The Whitechapel Fatberg Has Its Own Hidden Memorial

Watch your feet as you exit Whitechapel station. You might spot this quirky memorial manhole cover.

The easily overlooked disc commemorates "the defeat of the Whitechapel fatberg". A fatberg is a huge accretion of grease, wet wipes and other unsavoury matter that really shouldn't be put down the drains.

You may remember the Whitechapel fatberg and the attention it garnered. The 130 tonne blockage made worldwide headlines when it was discovered beneath Whitechapel in 2017. A fragment of the 'berg later went on show at Museum of London (we even reviewed it, for some demented reason).

The commemorative maintenance hatch is easy to miss — it looks like any other sewer entry point. Find it where the pedestrianised Court Street meets Whitechapel Road, just before the crossing.

With thanks to Rose Curran of the Londonist Urban Oddities Facebook group for bringing this to our attention.

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