In the last few weeks,we've been looking at variousaspects of the social history of London,and thismorning we're continuing with a look at life in thearea called the East End.I'll start with a brief historyof the district,and then focus on life in the first halfof the twentieth century.
Back in the first to the fourth centuries AD,when theRomans controlled England,London grew into atown of 45,000 people,and what's now the EastEnd- the area by he river Thames,and along the roadheading north-east from London to the coast -consisted of farmaland with crops and livestock which helped to feed that population.
The Romans left in 410,at the beginning of the fifth century,and from then onwards the countrysuffered a series of invasions by tribes from present-day Germany and Denmark,theAngles,Saxons and Jutes,many of whom settled in the East End.The technology theyintroduced meant that metal and leather goods were produced there for the first time.And asthe East End was by the river,ships could transport goods between there and foreign markets.