East London

The term "East London" refers to the section of London, England, that is located to the east of the historic City of London and to the north of the River Thames. It is made up of parts of the ancient counties of Essex and Middlesex, respectively.

Although the term "East End" is often used in a more general sense, the East End of London is the historic core of east London. It traditionally consists of areas close to the City of London on the western, Middlesex side of the River Lea (in the former Tower Division). The East End of London and east London do not have clear, well-defined boundaries between them. There is also a "East" sub-region that is used by the Greater London Authority for the purposes of reporting on planning policy. The Eastern (E) Postal District is a distinct subset of East London.

The E (Eastern) postcode region was established in 1857 so that the delivery of mail could go more smoothly. There are several significant areas that are not included in the East London postcode area.

Central places that are included by the central London EC postcode.

Hoxton is located in Shoreditch, which is a district that falls under the N postcode region.

West Hackney, De Beauvoir Town, and Stamford Hill are all neighbourhoods located inside Hackney proper. The N postcode area includes these locations as well.

Beginning with the mediaeval expansion of London outside the city walls, along the Roman roads extending from Bishopsgate and Aldgate, and also down the Thames, the East End, which is the historic centre of what is now known as contemporary East London, was established.

The rate of growth was significantly lower in the east, and the modest extensions that were built there were geographically separated from the significantly larger suburbs that were built in the west by the marshy open area of Moorfields that was located adjacent to the wall on the north side, which discouraged development in that direction. The pace of urbanisation quickened throughout the 16th century, and during this time period, the region that was to evolve into the East End started to take form.

The first known written record of the East End as an independent entity, as opposed to its component parts, comes from John Strype's 'Survey of London', which was published in 1720. In this work, Strype describes London as consisting of four parts: the City of London, Westminster, Southwark, and That Part beyond the Tower. The East End was not mentioned at all in this work.