Christianity - local history

Local history
Christianity was going strongly in Tower Hamlets before the Romans had left Britain. Today, the borough is home to some of London's finest churches.

In the last 250 years many churches have been built because many Christian communites developed in the area.

The history of Christ Church in Fournier Street
This is one of 3 East London churches designed by Nicholas Hawkesmoor. It was built after a Government Act in the 18th century to build more churches to serve the needs of the growing Christian community in London.

Christ Church is on the land belonging to St Mary's Chapel. (St Mary's Chapel is the white-stone building that gave Whitechapel its name). Christ Church took 15 years to build (it began in 1713) and cost over £39,000.

With its 225-ft steeple, Christ Church soon became a celebrated East End landmark. It was also a popular burial place for important local people. Police records show it also became a target for grave robbers they stole lead from the coffins and sold the teeth from the dead bodies to people who made false teeth.

Christ Church was first restored in 1822, and again in 1966, when a new steeple was added. The last repair work was completed in 2005.