Making Space

Westferry Circus

South Quay · 1.2 miles

Westferry Circus is a road interchange and public space in Canary Wharf estate in London, and contains a two-level road interchange. There are two roundabouts, one above the other. It was designed by Laurie Olin. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

Mile End Park

Mile End · 1.2 miles

A linear green corridor of roughly 32 hectares runs through former industrial land that was heavily bombed during the Second World War, linking the Regent’s Canal to the east with the Hertford Union Canal in the north. The site, now known as Mile End Park, lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is operated by Tower Hamlets Council. Open 24 hours a day, the park is split by Mile End Road; a pedestrian bridge designed by Piers Gough and opened in July 1999 provides a crossing near Mile End underground station. The park is divided into several themed zones. The Play Arena and Children’s Park cater to younger visitors, while the Ecology Park contains a lake, an ecology building, a wind turbine and a climbing wall. An Arts Park, a Green Bridge, a Terraced Garden, an Adventure Park and a South Park offer additional open-space activities. Sports facilities are concentrated at the southern end, where Mile End Stadium and the adjacent Mile End Park Leisure Centre, opened in 2006, house a four-court sports hall, two swimming pools (including a competition-standard pool), fitness studios, a health suite and a sauna. Nearby, an extreme-sports centre and an electric go-kart track expand the range of pursuits. The Ragged School Museum, occupying former warehouses on Copperfield Road, faces the park’s western edge. The site has received several recognitions, including the London First Award and an Institution of Civil Engineers Award of Merit for the Green Bridge, and is supported by an active Friends group.

Old Ford Island

Fish Island · 1.9 miles

Old Ford Island is a nature reserve within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the London Borough of Newham.

King Edward Memorial Park Foreshore

Ratcliffe · 1.9 miles

Set on the northern bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the foreshore of King Edward Memorial Park lies close to Ratcliffe and is managed by Thames Water. Covering 3.3 hectares, the site ranks among the larger parks in the borough and carries a Green Flag Award for its standards and biodiversity. Visitors can follow the Thames Path as it runs through the park, use the wheelchair-accessible paths and public toilets, and enjoy a range of facilities including a bandstand, waterfront benches, a children’s play area, a bowling green, an all-weather football pitch and tennis courts. The ground has historic links to the early 16th century, when Sir Hugh Willoughby launched an expedition for the Northeast Passage from the present location; a stone and plaque near the former Rotherhithe Rotunda mark that event. Later, the area hosted the Shadwell Fish Market from 1885 before being converted into a public space. After a planning committee reported on the scheme in 1911, the park was formally opened on 24 June 1922 by King George V and Queen Mary as a memorial to King Edward VII. It now serves the surrounding districts of Shadwell, Wapping, Stepney, Ratcliff and Limehouse, providing a venue for school sports days, religious festivals and everyday recreation.

Olympic Bell

Fish Island · 1.9 miles

A striking feature of the Olympic Park is the Olympic Bell, a bronze monument commissioned for the 2012 London Olympic Games and now displayed near the former stadium. Cast in 2012, the bell measures about 2 metres in height with a 3.34-metre diameter and weighs roughly 23 tonnes, making it the second-heaviest bell in Europe after Cologne’s Petersglocke and the largest harmonically tuned bell worldwide. Its main pitch is the note B, and the surface bears the inscription “London 2012” together with a line from *The Tempest*: “Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises”, plus the Whitechapel Bell Foundry’s name and coat of arms. The casting process involved the Whitechapel Bell Foundry’s design work, subcontracting the actual pour to Royal Eijsbouts in the Netherlands, and contributions from twenty companies across three countries. After being tested in the stadium at midnight on 1 June 2012, the bell was positioned for the opening ceremony, later moved to make space for the cauldron, and stored within the park until its re-erection on a support structure outside the stadium in May 2016. Although the bell was featured symbolically during the opening ceremony—Bradley Wiggins “ringed” it mechanically and it sounded at key musical moments—it is not currently rung, as authorities consider the sound could disturb nearby residents. The monument remains a permanent memorial within the Olympic Park, accessible to visitors exploring the site.

Martyrs Memorial

Stratford New Town · 1.9 miles

A 19th-century monument in Stratford New Town marks the site where a group of eleven men and two women were executed for their Protestant convictions during the Marian persecutions of 1556. The stone column stands in St John’s churchyard on Stratford Broadway and was raised in 1879 to honour those who suffered at the hands of the authorities. Designed by J T Newman, the structure comprises an ornate hexagonal shaft topped by a twelve-sided spire that reaches approximately 65 feet. One face bears a terra-cotta relief panel that reproduces an illustration from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, while the remaining sides list the names of the thirteen individuals, together with Elizabeth Warne, Stephen Harwood, Hugh Laverock, John Apprice, Patrick Packingham and the Reverend Thomas Rose, whose fates were linked to the same period of religious turmoil. The memorial was financed through public subscription, the appeal being chaired by Rev William Jay Bolton, Vicar of Stratford. Its unveiling on 2 August 1879 was conducted under the auspices of the Earl of Shaftesbury, whose address reflected the anti-Catholic sentiment of the time. Contemporary commentary in The Graphic criticised the polarising tone of the speech. The monument is recorded on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed structure, with Historic England confirming its protected status. Visitors can view the memorial within the churchyard, where the surrounding setting remains unchanged since its erection.