East End Echoes - London walk from Mile End to Poplar via Limehouse (4K)

From the 18th Century Novo Cemetery to Hawksmoor's St Anne's Church Limehouse via the Regent's Canal then two historic locations in Poplar.
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Featured in this video: Mile End Road and the story of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381, Novo Jewish Cemetery established in 1733, Regent's Canal and the story of the failed Regent's Canal Railway, Mile End Park, The Ragged Museum, Commercial Road, the Limehouse Cut, St Anne's Church Limehouse, East India Dock Road, Grundy Street and site of the African Queen Pub, Chrisp Street Market, Balfron Tower, Aberfeldy Street, East India DLR Station.
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[@StormchaserJockMcGinty]

Imagine how lovely all these places would look and feel without the graffiti that covers every inch of every surface. Such a blight on this great cityscape.

[@michaeldillon3113]

For people like me ,who grew up in the 60's , seeing that mural of Queenie Watts was very nostalgic . Real name - Mary Spenton - really epitomised the East End . She was in so many films and TV shows that were iconic of 6O's London - and not the Carnaby Street bit . She was in a 1978 Play for Today called ' Waterloo Sunset ' . How London was that !? . Tommy Flowers was typical of how the working class contribution to British history has been down played. Without Tommy Flowers none of that Bletchley Park stuff could have happened, or happened so quickly . R.I.P Mary and Tommy . You were what we used to call ' salt if the earth ' . ✌️🇬🇧

[@friendlier]

She is one of my favorites as well. The film Waterloo Sunset, as you know, features Queenie Watts in a rest home actually playing the piano and singing the klassic Kinks song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHuVhJd4ltt_p80

[@UKCheeseFarmer]

Tommy Flowers is an absolute legend!

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

Tommy Flowers BUILT Colossus, the first programmable computer. Turing did the theoretical stuff, which would have been as useful as a chocolate teapot without an engineer to build the frickin thing. But Turing went to a posh public school and King's College Cambridge. Flowers was an East End bricklayer's son, who got an electrical engineering degree through evening classes. And they filmed Turing's life with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley both from posh schools as well. Not that there's a class system in England or anything.

[@UKCheeseFarmer]

@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw Let us not forget other unsung heroes like Marian Rejewski. Often overlooked just like Tommy.

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

@UKCheeseFarmer Yes. I'm of Polish descent. Don't get me started on Rejewski et al. I'll just say that when Rejewski (and Zygalski and the other bloke Rutkowski ?) arrived in England they weren't allowed to work at Bletchley because they were a "security risk". They spent the war working on very low level cipher stuff.

[@michaeldillon3113]

I worked as a gravedigger many years ago . In one corner was a seperate jewish graveyard. The last burial was at least 100 years ago but still there were fresh stones placed on the ( upright ) gravestones. I never saw any visitors myself which added to the mystery and charm ✌️🕊️

[@acmehorse]

Dear John, I notice when it's a cloudy, dreary, cold day like today, wearing a bright color like yellow or red picks up my mood. Great video!

[@JTTW1455]

I find it astonishing that all of us alive today had ancestors who survived history! Thanks for another excellent walk - wonderful photography - love all the sights.

[@-DC-]

Drove a truck round London for 5 years,The East End was always my Favourite Location you take me back to a time i knew the streets of London like the back of my hand. 👍

[@williamrobinson7435]

Your dad's music should DEFINITELY be the regular playout song, after all, practically everywhere was once meadows and streams etc.. A real piece of folk culture, you should put it to the best use possible. A lovely walk, I do hope it cheered you up John! 🌟👍

[@geoffgeorge3685]

A Sunday evening wander around London sets you up perfectly for the week ahead. Cheers John!

[@daviddaw999]

From 1987 to 1994 I worked as a Traffic Policeman at Bow Garage in E3, so this area was my ground. I watched with interest as it all changed with the advent of nearby Canary Wharf and it is still changing now. Thanks for an fascinating video

[@markmclaughlan8460]

I lived at Sturry Street, next to the African Queen mid 70s and passed it every day on the way - to and from - the Mayflower school on the next corner. Queenie Watt's had the pub the Rose and Crown (she had a parrot in the bar area too) in Penny Fields across the East India Dock Rd and near to West India Dock Rd. Great video John, thanks.

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

Fascinating and very enjoyable - those images of the Jewish cementary were very poignant and completely new to me. Thank you.

[@markriley4665]

What a great walk John. I have visited all the Jewish Cemeteries in the area (including the three not open to the public). It was a wonderful experience last year. The older cemetery is on the campus near the Novo but is locked. I got permission to visit and spent a wonderful couple of hours there. The Ba’al Shem of London (Samuel Falk - believed to have associated with Emanuel Swedenborg ) is buried in Alderney Road Cemetery. St Anne’s is a wonderful church. I managed to visit the inside of it in Sept last year and get up into the gallery. The pyramid is the entrance to Fu Manchu’s lair in the Sax Rohmer novels.

[@johnmurray8428]

I found my grandfather in the 1891 census at 52 Grundy Street. The pub was number 46. Thank you, greetings from Ontario

[@katemead3796]

The graveyard, the canal, the street art, the history, your company, thanks for all of it. Enjoy the ups, the downs and the neither ups nor downs X

[@TXMEDRGR]

Your route was wonderful, it is always nice to walk next to a body of water. Thanks for taking us along.

[@williamsdaf]

What a fantastic looking place Aberfeldy Street is. Thank you for opening our eyes to East End wonders John.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

my pleasure William

[@terryknipe5497]

Street Mattress at 23.46 :D "a street mattress is a sign that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are on the right path"

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Love that

[@seanjamescameron]

Never seen a cemetery like that, really striking sight. Nice to see Spring has arrived in London, we are still in Winter in the welsh mountainside.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

It’s slowly turning Sean but there’s been a lot of rain. Your old allotment would be really muddy. Hope all is going well in the Valleys

[@johnannetteedwards1743]

Hope you are feeling better John, thank you SO much for your walks ❤

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Many thanks

[@user-qi1jc1yn3o]

Thank you John for a wonderful walk around the east end, Limehouse was a regular spot for my youthful dancing in the Limehouse town hall 🕺🏽

[@nope2dat]

As a former history student at Queen Mary university who lived on commercial road this was a lovely walk down memory lane, almost literally as I used to go this way back and forth to campus for lectures. The cemetery is an amazing thing that you come to take for granted as a student and perhaps even slightly an inconvenience to more direct routes between buildings on campus, yet was always a source of astonishment to outsiders when mentioned. For history students at the time tours of it and the Velho cemetery served as a teaching resource on the opening module of the course on history of the local area. Even as the rest of the campus changes (half those buildings and that alleyway didn’t exist nearly a decade ago when I was an undergraduate and it’s a shame to see the canal side area has been blocked off) it’s comfortingly bizarre that it will continue to be there. I’m not sure I can add much to the info about the area beyond commercial road but I do know that the pulp song refers to elmslie point a council tower block where the bands members once used to live and considered an example of the deterioration of east end council support in the 80s. The song also soundtracks a sequence in the movie trainspotting where the main character moves to Mile End to try to escape his addict lifestyle and go straight. The building still stands on Google Street view just south of where the railway line crosses Burdett Road

[@lindasueanderson8024]

I laughed aloud at your joy with discovering Taboo. My husband and I rewatch it once a year and can annoyingly quote at length from it. What a lovely walk it was in such a history steeped part of London from cemeteries to pubs to vibrant blocks. Perhaps a James Delaney walk in your future?

[@Christina-ge3xr]

You need Spring 🌿🌷! Some sun and a warm breeze. Lovely walk today. Thank you for braving the miasma and getting out there.

[@edenjs1503]

Thanks for another wonderful walk and talk John. Know exactly what you mean about the occasional low day or as I call them a 'Blue' day. Infrequent as they are, I find looking forward to a forthcoming holiday, event, gathering or even a lovely meal etc elevates me back to my normal positive, chirpy levels. And playing with my dog lifts me flying past 🥳

[@monty6545]

Thanks for sharing John , my father was born and grew up on the streets of Poplar in the 30's , he would have loved this walk .

[@ExploringWithEmAndStu]

I travelled down from Norfolk last year to walk the whole route of the Regents Canal and what a wonderful treat for the sensors it is.. The landscape almost appears to change with every bridge you pass by with beautiful quiet riverside gardens and locks to the hustle and bustle of industries.. It really was an incredible experience.. I think my favourite section was the east couple of miles, the regeneration really makes a beautiful and interesting walk. I must get round to editing the video I'd filmed.. Thanks for another fascinating video as always. 😊

[@ronidoyle3669]

in regards to Taboo, I'm on the other end of that story, on Vancouver Island, it was wonderful to have where I live mentioned in such a brilliant show.

[@pdxyadayada]

There’s a lot happening these days that can bring you down. You are great and your vlogs are extraordinary! Thanks for your continuing effort. My in-laws live in North London and Suffolk and I’ve shared your pieces with them. Cheers!

[@boldporcupine]

Excellent as always. I did a nice walk last summer starting near Limehouse to the Docklands Museum, across the Isle of Dogs and through the tunnel to the Cutty Sark and Greenwich. Interesting to see the contrast of what Docklands used to be at the museum to what it is today.

[@stephenwhitehead1160]

I love your walks but you put your thoughts so articulately than I ever could.I try and simulate your walks such as the one In cannonbury which happens to be my favourite ever London Walk apart from walking from Waterloo to craven cottage fc.

[@annerees4904]

Hi John, thanks so much for your latest video around the East End of London, you certainly make these walks very interesting and enjoyable. The area around Regent's Canal and Commercial Road triggered a memory of where my Great Great Grandparents would have lived in the 1870's. I have been working on my family tree for quite a few years now & discovered through the UK Census of 1871 where they lived. As I live in Australia I appreciate being able to see, via your video, what that area is like today. Take care & hope you are feeling much better!!

[@mozdickson]

Velo - old in Portuguese, possibly as simple as that. Nice try with the pronunciation btw. Your Spanish is serviceable 😊 ....a part of London dear to my heart...stayed around there a bit in Summer 2018 after 30 years in the southern hemisphere...arrived jetlagged from Heathrow one sunny morning and the people I met that day, from the youth centre near Poplar DLR to a pensioners lunch at an old church closer to Limehouse "please join us!" they said... "born under Bow bells love", said an elderly lady...some Windrush folks too...St Anne's possibly...there's nowhere like London for rich purposeful unscripted walking and marveling...Chrisp St Market and the boxing club...big shout out to all Street Sweepers! Tower Hamlets Cemetry will blow your mind John....an urban wilderness...my photos of it are on the Google space for that location --- the bombed children's home 😢😮

[@joebenge3920]

The Pulp song "Mile End" is about a flat Jarvis Cocker squatted in a tower block "off Burdett Road," which is just down where Mile End stadium is.

[@JacqTracks]

What a fabulous episode. We've always approached St. Anne's via the riverside. We're going canal-side next. Thank you!

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Thanks so much Jacq - very kind

[@kskssxoxskskss2189]

Great one, John. Sorry you're not feeling tip-top, but my bad hip has increased my admiration for the way you soldier on despite your own challenges. I'm glad they are not more, and we both, I know, wish everyone could enjoy such light travails.

[@stevemoore7431]

Great walks on the history across London John👌..I cover all you do with cycling...(& can cover an awful lot more in a day across London by bike, than walking). Greatest regards & best wishes John👍... Stevie M 😊👌👍👍🙏

[@PaulyPaulPaul]

You missed the converted Victorian coffee house for wayward girls "St Agnus house" on Follett street. Now private residence. Other side of the road is the remains of the rest of the estate which was in the BBC drama Call the midwife. I used to live there, so if you want to know more I can direct you to a document about it created by the local council as part of the local listing process.

[@Christina-ge3xr]

….and Yes!!! Please include your Dad’s ditty 😊 each week. Love to hear it. It makes me smile.

[@catieoates1726]

So glad you this walk, it was perfect and brightened my day thank you. My sister calls this the fag end of winter, a horrible word for the yucky bit of winter. Spring is on its way.

[@patjackson8649]

Grand walk today, thank you! It’s always a joy to walk along Regents Canal

[@user-ex7vm7hh5u]

Love your walks in the east end… my grandad was in the river police during the blitz and must have survived through hell ( with his family including my father). Then I was born in the east end… so interesting to hear about the Hackney brook. I’ve always been strongly drawn to water and now live by the sea! Thanks again for your wonderful knowledge xx

[@davewright4380]

Another wonderful video John, I can relate to that flat feeling, a regular occurrence last few years. Walking, running and watching your videos are the best remedy I find.😊

[@williammorrison5678]

Great job John. You've got alot to feel good about. Hang tough, see you next walk. Thanks.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Thanks very much William

[@michaeldillon3113]

Well done John . I see what you have done in the early part of the walk . You risked cancellation. ✌️🕊️

[@carolinebennett5615]

So enjoyed that. Thanks. Yes, Taboo is brilliant isn’t it. I know Commercial Road a bit but knew little about the surrounding area. It’s fascinating. Layers of history. I visited the Jewish cemetery in Prague back in 1990 and the graves were old but upright and all with small stones on them. Never seen them flat anywhere before. Love the music playing out. Do keep that.

[@Planktilious1]

Tomorrow the sun will come out and we'll all have a brighter day. Great vid, as always. Edit to add: You must certainly add your dad's ditty in your video ending!

[@JohnRogersWalks]

cheers

[@cdeldn2012]

Great walk John, put Me in a good mood. Cheers

[@spudspuddy]

those multi coloured flats are an absolute eyesore

[@sianwarwick633]

Thanks for showing St Anne's Church, Limehouse. At one point, it was possible to hear the bells of St Anne's tolling away, within Canary Wharf, where I was working. And in a spirit of community, the rector?/vicar of the Church came by to introduce himself at my shop.

[@jenniferstoneley4593]

Great walk and it's funny that you said your feeling flat at the minute I've heard this from alot of people I think its coming out of winter and waking up to spring it's strange energy indeed. Chin up your doing great 😊 x

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Thanks Jennifer

[@johncubbidge2237]

If you walk East along one side of Mile End Station, then cross the road at the first crossing, the next turning on the left is a quadrangle of once very upmarket Edwardian three story houses built around a park. Not anything like the rest of old Mile End, but I would imagine when first built it was probably where London met the Countryside. Lovely walk around familiar places John, thank you.

[@paulharrison9030]

I often think about Peter Ackroyd when I watch your videos!

[@stevejones3635]

I played darts in the African Queen several times. If I recall correctly the governor was called Patsy. Liked a gold chain!

[@debhurd8898]

A Bacon walk sounds great. I hope you do that. What a fascinating person he was.

[@glennparfitt8068]

A great video John - your videos have really opened up the East End for me - an area I was unfamiliar with until relatively recently

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Many thanks Glenn - great to hear

[@philj4574]

Another great walk John, really enjoyed it. Nice to see Mile End park, my paternal great grandparents lived in Totty St. when they married, one of those demolished streets. Mile End by Pulp was in Trainspotting

[@garethjones9605]

The Sephardi cemeteries are named from the Portugese, Velho (Old) and Novo (INew), The tradition of flat tombstones is to show that death is the great leveller: no-one is higher/greater than anyone else.

[@phillbrown3823]

Wonderful walk, thank you John. Really like the idea of having your Dads song at the end of the walks, certainly works for me.

[@geraldineallan6514]

I find your walks fascinating. I live in Ontario Canada and will never be in London. I was wondering if maybe you could explain a bit more on your walks . I feel I’m left wondering and wanting more. But I still in enjoy your videos.

[@michaeldillon3113]

I wonder what other information would help you more ? If you made a little list I am sure John would take it on board.🇨🇦✌️🇬🇧

[@markcowell8096]

Chin up John!! I watch your videos from my home/base of recent years Cape Town, so particularly enjoyed your showcase of the South Africa pub!

[@elizabethmusso5946]

Love hearing your pop at the end of the episode.

[@PeterMoore66]

Thank you for this. I was at QMC in the mid-80s so spent a few years in the 80s with this as my stomping ground. Fascinating to see what has changed. It's been gentrified since those days. No houseboats on the canal then!!

[@gaillaffer7579]

Another fantastic walk there John. Thank you. It’s always a good day when I seen you’ve posted. You’ll soon be full of the joys of spring.

[@mostlyindica]

Perfect timing, thanks John.

[@Magma2k]

Fantastic video! Everyone in Limehouse has their own story about the pyramid - its not a tomb. I think the most plausible story I've heard was that it was originally intended to top the church but the navy needed to top it with the navigation marker (still there) and so it was relegated to the church yard. Of course a thousand more exciting theories abound if you get a dog walker talking and i'm not one to discourage a bit of local folklore!

[@secondcity11]

I know all about low moods, thanks for this great walk.

[@stephenoliver1437]

Oh John incidentally hope your feeling better I get them now and again old age creeping in my old sun

[@JohnRogersWalks]

thanks Stephen

[@yokohamatomohawk1840]

Love the videos John. The sun was out on Saturday morning and I went for a walk in the forest on my own. Took big deep breaths of forest air and it felt good.

[@TheDanteBanks]

Bought my first ever single (This Old Heart of Mine by The Isley Bros) from the long defunct Woolworths in Poplar High Street.

[@darrenhawksley4459]

Sorry John had to google this one🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ here it is. REFERING FLAT GRAVES. Distinctive with its mass of flat gravestones, representing equality of all people in death, Novo cemetery gained Grade II listed status in 2014. Great video John. Thank you. 🙏🙏✨✨

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Many thanks for that Darren - what a great sentiment

[@darrenhawksley4459]

@@JohnRogersWalks absolutely John!! I’ve learned something today yet again!! Thanks again for all your hard work on the vids mate, I understand what goes in to them. 👌👌🔥✨cracking job as always. 🙏✨✨

[@ronhaywood2375]

good stuff john, please keep it up. and your dad is deffo the perfect outro music for any vid,,,

[@danlewis9331]

Hi John, just wanted to let you know I love your videos. I'm an expat and I don't get to return to London as often as I'd like to. Your videos are a great way for me to touch base with home.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

thanks for that Dan - glad I can take back to London through the videos

[@TimothyHalkowski]

Wonderful - you've inspired me to do some more canal walks when I go to London this summer.

[@chrisblay]

Starting at the end. The Mile End. 👍

[@jonathancraig8247]

That was a great walk to share with you - greetings from New Zealand

[@RubbishGimpy]

How have I never known about Aberfeldy Street. Every street in Britain should be like this. I hope they keep this. We need whole swathes of high streets with colour and art to attract people. Even Barking might be appealing if they took this approach. I'm going to make efforts to visit this street.

[@stuartdow]

yeah !!! so glad you enjoyed Taboo !!! the best ever !!! ..the set construction ..., the direction , the acting , the story ... super bloody superb !!!!!

[@suerhodes635]

Thanks for the walk, John. I watched it while getting ready for my early morning walk. It helped lift my mood; a perfect prelude to my own walk! On my longer early morning walks I think I can see St Anne’s church; I need to cross the river to explore there again soon!

[@-jz5mm]

Lovely John, Thank You 🤗

[@sapiotone]

Really enjoyed this one! Spent a year or two living on that estate, around the time the pontoon subway was put in under the Blackwall Tunnel Approach. Brought back a few memories. Thanks John!

[@trevorcoles1162]

A very fascinating walk. I don’t think I’ve ever seen London without any form of crane or development, it’s constantly changing in some way. But it’s always great to see echoes of the past of what was.

[@heidismit5261]

The great late Ian Dury john! Reasons to be cheerful pt3. Helps always when one feels a little flat. Lovely walk. So interesting.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

thanks Heidi - love that song

[@ArcAudios77]

Thanks John, excellent walk & listen as always. Best Wishes

[@loneRider3910]

I’m no longer “down in the dumps” as I visit Leyton Orient whenever they are at home. A stroll through Coronation Gardens to the Brisbane Rd stadium gives my life purpose, especially when they win.

[@spudspuddy]

pub wasnt called the african queen until 1993 when it became a restaraunt and named after the book and movie, before that it was built as the SOUTH AFRICAN TAVERN

[@UKCheeseFarmer]

The lift is always full of... The fifth floor landing smells of fish! Not just on Fridays... Every single other day! ♥

[@themeditativewalker6523]

I hope you are feeling better John. Low moods are all part of us, a shared lingua franca but like all moods they are transient, just say hello to them, and wish them on their way. The act of getting out, that nature cure (which you can get in the urban setting, as much as the depths of the country) is a potent, none prescription balm. Great video too BTW! Best wishes, the Meditative

[@thfccfht]

I always look forward for your videos, you never let me down, great stuff......we all get a bit down at times...but like the great band sang, I get knocked down, but I get up again...Chumbawamba....

[@benwherlock9869]

'Mile End' is a hilarious song. 😆

[@vwright1021]

Another great 'storyscape' Mr Rogers. 👍 - You mention the book 'Austerlitz' ... Jacques Austerlitz, the architectural historian with whom, to my mind, you share similar traits. W.G Sebald is a favourite author of mine. His book 'Rings of Saturn' marks him out as a psychogeographer of the top order. When he died I sent a letter of condolence to his family. I was surprised and moved to receive a letter back from his widow ... just to express her thanks and acknowledgement of his life. I see in your videos those same observational sensitivities. Fully in tune with the ghosts of the landscapes through which you pass. Keep them coming.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Thank so much for that thoughtful and deeply flattering comment

[@maggiesamuels2937]

Absolutely brilliant series taboo John, me and my hubby enjoyed it from start to finish.👍🏻

[@DjAja]

Thank you for the walk mate!

[@JohnRogersWalks]

My pleasure

[@pamatkinson1950]

Hi J, I am feeling for you. Nothing worse than feeling low. Can I suggest its time to come down under for a holiday. And perhaps some study, university papers around your passion?? A kick start to 2024. Wishing you all the best. NZ is a great visit too :)

[@SandraElliott-ru4yw]

You may know that Taboo’s funeral scene in episode 1 was filmed at St Mary’s, Wanstead. They used members of the choir to sing the anthem and my husband is on the right in a curly wig!

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Brilliant- I was told that while being shown the church

[@williamross2579]

Top vid John!!!

[@paulsmeaton2667]

Another great and very educational video John. Aberfeldy is a lovely little town in highland perthshire. Worked there for a while around 25 years ago. Useless trivia - JK Rowling has a home just outside the town.

[@lovelyskull3483]

Loved this!

[@olivere5497]

Evenin' john.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Evening Oliver

[@OurManInCumbria]

Lost Pubs of London would make for a great series. Cheers John

[@elizabethhammond5545]

Wonderful walk today, John.

[@JohnRogersWalks]

Thanks very much Elizabeth