Bower Apartments at Bow Green
Welcome to Bow Green. From farmland and gasworks to a thriving new neighbourhood, Bow Green has a unique story. This page explores that journey and the people who continue to write its next chapter.
Before Bow Green
1841
Tower Hamlets Cemetery opens. The cemetery opened on land next to Bow Green. Covering 27 acres, it became one of London's famous "Magnificent Seven" Victorian cemeteries. Today, it is a woodland nature reserve and an important home for wildlife.
Before 1850
The land where Bow Green stands today was mainly open farmland on the edge of East London. People used the land for growing crops and farming.
The Gaswork Years
1850
Bow Common Gasworks opened on the site.
Coal arrived by railway and was turned into gas. The gas was used to light streets, heat homes and power businesses across London.
1870
The Gas Light and Coke Company took over the site and expanded it. New buildings and large gas holders became part of the East London skyline.
1900
The Boundary Estate opened nearby in Bethnal Green. It was one of the world's first council housing estates and helped improve housing for local people.
1926
Gateway's story began as the Bethnal Green and East London Housing Association, helping provide homes for local people.
1929
The first Gateway homes opened in Bethnal Green.
1940s
Many East London communities were affected by the Second World War. Local people continued to work, live and rebuild their neighbourhoods.
A Time of Change
1968
Gas production stopped at Bow Common Gasworks.
The site later became home to industrial workshops and storage areas.
1982
Most of the old gas holder structures were removed.
2017
The final gas holders were demolished, marking the end of the gasworks era.
Creating Bow Green
2022
Planning permission was granted to transform the former gasworks site into a new neighbourhood with homes, green spaces and community facilities.
2023
Construction work began to create the homes here today.
2025
The first homes were completed and the first parts of the development opened.
2026
The first residents moved into Bow Green.
A new community began to grow, bringing together people of different ages, backgrounds and experiences. Residents also helped create the Bow Green mural, sharing stories about East London, local landmarks and what home means to them.
Bow Green Today
Today, Bow Green combines homes, gardens, community spaces and green open areas.
More than five acres of landscaping, planting and public space help create a place where people and nature can thrive together. The development celebrates both the history of the former gasworks and the future of the community being built here.
The Future
Over the coming years, Bow Green will continue to grow as new phases are completed and more people move into the neighbourhood. More homes, new public spaces and new community facilities will help write the next chapter in the story of Bow Green.
2026 - "The year I moved into Bowers Apartments."
Because the history of Bow Green is still being written. The people who live here today are helping shape its future.
