Tower Street takes its name from a long-lost tavern. On Charles Booth’s 1880s poverty map it is shown in black – the worst category – described as ‘vicious and semi-criminal’.
The street contains a striking example of a London Board School, dating from around 1874. It was one of around 400 schools built to provide school places for the poorest children in London. The London School Board’s policy was to provide London with modern, high-quality schools. Although education would not be compulsory on a national level until 1880, the Board passed a by-law in 1871 that compelled parents in London to have their children schooled between the ages of five and thirteen.
