Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Tower Hamlets Militia
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
A militia force was raised from the civilian population of a county, in order to supplement the regular army in cases of emergency. In 1554 a muster of men from the hamlets near the Tower of London was ordered, including Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney, then separate, rural villages. By 1605 East London had become an official military unit with the name Tower Hamlets, and the right to muster the militia was held by the Lieutenant of the Tower.
Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).