Bethnal Green Area Guide

Table of contents

• History of Bethnal Green
• Getting Around
• Home and Market Trends
• Local Life in Bethnal Green
• Open Spaces
• Arts and Entertainment
• Gyms and Fitness Centres
• Entertainment in Bethnal Green
• Local Authority
• Nightlife
• Crime and Safety
• Fun Fact about Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green has become one of the most popular areas to live and spend time in. The inner city of London is hectic and features a fascinating local history. There is a diverse blend of countries and generations of settlers, together with the latest crop of artists, which results in a really dynamic site to visit. The park has plenty of venues, including many tea and coffee bars, as well as a street market and a children’s museum. Other options include numerous shops that cater to nearly any need, as well as a large Royal Park that hosts events throughout the year, including firework displays on or around November 5th and summer music concerts. Visit Bethnal Green if you want to experience a small piece of London. The area has a good mix of restaurants, takeout, and tiny venues where you can see live music.

You may get to it through the Central Line or the Overground, which includes trains to Liverpool Street.

History of Bethnal Green

For hundreds of years, Blythenhale (now known as Bethnal Green) was simply a little parish on the banks of a lake, forest, and a natural spring. Due to the closeness to the city while yet having room for hunting and big manor residences, the Tudor gentry found Cobden to be an attractive suburb in the 1500s. Bethnal Green was integrated into the city’s sprawl during the Industrial Revolution, and became a working-class neighbourhood with industrial buildings, factories, market gardens, and tenements. With its presence in Spitalfields, the silk weaving trade brought in Huguenot and Irish immigrants, as well as immigrant Huguenots and Irish labourers.

Getting Around

Bethnal Green is 3 miles east of London’s centre, Haggerston is north of Bethnal Green, Bow is east of Bethnal Green, and Whitechapel is south of Bethnal Green.

Bethnal Green has a large local workforce due to its excellent transportation access, therefore it has attracted professionals and workers who commute elsewhere for their jobs.

Trains. Bethnal Green Underground Station is located on the Central Line, which passes through the heart of the city, going east to west, making stops such as Bank and Marble Arch. Additionally, there is an Overground station located within the neighbourhood, with links to places like Hackney Downs and Liverpool Street Station.

Buses. With eight daily bus lines and two overnight services, it’s simple to move about the city from here. For example, you may go to the Portobello Market and Notting Hill from the 52 by going all the way to Victoria Station in the south. To Finsbury Park, the 106 travels, whilst the 254 will travel through Aldgate and Holloway.

Cycling. Whether you are mooching along the canal towpaths or taking a leased bike to work every day, two wheels are extremely popular in East London. Multiple bicycle paths enable you to explore and there are more bike hire and repair shops in Bethnal Green than the average (some with coffee available while you wait).

Taxis. A round-trip walk from Bethnal Green to central London like Oxford Circus is around 4.9 miles. While traffic during the day can be horrendous, you have several options when it comes to finding a taxi, whether you want a black cab, Uber, or one of the many local taxi services that are usually far cheaper.

Airports. It’s 5 miles to London City airport, and you can get there by using the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). a distance of 17.4 miles to London Heathrow Airport, and London Stansted (11.9 miles) (26.1 miles). Luton and Stanstead are around 28 miles away from each other.

Home and Market Trends

A good deal of Victorian housing may be found in Bethnal Green. There are simple cottages located directly on the street in the Jesus Hospital Estate conservation area on Columbia Road, which is near the Columbia Road Flower Market.

Regent’s Canal passes through the centre of Bethnal Green and dissects East London. In harmony with modern builds and ex-local council buildings, rows of sought-after Georgian residences line the street. The Old Bethnal Green Road was built at the beginning of the 20th century for people who worked in the furniture trade. It contains numerous dwellings, including houses, apartments, and studios.

Bethnal Green has become a more desirable neighbourhood for young professionals and IT workers over the past few years, as the Old Street area has boomed with new developments.

In the vicinity of Queen Mary University of London and the University of East London, students likewise pick up second residences.

The price of a one-bedroom flat in Bethnal Green ranges from £1,600 to £2,000 per month, while two-bedroom homes are available for £2,000 to £2,500 per month.

Local Life in Bethnal Green

Queen Mary University of London and the University of East London are both hosting a summer rental for students this year. For the rest of the year, young professionals in the City or in the technology industry are the population that remains. Both working-class families and young professionals are finding success in the neighbourhood. People in their twenties and thirties have embraced it since it offers two significant necessities: a lively nightlife and a commute that is a small distance. When you want to save money, consider renting, especially if you are okay with sharing an apartment with a roommate.

Open Spaces

Mile End Park, Weaver’s Fields, Bethnal Green Garden, and the Bethnal Green Museum Gardens are among the area’s finest open areas.

Viaduct Street south of Bethnal Green Road has three full-size football pitches as well as the largest park in the neighbourhood.

The Stairway to Heaven memorial commemorates the 173 individuals who perished in the Bethnal Green Underground station tragedy in 1943. These gardens are near one other in Cambridge Heath Road, and the latter contains sports facilities and children’s playgrounds.

London’s most popular park, with over nine million visits per year, is situated along Regent’s Canal in Tower Hamlets.

Arts and Entertainment

In this section of London, which is known as “the art quarter,” galleries are common. So whatever your tastes in art, you’re unlikely to be disappointed. Image Music Text is all about the experimental, whereas Four Corners is the type of environment you will most likely meet people who are into cinema and photography. The French Riviera is a curious concept: here you can watch up-and-coming musicians, but you can also hear the band Das Hund, which is owned by the facility’s operators.

Bethnal Green’s cultural crown is embellished by the V&A Museum of Childhood at Cambridge Heath Road, the world’s largest museum dedicated to childhood. This intriguing exhibit encourages the visitor to rediscover his or her inner kid. This 18th-century mansion is the home of one of the world’s best collections of children’s toys, doll’s houses, games, and costumes.

Rich Mix in Bethnal Green Road, a multidisciplinary arts centre, offers live performances, films, and exhibits in addition to its usual programmes. Furthermore, it offers an array of classes and a community outreach programme.

The construction project for Oxford House in Derbyshire Street is currently underway. The Keble College “settlement house” in Oxford was the first university “settlement house” to be founded in the United Kingdom with the objective of drawing Oxford students to volunteer in Bethnal Green.

It is now operated as a mixed arts centre, as well as a place where local non-profit organisations can take use of economical office space. Arthur William Blomfield, a leading architect of the late Victorian era, created the chapel for the college as well.

The art cinema located in Mile End Road is known as “Genesis”. While the Backyard Comedy Club advertises itself as the largest professional, purpose-built comedy club in London, two smaller venues, the Sebright Arms and St. John on Bethnal Green, claim to be the city’s smallest music venues.

York Hall: A respected boxing venue, as well as a wonderful day spa that has its own early-1900s Turkish baths.

Gyms and Fitness Centres

Whether you want to go to a regular gym like Energie Fitness or want to visit a local leisure centre like York Hall Leisure Centre, this part of London has a variety of fitness facilities to choose from. Even though York Hall contains a 33-meter pool, as well as a teaching pool, it is quite popular with swimmers because of its layout. CrossFit has become rather popular here. We’ve also seen various sporting groups like jogging clubs and military fitness alternatives. The Yoga Place and locations like the London Buddhist Centre have yoga on tap.

Entertainment in Bethnal Green

The London Buddhist Centre (LBC) is the main base for the London Triratna Buddhist Community, which used to be known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. It was completed in 1888, and had been used by the London fire brigade since before World War II. The structure was damaged by fire in the 1970s, prior to renovation as a nonprofit arts centre by volunteers. This will be the last significant improvement to the system in 2009.

The venue is situated a two-minute walk from Bethnal Green Tube and Overground stations, located at 231 Cambridge Heath Road, and has since 1998 served as one of the hubs of London’s nightlife and social scene. Reopening with the new state-of-the-art venue and bar has given it a whole new lease on life.

According to history, living in East London was characterised by numerous hardships. Due to the scarcity of money, tight living places, and seedy streets, survival was difficult for most. Thus, East Londoners were highly recognised for their toughness. They could both survive and thrive in these conditions. This is best demonstrated through the sport of boxing, which is an unsavoury activity but provides an excellent demonstration of this concept.

Local Authority

Bethnal Green falls under the local council of Tower Hamlets. 

Nightlife

To be sure, it’s impossible to think of an East London night out without include the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. Some argue that it has had a huge impact on the area’s character. In the main, it’s still a working men’s club except for the few occasions when something a bit raunchier is scheduled. Jazz ensembles and candlelit meals may all be found at the Dead Dolls Club in Bethnal Green. People who like laughter, rather than dancing and drinking, can go to The Backyard Comedy Club on Cambridge Heath Road for excellent West End comedy shows.

There is simply one good bar or club located at 93 Feet East. On weekends, they host a Caribbean BBQ on the patio, with music ranging from live acts to DJs. The drinks are fine, the environment is laid-back, and the patrons are decent. There are also several fantastic pubs in the area. The area has a diverse collection of both modern fancy bars, as well as traditional “old men’s pubs full of history and character.” Although several of the taverns on the Mile End Road like the Blind Beggar had colourful pasts, the Kray Twins grew up around here. The Blind Beggar first opened its doors in 1894, and it is decorated in a Victorian style. It plays on its violent gangland past, but thankfully today it is open to everyone and the bloodshed from the previous days is long gone.

Welcome to Bethnal Green! Here at the Star, we provide cocktails, karaoke, and a discotheque. Nothing further needs to be said.

The Well and Bucket: a range of beers long enough to make Bethnal Green Road look like a milkweed. Above-average meals (particularly for oyster aficionados) and a special area to discover underneath.

A typical bar with a speakeasy twist, the Sun Tavern. The beverages menu, which was created in 1851, offers a wide selection of local ales along with punchy cocktails. As well as having a Poitín taste, you can drink legally.

Crime and Safety

London with an above-average violent crime rate and property crime rate, together with an above-average rate of property crime in Bethnal Green.

Fun Fact about Bethnal Green

Betty G or Bezzy G is occasionally known as “Betty in the Green” or “Betty in the Park”.