Comments on: The Last Derelict House In Spitalfields

By: Kevin Petchey

Kevin Petchey — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 09:27:35 +0000

My 2nd great grandfather Robert Sergeant lived at 27 Wilkes Street in 1856 He had married Ann Brannan in the Spitalfelds church, Ann was a weaver and Robert was a greengrocer so it would be interesting to know if he 27 Wilkes Street was a Grocer store.

By: Sylvia Wright

Sylvia Wright — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 21:04:56 +0000

My 1st cousin, 7x removed was Peter Le Keux, the famous silkweaver. The Met Museum in New York have one of his gentlemen’s embroidered coats

Fascinating article, thank you.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 19:24:54 +0000

Wonderful. I wonder what it looks like now…

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 22:50:17 +0000

The 2010 renovation was abandoned not long after it began and the property continued to be derelict for another 10 years.

I just came across the Instagram feed of the new owner of this house and googling the address found this blog post.

As quite a few of the previous commenters appear to have a historic family connection with the property I thought I’d paste the link to the account here. There is a video tour. The user name is @spitalfields1725

https://instagram.com/spitalfields1725

By: Georgia Flexen

Georgia Flexen — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 23:03:21 +0000

This is such an old article but my family lived at 2 Wilkes Street in 1898, along with at least one other family it seems. Googled the address and this came up, so cool.

By: Terry Green

Terry Green — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:28:58 +0000

Thanks for the very interesting article. Many of my 19th century ancestors came from the Spitalfields area (Smith, Bond, Elvin, Massey). My 2x great grandfather was born at 19 Wilkes Street in 1855 and later lived at 46 Grey Eagle Street. Others lived in Lamb Street, Hanbury Street, Deal Street, etc.

By: Lisa Katsiaris

Lisa Katsiaris — Tue, 07 May 2019 17:56:19 +0000

My 4x great grandmother, Ann Ducro, lived at 2 Wilkes Street in 1841 so it’s wonderful to see these photographs – like having a time machine. It’s interesting to read about later inhabitants from the other comments and such a relief to know that Peter’s approach has been one of ‘minimum intervention’.

By: Hilda McDonnell

Hilda McDonnell — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 06:38:32 +0000

Wilkes Street photos amazing.
My ancestors the Fosters lived in Spitlafields.
My mother’s great-grandparents James Foster printer & Mary Ann Bernard were married in Feb 1837 at Bethnal Green St Matthew. Witnesses were Eliza Leeson & James Flude.
In 1840 Eliza Leeson of William St married James Samuel Thwaites, son of Samuel Thwaites & Mary Le Marechal.
By 1851 James & Mary Ann Foster had 7 children & Mary Ann was a silkweaveress. Descendants emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1870s.
We had cousins in New Zealand, descendants of John James Foster & Sarah Le Marechal, who married in Spitalfields Christ Church in 1816. John James was a silkweaver, born 1793, the eldest of 4 brothers who were weavers. Their parents were William Foster & his wife Georgiana. Georgiana Foster died a widow in Nov 1837 at Thomas St, Bethnal Green, when the informant on the death certificate was John James Foster of Wilkes Street.
In the 1850s JJ’s daughter Sarah Geer emigrated to Victoria, Australia. In Nov 1861 JJ’s son James Frederick Foster & wife Elizabeth Pitkin emigrated to Queensland, Australia. They formerly lived in Wilkes St. JJ’s younger son Josiah Foster was a ‘designer for silk’.

By: David Salt

David Salt — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 21:14:07 +0000

My great great grandfather, on my grandmother’s side, William Hartley was born on 15 November 1806 in Hope Street, Stepney, which I believe was late renamed as Wilkes Street. The baptism register of Christ Church, Spitalfields reads (March) 29 (1807) William Hrtley of William, Currier, Hope Street, by Henrietta, born Nov. 15, 1806.
William (Snr.) was originally from Coventry. He returned there shortly after bison’s birth.
William (Jnr.) worked in Coventry as a hand-loom weaver.

By: Sally Medcalf

Sally Medcalf — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:40:16 +0000

Interested to see Janelle’s post re Esther Spencer – I am a descendant of Jacob Ruffy at no 7 Wilkes Street who she stole the silver from. I found it on the Old Bailey website ! I too would like to know about Number 7. I had a feeling it was demolished maybe bombed in the war ??