Comments on: Lost Spitalfields

By: Tony Wetjen

Tony Wetjen — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:07:06 +0000

Keep it coming , it’s the only link now, to my great grandparents Diederich & Margarethe
who walked these streets in the mid 19th Century!

Many thanks,

Tony.

By: Jessica Trethowan

Jessica Trethowan — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 06:58:21 +0000

Hi, I’ve just discovered that my great grandfather Robert Eley had a chandler shop at 4 Tenter Street. I wondered if you might have knowledge or photos of Tenter Street before it was demolished for the market? Thanks!
Jess

By: Louise Nolan (Hall)

Louise Nolan (Hall) — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 02:57:23 +0000

My grandfather and his family were living in Lamb St, Spitalfields in 1909…. Just incredible to be able to see these photos, to see the streets and buildings exactly as they were when the family members walked down them. Literally a glimpse down memory lane….

By: Carolyn Dominish

Carolyn Dominish — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 02:11:55 +0000

For Bronwyn who posted November 2015.
It would be great to think that we may be related through the SMART line. That line goes back to 1590 when John SMART was born and later married a young woman called Sara VERCOLGE. The Vercolge family had been forced to flee Brugge due to the Reformation. Sara’s father was a silk merchant and set up a factory in Spitalfields. John and Sara SMART had a son and I can trace my direct descendants back to the union. Please contact me for more information. I, too, live in Australia.

By: John Szczepanski

John Szczepanski — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 07:00:31 +0000

Note the photo of Shepherd’s Place arch taken in 1909. There’s a boy, right of center, who’s not looking at the camera. He seems preoccupied with something off to the side. Following his gaze, you will see the girl. As if playfully hiding, she seems to be looking at the boy. Young lovers, captured in a hundred year old photo? On this Valentine’s Day, I’d like to think so.

By: Bronwyn

Bronwyn — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 03:39:30 +0000

What a wonderful collection of photos many thanks for sharing. Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the photo of NO.17 Spital Square where my gt gt gt grandparents lived in 1819 before leaving to sail to Australia. That’s the door they would have shut behind them as they walked down the street for the last time. James DEDE and Elizabeth SMART. They were silk weavers and James was a Scientific writer and Bookseller as well. Just love these photos.

By: Kelvin

Kelvin — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 15:19:11 +0000

Great photos, my father was a police officer at commercial street we lived in the police station till 1964, I remember late 50s early 60s walking to school in the mornings through spitlefields market,and on many occasion. Let’s say ladies of the night would give me 6d and tell me to make sure to tell my dad there name, of course I never knew being about 8 at the time what there profession was, but needless to say my dad did and he wasn’t impressed but he never told my why, it did make my mum smile though , great times never to be seen again

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 14:49:01 +0000

Whereabouts was Shepard’s Place/Tenter Street – The only tenter street I can think of are the quadrangle of streets behind the police offices on Leman St…

By: Carrie Reid

Carrie Reid — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 17:51:41 +0000

Love this. My ancestors lived at 10 Norton Folgate in the 1700’s. William Coppendale, his son William, then his son John up to abou 1792. They were Oilmen, Salters, Sold Dye and eventually groceries before John and his step father James Buckley had business problems. They rented warehouses in the streets there. John was baptised in St Mary, Spital Square in 1762. His family were buried at St Boltoph’s.

By: Martin Goodson

Martin Goodson — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 17:51:23 +0000

My father was born in number 2 church passage , also known Nantes Place, they family lived in and run the Salmon and Ball at 32 Lamb Street for about 25 years, until it was pulled down to make way for expansion of the Market in 1926. They also had the Oxford Arms in Brushfield Street until that was demolished .
The photo is the nearest we have seen to where the family came from.