Bow, London

Bow ( /ˈboʊ/) is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End. The name of the area was anciently Stratford, and "Bow" is an abbreviation of the medieval name Stratford-atte-Bow, in which "Bow" refers to a bridge built in the early 12th century. Stratforde was first recorded as a settlement in 1177, the name is derived from its Old English meaning of paved way to a ford. The ford originally lay on the route of a pre-Roman trackway at Old Ford about 600 metres to the north, but when the Romans decided on Colchester as their initial capital for their occupation, the road was upgraded to run...