In the 19th century the East End brought in goods from around the world via the docks. But in another business the East End supplied the world itself — as the home of factories which furnished the homes of Britain and the Empire.
Before the 1830s most London furniture makers were based in the centre of London turning out posh pieces for the big houses of the West End. But new houses were shooting up in the East End needing plentiful furniture and quick – a new business was about to be born.
In 1801 there was just one furniture firm in Shoreditchs Curtain Road 50 years later it was the hub of an East End business employing tens of thousands and producing the majority of the capitals output.
The boom started with the opening of the East India and West India Docks and a new plentiful supply of cheap timber. The building of the canals brought the timber inland with sawmills setting up business alongside and hundreds of small workshops sprung up in Bethnal Green Shoreditch and Hoxton to produce cheap furniture.
The industry was at its peak as the new century drew on but World War Two brought disaster. Shortages of materials forced the Government to introduce Utility Furniture using wood sparingly and produced in limited runs.
Many big factories were turned over to aircraft manufacture small firms simply went under. Big names like Lebus and Beautility simply disappeared.
An East End industry which had led the world vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch3.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch4.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch5.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch6.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch7.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch8.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch9.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch10.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch11.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch12.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch13.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch14.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch15.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch16.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch17.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch18.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch19.jpg

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http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/Shoreditch20.jpg

so gloomy, so lovely, so london...

^amen to that. Such a beautiful shitehole.

Shithole?You must be joking.

I like Shoreditch but why are there no cash machines?

^ There also arent any shops where you can top up Oyster Cards.No idea why...

^ I like your avatar! O and the photo's are great to

your threads and pictures are always the best! what camera do you use?

Thanks.I use Nikon D50.

i love #3. Urban, dirty, ugly but soo romantic at the same time. London is one of the few cities that has that quality

#1, very little street, so much to see, fantastic :)

#10, amazing contrast.

#11, splendid for those weather conditions, almost HDR(is it?)

#17, why is a great building like that standing alone surrounded by city streets?