites are near Wapping's Ratcliff Highway murders?
Nearby stood Execution Dock, where pirates were hanged for centuries and left for three tides, Tobacco Dock's Georgian warehouse completed in 1812, the notorious Victorian slum of Bluegate Fields, and St George in the East with its original graveyard.
What happened to the Tower of London during rebellions or sieges?
A Lancastrian garrison was besieged there in 1460, the Earl of Essex's rebellion ended there after its failure, and Lord Hastings was condemned on the spot in the council chamber. A king was also forced to sign away his crown in that same council chamber.