Discovering London: Broadway Market Revisited 1906 vs 2011

Our office is situated in a very interesting part of London. It's in the middle between Aldgate, Fenchurch and Tower Hill stations. Despite the new stylish Mint Hotel and all other modern City offices and skyscrapers, we were still around by historic London. A couple colleagues at work and I took this opportunity and started a lunchtime walking club – Wednesday Walking Club.

Last week, our walk was based on revisiting sites featured in "Lost London 1870-1945" by Philip Davies and comparing what has remained or changed in 2011. From this book, I also found images of my neighbourhood in 1906. It was too tempting not to write a post about my hood's Then and Now.  

Please note that all THEN images were extracted from this book.

THEN: 75-77 Broadway, London Fields, 16 October 1906
The dogs seem more interested in Rosesnberg's the family butcher rather than the dog food shop next door, which has a finely-detailed canted bay shopfront coruscated with colourful enamel advertisements.



NOW: 75-77 Broadway Market, London Fields, 4 May 2011
Once Rosenberg's butcher shop is now vintage furniture shop Stella Blunt. The pet shop next door is now the artzy Donlon Books.



THEN: 85 Broadway, London Fields, 16 October 1906
P.J. Ryan, tobacconists, with a fascinating amount of contemporary detail. The advertising lantern is angled to throw light onto the shop window which advertises Victory V gums and Fry's chocolate. The Daily Mirror announces a major mine disaster in Durham with 10 killed and 150 entombed. The poster above the neighbouring shop offers the entire street block for immediate redevelopment, but similar parts of Broadway still exist.



Now: 85 Broadway Market, London Fields, 4 May 2011
I was surprised to learn that this has remained as a cornershop in 2011! 



I approached the shopkeeper with my photocopy of page 237 from the book, I asked if he has seen this, he said "that's my shop." Apparently, The Hackney Citizen has covered this story a few years ago. This cornershop has overtaken the shop next to it. Broadway Market used to be just named Broadway in 1906, Lansdowne Road is now Lansdowne Drive. Once postal code NE is now E8.

If you're interested in our Wednesday Walking Club, we walk on Wednesdays around 1pm (unless we are on a deadline), check our website or follow us on Twitter for details.

Do you know any of your neighbourhood history? How has your neighbourhood changed over the years? Good? Bad? Gentrification?