Local history

Muslims have lived in and around London for centuries. Chaucer even mentions them in the Canterbury Tales.

Around three hundred years ago, seafarers from the Middle East and Africa established the first significant Muslim communities in Tower Hamlets. Based mainly around the docks of Shoreditch and Whitechapel, these communities flourished and expanded. Today, there are almost 73,000 Muslims in the borough.

This month, we profile the London Jamme Mosque in Brick Lane.

Mosque profile
The history of the London Jamme Mosque symbolises the rich religious heritage of Tower Hamlets.

Built around 1743, it is one of two surviving chapels built by the Huguenots who fled persecution in France. When they left, the building was briefly a Wesleyan chapel before the Jewish community raised £6,000 to use it as a synagogue.

In 1976, it became a mosque, reflecting the constant cultural changes that define our borough.