The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the London borough to the east of the City of London, north of the River Thames in East London. It includes the classic East End and forms part of East London.
The area has been known as the Tower Hamlets for centuries, originally literally referring to the small hamlets to the east of City of London near the Tower of London. The name derives from the ancient practice that those hamlets were required by law in the 16th century to provide yeomen for the Tower of London. The Borough itself was formed in 1965 out of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney.
Tower Hamlets is one of five host boroughs for London's bid for the 2012 Olympics and part of the borough is within the boundary of the Thames Gateway.
According to the 2001 census the borough has a population of 196,106. It is 51% white, 33% Bangaldeshi, 3% Black African and 3% black Caribbean. 29% of the borough are owner-occupiers.
Local politics
In elections to the Westminster Parliament, the borough is part of the constituencies of Bethnal Green & Bow and Poplar & Canning Town.
The London Borough of TowerHamlets is taking part in a Government pilot project to promote attendance in further education and combat the high level of student absenteeism in the area.
TowerHamlets College is trialing a scheme whereby full-time students, aged between 16 and 18, receive an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) of up to £40 a week if they achieve 100 per cent attendance.
Since TowerHamlets' funding from Government is determined by its student retention levels and results, it is vitally important for the college to ensure that EMAs are paid on time.
TowerHamlets was created in 1963 from the amalgamation of the Metropolitain boroughs of Stepney, Poplar and Bethnal Green, and therefore comprises most of what is commonly known as London's East End.
Adjacent is the relatively modern Tower Bridge; only a century old, it was nevertheless built in a flamboyant Gothic style to match the Tower and is now one of the major icons of London.
TowerHamlets is, for the first time, firmly on the itinerary of the tourist and the visitor.
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