Built in 1719, the house soon became home to a family of Huguenot silk weavers, who were fleeing religious persecution in France, the building was subsequently home to Irish immigrants and later became a synagogue in 1869. It was here that the Jewish families of East London, who had arrived fleeing the pogroms in Eastern Europe, came to worship.
Nowadays, of course, it is the Bangladeshi community who live and work in the area, and the Georgian houses in the surrounding streets are also home to artists like Gilbert and George, and Tracey Emin. The plans to convert the house into a museum of London's immigration are, however, severely lacking in funds and need £3m in funding to even do the necessary work to repair it.
That said, however, the building is an absolute gem and is now owned by the Spitalfields Centre Charity, but due to it's fragility is only open to the public for a few days each year, including the annual London Open House weekend in September. The house is a short walk from Liverpool Street. For more information on the building, and when it is open, visit the website at http://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk/.
Click here to see the location on a map.
Nice post. I just wanted to point out that the photo (peeling red/pink paint on shutters) is actually #4 Princelet, not #19. This house is left in the condition it's in as it is often used as for exterior shots in period films.
ReplyDeleteB*gger. It was so hard to find a correctly licensed photo of it and I thought that one was right. Don't suppose you have one?
ReplyDelete