Exhibition: Feeding the Hamlets: Exploring the history of food production in the East End

This exhibition uses the unique collections of Tower Hamlets Archives as a lens through which to explore the borough’s history of producing food.

For centuries, the East End’s landscape and social and economic history have been influenced by the growing, trading or manufacturing of food. Before 1800 farmland and market gardens characterised the area, but rapid industrialisation saw this pastoral tradition give way to the factories and warehouses producing food for mass consumption nationwide and globally. Close proximity to the docks ensured that food businesses based in the East End had ready access to a fresh supply of raw ingredients, within many supplies imported from countries colonised by Britain.

Photographs, deeds, plans, minutes, illustrations and maps are among the many unique items selected by staff. These sources illustrate fascinating and lesser-known tales from the history of food production in the East End – from flour milling and sugar refining to cow-keeping and vegetable growing.

The exhibition looks at the methods and sites where food production took place, as well as the people who were involved. A programme of free events is taking place to explore the exhibition’s themes in more detail. Sign up to our newsletter for all the details.