Shoreditch & Brick Lane: The Overwritten Street · 5
Banglatown: a name carved into the signs
Ep. 5 · The people from Sylhet, and Altab Ali
FitTrip Editor · 2026.07.16
From the mid-twentieth century, migrants from Sylhet, Bangladesh, settled the southern end of Brick Lane and built its curry-house strip; the layer grew deep enough for “Banglatown” to enter the borough’s official place names, with Bengali added to the street signs. In 1978, when garment worker Altab Ali was murdered in a racist attack, the community rose; the park near where he fell was named Altab Ali Park. The curry houses have thinned since their peak, but this layer is still present tense.
At the southern end of Brick Lane the street signs carry English and Bengali side by side Fact. Some layers of migration remain as traces; some become place names. The fourth layer — written by people from Sylhet, Bangladesh — is the latter.
The curry street
From around the Second World War, seamen and workers from Sylhet settled here, family migration followed, and Brick Lane’s southern end became a street of curry houses Fact. “Banglatown” entered the borough’s official administrative names Fact. The number of curry houses has fallen from the peak amid rising rents Fact, but the evening touts and the smell of spice are still this street’s present tense.
The name Altab Ali
The depth of this layer is also a history of resistance. In May 1978, when 25-year-old garment worker Altab Ali was murdered in a racist attack in Whitechapel, the community marched behind his coffin to Downing Street and held the streets against far-right intimidation Fact. The park near where he fell was named Altab Ali Park in 1998 Fact. As with the green bans of The Rocks (Ep. 4 of our Sydney series), the question “who kept this street?” has specific names here too.
FAQ
- Is Banglatown an official name?
- Yes. “Spitalfields & Banglatown” is used in Tower Hamlets’ administrative names, and street signs at Brick Lane’s southern end carry English and Bengali together.
- Who was Altab Ali?
- A 25-year-old Bangladeshi garment worker murdered in a racist attack in Whitechapel in May 1978. The killing mobilised the community, and a nearby park was named Altab Ali Park in 1998.
- Are there still many curry houses?
- The southern end remains the curry strip, but numbers have fallen from the peak amid rising rents. Current counts need checking.
Checklist
- Find the bilingual street signs at the southern end
- Extend the walk to Altab Ali Park, toward Whitechapel
- Check menus and prices before entering a curry house
- It is fine to decline the touts politely
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