Across the streets of Spitalfields, subtle bronze circles can be seen embedded in the pavements. Known as the Spitalfields Roundels, these discreet artworks commemorate key aspects of the area’s social and cultural heritage.
Commissioned in 1995 as part of the Bethnal Green City Challenge. The project originally consisted of 25 bronze artworks created by local artist Keith Bowler. Each was designed to mark a different facet of Spitalfields layered history. From its markets and textile trade to the many migrant communities who shaped the district.
Over time, several have disappeared through street works or removal. Two were mistakenly installed within the City of London boundary and removed. Others are thought to have been lost or stolen. Around half of the original roundels are still visible today.
The Spitalfields Roundels
Originally the idea for the roundels came from the covers for coal holes. The need for coal to be distributed through holes in the pavements however have long since dried up. As a result many of the artworks were installed in place of them. You can actually still see some ‘original’ roundels on Fournier Street. Themselves quite eloquently decorated. They are a regular but understated reminder of the past.
Themes of the Spitalfields Roundels
Markets and Trade
At the corner of Brushfield Street and Commercial Street is a roundel featuring apples and pears. This references both the former fruit and vegetable market and the area’s Cockney heritage. Nearby, beer tankards on Brick Lane recall the historic Truman Brewery and the brewing industry. While a design featuring a purse and coins (now missing) once commemorated the long-standing trading traditions of Petticoat Lane Market.
Children and Learning
A roundel in Puma Court depicts traditional children’s toys. This is a reminder of the former play area that stood beside the 19th-century almshouses (which are still there). Another on Brick Lane sits outside the local Christchurch primary school. It shows a boy and girl surrounded by pencils, representing education and community life. The roundel by the school takes it’s design from an old stone plaque that sits on the wall above.
Textiles and the Huguenots
Several designs reflect Spitalfields’ historic silk industry. A floral fabric pattern on Fournier Street remembers work by the textile designer Anna Maria Garthwaite (1688–1763). She lived nearby at 4 Princelet Street and there is a blue plaque about her there. Other roundels show scissors and buttons on Brick Lane, and a shuttle and bobbin on Folgate Street. These all refer to the weaving and tailoring trades that once flourished in the area.
Who is Anna Maria Garthwaite?
Anna Maria Garthwaite (1690–1763) was one of Britain’s most important silk designers, celebrated for her intricate floral patterns that defined 18th-century Spitalfields silk weaving.
Working from her home on Princelet Street, she collaborated closely with Huguenot weavers, translating botanical inspiration into richly coloured woven designs. Her work bridged art, science, and craftsmanship. Many of her original patterns are now held in the V&A Museum.
Migration and Community
Spitalfields has been shaped by migration for centuries, with each community leaving its mark on the area. The map of the world roundel on Brick Lane symbolises global movement. It reflects the arrivals of Huguenots in the seventeenth century. They were followed by Irish and Jewish families in the nineteenth and Bengali migrants from the mid-twentieth century. A lost roundel near to Sandy’s Row also once remembered the seamen who settled in the area. With the docklands so close it would have been a place many seafarers settled.
A hand with Mehdi patterns outside the Brick Lane Health Centre celebrates the Bengali community. Whilst a now-missing roundel once showed curry spices on nearby Osborne Street referenced food culture.
Why Did the Huguenot Silk Weavers Settle in Spitalfields?
In the late 1600s, thousands of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, fled persecution in Catholic France. Many were highly skilled silk weavers who carried their trade “in their hands,” allowing them to rebuild their livelihoods abroad. Reaching England, they gravitated towards areas where other French refugees had already settled.
Spitalfields, on the edge of the City of London, offered affordable housing and proximity to the weaving trade. It soon became England’s most concentrated Huguenot community. It became a place where French was spoken in the streets and worship remained in the French style. By the mid-1700s, at least nine Huguenot chapels were active in the area, with the grand “L’Eglise de l’Hôpital” on Brick Lane at its heart.
This influx transformed Spitalfields into a hub of craftsmanship and creativity. It is estimated that over 20,000 Huguenots settled in the area.
Culture and Creativity
A Viola can be found in front of a modernised building at 8 Princelet Street. It remembers the cultural history of the street. It references Lionel Tertis (1876-1975) a once famous viola player who lived in the house. It also remembers an old theatre called the ‘Prince’s Street Theatre’ that would have stood next door. It had been built in 1885 for the Jewish actor Jacob Adler and his theatre ‘troupe’ the Hebrew Dramatic Club. This would have been at the back of 3 Prince’s Street (as then known but now is 6 Princelet Street). Sadly the theatre was short lived. Closing after a major disaster in 1887 when somebody had shouted ‘Fire’ in the crowded space. It had led to a crush and a devastating loss of life.
Who was Jacob Adler?
Jacob Adler (1855–1926) was a pioneering Jewish actor and one of the great figures of the Yiddish theatre. Born in Odessa, he fled Tsarist persecution and settled for a time in East London, where he performed in makeshift theatres that served the growing immigrant community of Whitechapel and Spitalfields.
Adler later moved to New York, becoming a leading star of the Yiddish stage and helping introduce classic drama including Shakespeare to Jewish audiences. His legacy endures through his influential performances and his family, many of whom went on to shape American theatre and film.
There is also a roundel that remembers the famous East End artist Mark Gertler (1891-1939) on Elder Street. It shows some stylised characters taken from his famous work ‘The Merry Go Round’ from 1916.
Who was Mark Gertler?
Mark Gertler (1891–1939) was an East End artist born in Spitalfields to Jewish immigrant parents. Rising from poverty, he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and became known for his bold, emotional style.
His most famous work, The Merry-Go-Round (1916), is a haunting anti-war image that remains one of British modernism’s defining paintings. Gertler’s art and life reflect both the struggles and creative energy of London’s immigrant East End.
Social Reform and Industry
A roundel on Hanbury Street commemorates the Match Women’s Strike of 1888. It had been organised by workers at the Bryant & May match factory in Bow. The strike was one of the first examples of successful industrial action by women in Britain.
Who are the Matchgirls?
The Matchgirls were the young women and girls who worked at the Bryant & May match factory in Bow, East London. In 1888, they made history by walking out in protest against low pay, long hours, and dangerous working conditions caused by exposure to white phosphorus.
Their strike, with leaders such as Sarah Chapman and Annie Besant, lasted just over two weeks but resulted in significant improvements and inspired future trade union movements. The Matchgirls’ Strike of 1888 is now seen as a turning point in the fight for workers’ rights.
Another design, showing keys and doorbells on Commercial Street, recalls the opening of London’s first Peabody housing estate in 1864. Called the Spitalfields Estate it had been established by American philanthropist George Peabody to provide affordable homes for working families. The roundel sits on the pavement next to the original estate which can still be seen.
Missing Roundels
Many of the original roundels are no longer in place. A list of some of the disappeared roundels are here:
- The Sea – representing sailor settlers (76 Commercial Street / Sandy’s Row). The area is close to the docklands and so many sailors did settle in the East End.
- Curry Spices – celebrating Bengali cuisine (Osborne Street)
- Purse and Coins – for Petticoat Lane Market (Middlesex Street / Wentworth Street). The market was a bustling place of trade throughout the centuries.
- Bread and Salt – for the 1902 Jewish Soup Kitchen (Brune Street). The Jewish East End was known for it’s poverty and many soup kitchens had to be created.
- Arrows and Target Board – recalling the 16th-century Artillery Ground (on the former grounds of St Mary Spital). The area where the market is now was once a key training ground for the Royal Artillery Company.
- Silk Design – referencing the textile trade (Tenter Ground). The silk trade was key to the development of the area. French Huguenot silk weavers fled persecution in France and settled in the East End.
Design and Production
Artist Keith Bowler created the roundels using everyday found materials pressed into clay before being cast in bronze. Objects such as scissors, buttons, coins and string were incorporated into the original moulds. It would give each one a rich surface texture and tactile quality.
Over the decades, the roundels have weathered naturally. Their look reflects both the passage of time and the thousands of footsteps that have crossed them daily. A physical reminder of how art and local history are embedded in the local area.
Legacy of the Spitalfields Roundels
Three decades after their installation, the Spitalfields Roundels continue to offer a record of the area’s changing identity. Each one connecting to a broader story of craftsmanship, migration, social reform and community life in the East End.
Many pass unnoticed beneath the feet of locals and visitors alike. These bronze discs are a lasting example of public art rooted in place. Small but significant markers of the many histories that shaped this ever changing area.
For more Inspiring City Articles you will like, take a look at…
- Mosaic Roundels Appear on Overground Stations in London
- Interview with Jonesy the Street Artist who works in Bronze
- Secrets of the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane
- The Red Hand of Gladstone and the Story of the Matchgirls
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Loved reading this well documented piece of London history.