It connects Aldgate (as Whitechapel High Street) with Mile End Road. Whitechapel Road is part of the historic Roman road from London to Colchester.
The road had become built up by the 19th century – by the 1870s, the road had become extensively developed with properties along the entire stretch of the road. A market became established in the road.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, a principal supplier of church bells, was until its closure in 2017, based at 32–34 Whitechapel Road.
Several ethnic minority communities have based themselves on Whitechapel Road. It became a Huguenot area in the eighteenth century. The road was a focal point of the Jewish community between the 1850s and 1930s, with many Jewish shops and market stalls. Towards the latter part of the 20th century, the street became a centre of the Bangladeshi community.
