Spitalfields Area Guide

Straddling the length of Commercial Street, Spitalfields lies between Shoreditch, Whitechapel and the City. It contains some of London’s oldest streets, with many well preserved and historically important early Georgian houses as well as warehouse conversions and luxurious apartments, located in stylish high rise blocks offering a wide range of amenities and services.

The most sought after Georgian houses are in Fournier Street, originally built for 17th century Huguenot silk-weavers. In the 19th century they became home to Jewish tailors attracted by properties where they could live and work, and Spitalfields became the heart of the Jewish East End. Today it is a diverse neighbourhood populated by artists and creatives as well a Bangladeshi community centred around Brick Lane.

Shopping and entertainment is centred on the markets, which attract a large number of visitors. Spitalfields Market is the largest market in East London, combining covered stalls and shops in the original fruit & veg market building with a new commercial buildings and a landscaped public square; it is home to artisan traders, lifestyle and fashion stores and artisan eateries and bars, operating every day. Brick Lane is a hotchpotch of uber-trendy shops and galleries, curry house and bagel bakeries, with a Sunday market selling everything from antiques to bicycles.

Liverpool Street and the City just a stone’s throw away, connectivity is excellent. Liverpool Street is a major transport hub, with links to four tube lines, the Overground East London Line and the DLR as well as mainline rail services to Stansted Airport and the east of England, and Crossrail to come.