Bethnal Green

2. BETHNAL GREEN.

(O.S. 6 in. London, Sheet K.)

The Borough of Bethnal Green consists of the parish of St. Matthew, Bethnal Green.

Ecclesiastical

(1) Parish Church of St. Matthew, re-built in 1740, contains from the older chapel the following:—

Fittings—Plate: includes flagon of 1635 given by Major W. Leech, cup of 1635, given in 1746, cover-paten of 1681, and a beadle's staff dated 1690 and with a medallion of a blind beggar and dog.

Condition—Re-built.

Secular

(2) Netteswell House, on the S. side of Old Ford Road, at the W. corner of Victoria Park Square, is of two storeys with cellars and attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. It would appear to have been built in the second half of the 17th century and perhaps altered early in the 18th century. An inscription over the doorway gives 1553 as the date of the original building, and 1705 and 1862 as the dates of restorations; there is no surviving work attributable to the first of these dates. The S. front (Plate 4) has bands between the storeys and is finished with two shaped gables terminating in pediments. The E. side has a coved eaves-cornice of plaster. Inside the building, the staircase from the first floor to the attics is of c. 1700 and has straight moulded strings and hand-rails; the turned balusters on the landing are of the same date; the stairs to the cellar have similar turned balusters. In the attics are two early 18th-century battened doors.

Condition—Good.

(3) Houses, Nos. 16, 17 and 18 on the E. side of Victoria Park Square and 110 yards S.S.E. of (2), are of two storeys with cellars and attics. The walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. They were built, as a range, c. 1700, but No. 16 has been entirely altered internally. The W. front has a brick band between the storeys, a wooden modillioned eaves-cornice and dormer-windows. Nos. 17 and 18 have each an original doorway (Plate 10), with moulded architrave flanked by pilasters with carved and scrolled brackets, supporting a flat hood with a panelled soffit. Inside the building, the same two houses have each an original staircase (Plate 24) with bracketed strings, twisted balusters and heavy moulded hand-rail ramped up over the square newels which have ball-terminals. Above the first-floor level the strings are moulded and straight. The E. room on the ground floor of No. 17 is lined with bolection-moulded panelling, with dado-rail and cornice; the doors have moulded architraves; the N.W. room has some moulded panelling. In the cellars of the same house are some chamfered ceilingbeams and two original panelled doors; on the first floor two rooms have moulded panelling.

Condition—Good.

(4) Range of seven houses, Nos. 65–76, on the W. side of Cambridge Road, S. of Northampton Street, are of two storeys with cellars and attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. The range (Plate 5) was built late in the 17th century, but some modern shop-fronts have been inserted. The road was formerly called Dog Row and the range had a row of dog-kennels along the front, now blocked up and stuccoed. Where original, the E. front has a brick band between the storeys, and two windows have old casement-frames. The roof has a modillioned eaves-cornice and dormer-windows.

Condition—Fairly good.

(5) Houses, Nos. 3, 5, 7 and 9 Hare Street, and Nos. 1 to 4 Hare Court, 20 yards E. of Brick Lane, are of three or four storeys; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. The houses are said to have been built as tenements for weavers and are of early 18th-century date. Where original, the fronts have brick bands between the storeys. Inside the buildings there are some exposed ceiling-beams.

Condition—Fairly good.

(6) Houses, Nos. 15 to 33, on the N. side of Austin Street, 50 yards N.E. of St. Leonard's Church, Shoreditch, were originally of two storeys with attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. They were built early in the 18th century, but have been much altered and some have added storeys, weather-boarded on the front. Inside the buildings are some exposed ceilingbeams.

Condition—Fairly good.