Whitechapel

PATTERN exhibition @ UCL East Culture Lab

Patterns Beneath Our Feet, opening from the 3rd July 2025, tells the story of the Whitechapel excavation; the people, the buildings, the objects, from the past, present and future. It celebrates the exciting discoveries made during the dig, from lost 16th century playhouse the Red Lion, to 17th and 18th century inn assemblages possibly related to the White Raven tavern. The latter especially has important connections to the history of Black Londoners. By working with community historians from East London, this project asked some wider questions about the public benefit of commercial archaeology and how archaeological sites are interpreted - and by whom.

Project partners

Exhibition Steering group   

• Mercedes Baptiste Halliday, Co-Curator, artist, public archaeologist and engagement expert. Mercedes is founder of Black Archaeo, which aims to increase the engagement of urban Black and Brown people in archaeology, heritage, creative industries, ecology and natural spaces 
• Dr Sarah Byrne, Co-Curator and Camella Ramjet, UCL Culture Lab (UCL East – Part of the School of cultural and creative industries) 
• Harry Cumberbatch and Fabian Tompsett, representing the Tower Hamlets Afro-Caribbean Mental Health Organisation  
• Dorothy du Bois, representing the Communities of Liberation Steering Group

Wider Steering Group

• Alim Kamara, founder of international storytelling organisation Storie Storie 
• Susana Parker, archaeological consultant 
• Anneke Scott, musician, scholar, teacher and leading exponent of historical horn playing 
• Jo Baines, Academic Liaison Librarian / Archivist and Wiki data Champion LCCOS  
• Richard Nevell, Wikimedia 
• Sanjida Alam and Tamsyn Bookey, LBTH Local History Library and Archives 
• Staff from the LBTH Ideas Store and Global Engagement team  
• Historic England – GLAAS and HER team  
• L&Q, Mount Anvil – the developers and owners of the site  
• Northeastern University: Libby Collard and Renee Landell, Mapping Black London and London Counter Tenor Project 
• ArchaeoTheatre Collective: led by Dr. Callan Davies, University of Southampton, Prof. Catherine Richardson University of East Anglia, Heather Knight MoLA, Grant Cox of ArtasMedia, Ben Blyth Theatre Director, Performer, Scholar, University of Caglary, Laurie Johnson, University of Southern Queensland.     
• Claire Murphy, professional storyteller and facilitator.   

UCL Staff and students

• BA Students from Archaeology, Institute of the Americas, Law and School of Slavonic and East European Studies  
• Elly, Elizabeth and Sam, MA/MSc students from the Digital Humanities master's programme  
• Dr Johanna Zetterstrom Sharp, Associate Professor in Heritage Studies   
• Dr Rachel King, Associate Professor of Cultural Heritage Studies  
• Dr Adam Crymble, Associate Professor in Digital Humanities, Department for Information Studies 
• Dr Adam Harris, Associate Professor in Development Politics, Department of Political Science, Faculty lead for Access and student success 
• Widening Participation and Student Success Team 
• Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences EDI team  

The archaeological discoveries

ASE's investigations took place at Stepney Way between 2015 and 2019 in advance of the redevelopment of the site. Our team examined approximately 7,300m2 of archaeological stratigraphy, yielding huge finds assemblages and exciting discoveries. These tell a rich story of continuous change and reinvention over thousands of years, much like that of the wider environs of Whitechapel and east London. Our evidence includes Iron Age dwellings and fields, a medieval manor, the earliest purpose-built playhouse in Britain called the Red Lion Playhouse, Victorian houses, and finally industry: brewing and bottle making.

Building work at the site is now complete comprising a mixed development of flats and commercial units called The Silk District, owned by housing association L&Q. It features public open spaces designed in reference to the archaeology that once lay beneath. ASE and project partners are continuing to use the discoveries at Whitechapel to build community projects and partnerships in the area.

Read Archaeological Stories from Whitechapel

• Introducing Whitechapel Central: A Large, Multi-Period site in London
• Discovering Early London at Whitechapel Central
• Whitechapel Post-Excavation Work Underway
• The 'Whole' Picture - complete finds from Whitechapel Central
• Winter fun - 'Cold' finds from Whitechapel Central