Spitalfields, formerly part of the large parish of Stepney, became a parish in its own right with the consecration of Christ Church, in 1729. By this date, the Huguenot refugees who had settled there in the 1680s, in search of religious freedom, had made their name as expert silk weavers, and successful businessmen, and had their own chapels.The poorer members of this tight-knit community were assisted by Huguenot relief agencies, and a charity school operated under the auspices of the French Church of London ....