March 27, 2008...12:47 am
Ships and eagles
This lovely rusty sky-faring vessel is one of a pair sitting on the front wall of the Trinity Almshouses on Mile End Road in Stepney Green. Built in 1695, there’s a chance the Almshouses were the work of Christopher Wren, which would be quite exciting. According to this useful site:
These handsome almshouses were built to house “decayed masters and commanders of ships and their widows” as mentioned on the two original plaques on either side of the entrance gates. The “decay” mentioned was that of the old mariners’ finances rather than of their flesh.
The front gate leads through to a miniature green, with rows of neat little houses. ‘Handsome’ is a good word, but everything is so small and tidy it doesn’t quite seem to fit. Except for the dashing ships on the front gate, which look to me as though they are about to launch into the air.
I used to walk up and down Mile End Road fairly frequently and there are a number of small intriguing sights to see. Near the Almshouses, for example, there is an imposing house which looks as if it has come straight out of some sort of gothic fairytale. There is thick ivy clambering all over it, and a tangled garden fronted by two massive gateposts topped with stone eagles! 
Though obviously eagles are pretty cool at the best of times, it’s possible that there is some hidden significance around here. The Genesis cinema nearby was built on the site of a pub/music hall called ‘The Eagle’, and the history section of their site refers to a side-entrance in ‘Eagle Place’, a street which appears to no longer exist. According to the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, campaigner, super craftsman and Pre-Raphaelite artist William Morris made an appearance in “Swaby’s Coffee House, 103 Mile End Road, near Eagle Place” in September 1885.
Is there secret eagleness afoot in Stepney? Answers or wild conspiracy theories on a postcard please!
1 Comment
May 27, 2008 at 3:11 pm
As a resident of the Trinity Almshouses (or simply Trinity Green as we call it) I absolutely agree with you that it is an handsome place. As for being small, well, it definetly is! Quite tidy too, from the outside at least, inside the house is a different matter!
next time you walk along Mile End Road, pay attention to the signs along the street towards Genesis cinema. Along to way, you will come across about 4 signs pointing to Trinity Green, all pointing in different directions! I always thought it was funny! but don’t tell anyone, because it helps Trinity Green to retain it’s ’secret garden’ feel!
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