London Bow

Bow is part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. The centre of Bow remains Bow Church, and the bridge across the River Lee. Today, the bridge is a four lane flyover, with both the Lee and Blackwall Tunnel approach passing beneath. The High Street has few active shops, with large scale post-war housing located to the south. The island church remains as a useful turning point for buses. The Blackwall Tunnel approach road's expansion from the two lane road existing at the beginning of the 20th century, to a six lane urban motorway has occupied land, at the expense of industry. What remains on the eastern side of the road, is a canal side enclave of small businesses and warehouses, with a large supermarket located at the canal bridge to Three Mills. Bow has become associated with the E3 postcode district, which includes the surrounding districts of Bromley-by-Bow, Old Ford, Mile End and the transpontine Three Mills in Newham. The modern Tower Hamlets wards of west and east Bow are associated more with the postcode, than the settlement, and bounded by the Mile End Road, in the south; the River Lee, to the east; Victoria Park to the north; and Grove Road, in the west. The Hertford Union Canal links the River Lee Navigation and the Regent's Canal, running west from Old Ford Lock, along the south side of Victoria Park and linking at a basin, just to the west of Grove Road and the park, in the north of Mile End.