A building for all part of the globe, Huguenots, Irish, Jewish, Bengalis, and beyond seeking safety or opportunity - weavers, labourers, traders, and dreamers - building England’s culture, industry, and soul.
Few buildings tell the story of England’s layered identities as powerfully as the former Huguenot church on Brick Lane.
Built in 1743 for French Protestant refugees fleeing persecution, it later became a Methodist chapel, then a synagogue serving the East End’s Jewish community, and is now the Brick Lane Jamme Masjid, a mosque at the heart of Bangladeshi London. One building, three faiths, three centuries and a living testament to England as a place shaped by those who arrive seeking safety and opportunity.
The Huguenots brought weaving skills that transformed Spitalfields into a centre of silk production. Their looms, patterns, and craftsmanship left a lasting mark on English industry. In the 19th century, Irish labourers and Jewish tailors followed, each adding new layers of culture, trade, and community life. By the late 20th century, Bangladeshi migrants, many from Sylhet made Brick Lane their home, opening cafés, curry houses, and businesses that reshaped the area’s identity.
This building stands for more than religious adaptation. It represents the constant reinvention of Englishness through migration. Each community that worshipped here contributed to England’s cultural, economic, and social fabric. Each left traces, architectural, linguistic, culinary, musical that continue to shape the nation.
Its Englishness lies in its openness, a willingness to absorb, adapt, and evolve. In the story of England, the Brick Lane building is a reminder that national identity is not fixed but continually renewed by those who come, contribute, and belong.