Information on the "Isle of Dogs", Poplar 

Henry Peeling and his family moved from Mileham in Norfolk to Marshfield Street, Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs, Poplar, London in around 1875 and the family lived there until World War 2.

An outline of the history of Poplar is given on the East of London Family History Society website.

That area of the Isle of Dogs where "Cubitt Town" was later built is shown on Greenwood's 1827 map of London as displayed on the Bath Spar University College website. Looking at the map and noting the area is shown as being "Seven feet lower than high water mark" it is easy to see how "Marshfield Street" got its name!

There is an 1844 woodcut showing the Isle of Dogs on the University of California, Los Angeles website

Marshfield Street appears on Booth's Poverty Map of 1898-99 which is displayed, together with a modern map for comparison purposes, on the London School of Economics website.

Booth's work is described in detail on the website but basically he and his researchers went with the police around their "beats" and noted and categorised the relative affluence and "respectability" (or otherwise!) of each street.These categories were then shown on the colour-coded maps "Poverty Maps". Their notebooks can also be viewed on the website including the page which mentions Marshfield Street somewhat disparagingly!