Poplar

The hamlet of Poplar lies to the north of the Isle of Dogs. It is the site of the oldest surviving building in London Docklands, the 347-year-old St Matthias Old Church, built in 1654 as the chapel for the East India Company. The church, which sits in Poplar Recreation Ground was closed in 1976 and is now used as a community centre.

To the front of the park is a monument to 18 primary schoolchildren from a nearby school who died in a First World War air raid. The attack was the first time a fixed wing aircraft was used in daytime bombing of a civilian target.

Poplar takes its name from the number of Poplar trees that once grew in the district. Nearby Limehouse is also named for its historical connections. It comes from the lime coasts or kilns established there in the 14th century and used to produce quick lime for building mortar.

In 1660, Samuel Pepys visited a porcelain factory in Duke's Shore, Narrow Street, while the Limehouse Pottery, on the site of today's Limekiln Wharf, was established in the 1740s as England's first soft paste porcelain factory.

In the days of the docks, the area was associated with imports. Interestingly, in the period of history before that, it was by contrast associated with two kinds of exports: beer and people. The beer, in the shape of Pale India Ale, went from the Limehouse Brewery in Fore Street to India. The first voluntary emigrants to Australia went from Dunbar Wharf, while the first involuntary ones went from Wapping Old Stairs by the Town of Ramsgate pub.

One of Poplar's most famous attractions is the Ragged School Museum. It houses photographs, documents and many other artefacts connected with the lives of the children who attended Dr Barnado's free ragged day schools in the late 1800s.

You can experience a Victorian school lesson in a recreated classroom and discover how Victorian children were taught. There are also fascinating displays recreating life in the East End.

In the 19th century the canal system originating in Tower Hamlets was the entrance to the busy arterial route serving Britain's commercial life. The Limehouse Basin and Cut were the main links from the Thames to the River Lea and onwards to the industrial north, linking the trade routes of the world to cities across England.

Now the canals are busy once again, not with coal and copper but with anglers, ramblers and tourist barges. The Limehouse Basin itself has been redeveloped as an attractive waterside residential complex.

Charles Dickens spent much time in the Limehouse pub, The Grapes. It is described in his book Our Mutual Friend. This is a beautiful old pub with stunning views up and down the river. The Grapes has an upstairs restaurant specialising in fresh fish including oysters and lobsters when in season.

Famous people from the area include Sir Walter Raleigh, who is believed to have lived in Blackwall in the 16th century and the actress Angela Lansbury, who comes from Poplar.