Brick Lane

Change once came from within, no longer

1 / Anything left?

Immigration is the story of East London, but now what?

Immigrants generally live where there’s work and community, and the East End has seen many communities come through and leave their mark. The latest of these has been the Bangladeshi community, with furlongs of curry houses and shops, a mosque and an entire support network geared up for them.

Remnants of the former Jewish population still exist, with the competing 24 hour Bagel shops at the north end of the road, fading signs and a museum. The vast, sprawling Truman Brewery with its fantastic series of buildings still houses the creative heart of the area, with its designers, artists, musicians and freeloaders trying to scam enough change for a beer.

Talvin Singh’s Mercury Prize-winning OK was recorded on the fifth floor, many of London’s finest digital agencies began life here, but unlike those days, when the locals were the hosts and the creatives their guests, the locals are almost outsiders.

2 / Development

Pressure

As the area became more popular, the cool and tatty wholesalers gave way to bars, clubs, cafes and shops selling tat nobody needs. Where there was perhaps a single place to drink on Brick Lane back then has changed to a thriving social area, with enough sneering hipster cred to keep three fixed-gear bicycle shops and seventeen coffee shops in business.

At any given time, the spaces are filled with art shows and exhibitions, and yet, the very traditions of Brick Lane are under threat. The indoor market is dreary and unoriginal, the street traders facing random hassle by the local council, Bishopsgate Goodsyard gone and razed for a new tube station, and the locals are finding themselves squeezed into an ever-shrinking space. No wonder some of them get moody when you start waving a camera around.