London Borough of Tower Hamlets

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London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 348th 1 E7 m²}}} km²
ONS coding system>ONS code	00BG
Demographics
Population — Total () — Density	/ km²
Ethnicity	51.4% White 36.6% South Asian 6.5% Afro-Caribbean 2.6% Mixed Race 1.8% Chinese 0.1% Arab 0.1% Jewish
Politics
Local government in England#Councils and councillors>Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	—
Executive
MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005>MPs	Jim Fitzpatrick George Galloway
London Assembly — Member	City and East London John Biggs
Official website	http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/

Arms of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London.

History

The name "Tower Hamlets" historically applied to the Tower division of the county of Middlesex, covering not only the present borough, but also part of the present-day London Borough of Hackney. The Constable of the Tower of London had special jurisdiction over the area from the 16th century until 1889. Inhabitants of Tower Hamlets were originally required to provide yeomen for the Tower of London. Later the Constable became Lord Lieutenant of the area, raising and organising the local militia. Under the Reform Act 1832 the area became a parliamentary borough. The name continued to be used for constituencies until 1918.

The borough itself was formed in 1965 out of the former area of the metropolitan boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney which formed the classic East End.

Settlement

In contrast to the rest of the borough, Tower Hamlets includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks and Canary Wharf. Within this area are many of the tallest buildings in London.

Tower Hamlets is one of five boroughs to host the London 2012 Summer Olympics and part of the borough is within the boundary of the Thames Gateway.

Areas included in the borough:

• Bethnal Green
• Blackwall
• Bow
• Bromley-by-Bow
• Cambridge Heath
• Cubitt Town
• Globe Town
• Isle of Dogs
• Limehouse
• Mile End
• Millwall
• Old Ford
• Poplar
• Ratcliff
• Shadwell
• Spitalfields
• Stepney
• Wapping
• Whitechapel

Demographics

Canary Wharf, seen from a high-level walkway on Tower Bridge

According to the 2001 census the borough has a population of 196,106. It is 51% white, 33% Bangladeshi, 3% Black African and 3% black Caribbean. 29% of the borough are owner–occupiers. With 36.4%, the borough is the local authority with the highest percentage of Muslims in Britain.

According to the 2001 census, 52% of the borough's inhabitants were under 30, the highest such figure in England (which has an average of 38%).

Local landmarks

• Tower of London

• In the Canary Wharf complex:
• * One Canada Square
• * HSBC Tower, London
• * Citigroup Centre

• In the Heron Quays complex:
• * 40 Bank Street
• * 10 Upper Bank Street
• * 25 Bank Street

• Also in the Docklands:
• * One Churchill Place

Local politics

In elections to the Westminster Parliament, the borough is part of the constituencies of Bethnal Green & Bow and Poplar & Canning Town.

Museums and attractions

• Canary Wharf
• Island History Trust
• Museum in Docklands
• Museum of Childhood
• Ragged School Museum
• * see also Tower Hamlets parks and open spaces

Greater London | London | City of London 

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