EAST END. Shoreditch Bethnal Green Stepney Hackney Mile End Haggerston 1937 map

'Bethnal Green, Hackney, Haggerston, Mile End , Shadwell, Shoreditch, South Hackney, Spitalfields, Stepney, Whitechapel'

Map section #62 This map is one section from a 1937 Street Atlas of Greater London. This section of the map depicts the following suburbs in 1937: Bethnal Green,Hackney,Haggerston,Mile End ,Shadwell,Shoreditch,South Hackney,Spitalfields,Stepney,Whitechapel The maps in this series show London during the rapid interwar suburban expansion. Many areas shown in the outer suburbs as undeveloped land on these maps are now built up. Less frequently, some maps indicate housing developments proposed in 1937 but which were never built on land which is still undeveloped, or which has been built up according to a different street layout from that shown. The inner London maps in this series show London before the damage inflicted by the Blitz during World War 2 and the subsequent redevelopment of the 1950's and 1960's. These maps predate the construction of any motorways (the M1 sections into London having opened between 1966-1977), many major roads, and other post-war urban traffic schemes. The elevated sections of many major roads were constructed after the second world war; for example, the maps predate the construction of the Westway and elevated sections of the A4; the Western Avenue is shown on map sections #142 & #143 as proposed or under construction to the west of Northolt Aerodrome. The London docklands are shown at the height of their scale and glory, a network of large docks and railway lines. The last dock to be built had been completed in 1921. The prosperity of the docklands continued until the advent of containerisation 1960's, whereafter they remained derelict until redevelopment commenced in the early 1980's, centred around the area now known as Canary Wharf These maps show a number of now disappeared features, such as aerodromes which have since disappeared or changed their use, the Brooklands motor racing circuit (shown on map section #157, 2 years before it hosted its last race in 1939), and railways which are now disused. LHR is shown on map section #150 as the modest "Great West Aerodrome"; the original Heathrow Hall is also depicted on this map. The airport at that time was used for aircraft assembly and testing, with Croydon Airport (shown on map sections #163 and #164) being the main airport used for commercial flights.