The strip of land now known as Stepney Green Gardens can be found on maps dating back almost 300 years. It is clearly visible on John Roque's 1746 map of London as a part of Mile End Green (also known by the somewhat less charming 'Mile End Waste') - a large area of common land that straddled Mile End Road. After enclosed docks were built along the north bank of the River Thames in the early 1800s, the East End experienced a period of intensive housing development. In 1872, local residents in Mile End Old Town (now Stepney Green) campaigned to save the last remaining strip of Mile End Green from the developers. This led to the designation of four public gardens by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which we now know as Stepney Green Gardens. Around this time, the now mature London plane trees were probably planted. They are among the tree species that are most efficient at removing fine particles of pollution from the air. Back in 1865, William and Catherine Booth held sermons on Mile End Green for the poor and destitute people of the East End. These talks formed the foundation of the Salvation Army. Captain Cook lived here too, moving into a terraced house on Assembly Row in 1764 - probably one of the first housing developments along Mile End Green. The gardens are included in the Stepney Green Conservation Area, designated in January 1973, and extended in October 2008.