Gentrification v Preservation

Interesting discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival looking at the history and future of East London.

Dan Cruickshank talked about his book “Spitalfields: The History of a Nation in a Handful of Streets” which looks at that specific area of East London and charts its history. He talked about how the history of the area is also a history of migration to the UK as all migrants seem to settle in and pass thought these few streets. It’s an area I enjoy walking around and am gradually discovering so I enjoyed learning more about it.

Charles Saumarez Smith talked about his book on a broader area of East London based on his regular blog posts musing on life travelling to and from work at the Royal Academy. He talked about how he worked with a photographer to produce the book.

The event was chaired by the exhibition designer, Dinah Casson, and much of the discussion revolved around what is happening to the area now. They talked about planning issues and how the historic areas of the area are being encroached on. I was interested to hear about the sale of the Whitechapel Bell foundry which I hadn’t realised had still been operational until very recently.