Long-time London resident and avid museum and theatre-goer. I started this blog in 2014, and got serious about it in 2020 when I realised how much I missed arts and culture during lockdowns. I go to a lot more events than anyone would think is sensible, and love sharing my thoughts in the forms of reviews, the occasional thought piece, and travel recommendations when I leave my London HQ.
An illustrated walk of wharves and warehouses from Rotherhithe to London Bridge and back along the North Bank to Tower Hill. Along the way we learn about almost all periods in London’s waterfront history, from the Romans to the Victorians and beyond.
Today’s guide is our old favourite Walking London’s Waterways by Gilly Cameron-Cooper. This image is from the opposite side of the Thames looking back at Rotherhithe.
Exploring the Central London Waterfront
Gilly Cameron-Cooper’s Walking London’s Waterways has been a trusty companion during recent lockdown walks. It has taken us from Wapping to Westferry, around Greenwich and the Rotherhithe Peninsula, and in a few posts’ time will help us to explore the Southern end of the Isle of Dogs. Today, though, we will explore a very interesting section of the River Thames. Our walk begins in Rotherhithe Village, which we began to explore a few weeks ago. Rather than staying on the peninsula, however, we will follow the path of the river as far as London Bridge. We will then cross the Thames and head back along its opposite bank to Tower Hill.
These parts of London have been inhabited for many a century. There are many layers of history to reveal as a result. Along our walk we will learn about Roman and Anglo-Saxon beginnings, the heyday of trade in London, and how more recent historical forces have continued to reshape the city.
I went on this walk during the coldest period London had seen for many years. Have a look for icicles in a few of the pictures! Hopefully you will be able to read it from somewhere snug and warm, and will have the option to wait for warmer weather if you choose to follow in my footsteps!
London Wharves and Warehouses – Rotherhithe Village
Our walk begins at Rotherhithe Station. The Brunel Museum is right next door, commemorating the Victorian triumph of Marc Brunel’s 1840s tunnel under the Thames. Brunel used an innovative tunneling shield which stopped the river clay from collapsing, and also provided little cells for each workman. Within 24 hours of opening, 50,000 people visited the tunnel. It was also a favourite spot to bring visiting dignitaries.
We pass the Mayflower Pub which we saw on this earlier walk, and head down Saint Marychurch Street. On the way we pass by Sands Films. The building also houses the Rotherhithe Picture Research Library. Sands Films are famous for their costumes for period dramas among other services. It’s a fab community resource to boot.
Here is the Church of St Mary that the street takes its name from, as well as its churchyard below. John James, an associate of Sir Christopher Wren, designed the church, completed in 1715. It looks slightly raised up as it is on a plinth to counteract the worst of Thames tidal flooding. Cameron-Cooper notes that the skillful techniques used in building the church might point to the involvement of local shipwrights. As we can’t go inside right now we miss out on some objects made from timber recycled from the Napoleonic-era Temeraire. There are also memorials to Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower, and the Indonesian Prince Lee Boo. Lee Boo was a great hit in London when he arrived in 1783, but died about a year later of smallpox and is buried here.
There are many other historic buildings in this corner of Rotherhithe. St Mary Rotherhithe Free School was founded in 1613. The current building, with plaster figures of school children, dates to the 19th Century. The small village watch house and bricked up fire engine house both date to 1821. Hope Wharf handled customs duties on imported goods – the original 16th Century legal quays at the Pool of London were soon overwhelmed and needed support.
London Wharves and Warehouses – Medieval Manors and Modern Skyscrapers
As we make our way back to the Thames Path, we can admire a range of architectural styles.
There are lovely views across to Wapping from this stretch of the river, with its run of original warehouses along the waterfront. Note the Shard looming above neighbouring buildings: we will pass close to it when we near London Bridge.
This lonely building was once the offices of Braithewaite and Dean, a firm of Thames lightermen. Lighters were flat boats that could carry cargo off larger ships and handle themselves in the tidal Thames. They were initially rowed or steered but later towed or converted into sailing ships.
A little further on is what remains of Edward III’s manor house. You could once sail right up to it from the river, like a Venetian palazzo. It may have been where Edward came when he wanted to practice his falconry. Today you can just see part of the wall and where the moat once was.
The Angel Pub was founded in the 15th Century by monks from Bermondsey Priory. The things you learn from guidebooks sometimes: I have passed by numerous times without knowing it had such a long history! From humble beginnings, it became a favourite of smugglers, pirates and press gangs. Plus James Cook, who spent time here plotting out his voyages. But thousands of years before all of that, this stretch of river was home to Neolithic people. Traces of their timber causeway across the marshy Rotherhithe Peninsula have been found nearby.
London Wharves and Warehouses – The City Old and New
Thank you first of all to local resident James for pointing me in the right direction on Alfred Salter! Very keen blog readers (all two of you) will recall that in Russia Dock Woodland we saw a footbridge named after Alfred Salter. It stumped me at the time, but luckily James knew that the footbridges were named for local schools, and that Salter in turn was remembered for his efforts for the local poor. He’s commemorated in the names of several local landmarks, as well as this group of statues called Dr Salter’s Daydream by Diane Gorvin. Alfred Salter, born in 1873 in Greenwich, dedicated his life to improving conditions for the people of Bermondsey. He and his wife Ada moved to the area, and Salter opened a medical practice, setting affordable charges or even treating patients for free. In 1902 they had a daughter, Joyce. Tragically, Joyce died at the age of eight of scarlet fever, a common disease at the time, especially in poorer areas. So there is a real poignancy to Dr. Salter’s daydream. At the time my guidebook was written, the statues had actually been removed. Sadly Dr Salter had been stolen, most likely for the scrap metal value. Southwark Council put the figures of Ada and the cat into storage for safekeeping. But after a local fundraising campaign the statues returned, including a replacement Dr. Salter. Artist Diane Gorvin added the figure of Ada at this time, completing the family.
At this point we have to divert from the Thames Path to go around another Super Sewer site. We saw the one at Wapping on this walk. It’s a big and dirty job, but should help immensely to clean up the waters of the Thames.
There is a real mix of old and new as we navigate the back streets on the way to Shad Thames. I particularly like the little corner shown in the bottom image. It’s a great survival of several towering warehouse blocks, giving a sense of what these streets once looked like.
London Wharves and Warehouses – Shad Thames
And here we are at Shad Thames. The first two photos are from St Saviour’s Dock: you may remember this is where the Neckinger River once flowed into the Thames. Shad Thames is the name of a street and, informally, of the surrounding area. The origin of the name is unclear, but it’s another great enclave of historic dock infrastructure. Dickens set the demise of Bill Sykes in this area: in his time it was dirty, crowded and poor. Today it’s (normally) home to lots of nice restaurants and river views.
Until 2016 this was London’s Design Museum. It is now in Kensington, and on a much larger scale. This building has such a Bauhaus look that I always thought it was purpose-built. However, through careful research for my dear readers, I’ve just learned it’s actually a converted 1940s banana ripening warehouse. How wonderful! The homage to 1930s style was deliberate, and this version of the Design Museum opened in 1989.
A blue plaque at Butler’s Wharf commemorates Derek Jarman. The filmmaker, artist and gay rights activist lived and worked here in the 1970s.
Maggie Blake’s Cause commemorates another local resident. Without Maggie Blake campaigning in the 1990s, the path to the riverfront walk we have just come down might have been sealed off. This would have effectively privatised the riverfront at Shad Thames, reserving it for residents and restaurant goers. The bottom image shows the street Shad Thames, with warehouses still intact.
And as we leave Shad Thames, we see the Anchor Brewhouse at the end of Horseleydown Road. The brewery closed in 1981, but the building was once a combined brewery, boiler house and malt mill. The lovely street name comes from the fact that the brewery’s dray horses could rest there between jobs.
London Wharves and Warehouses – City Hall to London Bridge
We now pass under Tower Bridge, to the riverfront walk by City Hall. Tower Bridge was completed in 1894 by Sir Horace Jones. He was also the architect of Billingsgate Fish Market which we will see later. For anyone planning to visit Tower Bridge, I highly recommend going to the Engine Rooms. They’re included in the ticket but separate from the main visit, and are a marvel of Victorian engineering. The engines helped the bridge open up to 50 times a day in its heyday.
City Hall is the home of the Greater London Authority. It opened in 2002, the work of Foster + Partners architects. The building’s design maximises eco-friendly alternatives to reduce the use of air conditioning.
The HMS Belfast is next along the riverfront. The last big armoured ship in the Royal Navy, the Belfast launched in 1938. The Imperial War Museum saved it from the scrapyard when it came to the end of its working life.
We now come to Hay’s Galleria. Alexander Hay started a business here in 1651. The current Italianate warehouses date to the 1850s. The company was famous for its tea clippers and pioneering cold storage, including shipping butter from New Zealand. Inside, The Navigators by David Kemp was looking uncharacteristically but charmingly icy when I visited in sub-zero temperatures.
The Cottons Centre is on the site of the former Cotton Wharf. A fire here in 1861 burned for two weeks due to all the flammable material inside.
A quick glimpse of London Bridge before we deviate from the riverfront once more. This 1973 bridge is one of several incarnations, dating back to the Roman period.
London Wharves and Warehouses – Around Southwark Cathedral
The 72-storey Shard towers over London Bridge Station. This is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, designed by Renzo Piano.
We cross here over the approach to London Bridge, in the direction of Southwark Cathedral. There has been a church here for almost 1,000 years, but it has only been a cathedral since 1905. Before being Southwark Cathedral it was St Mary Overie – with Overie meaning not ‘ovary’ but ‘over the river’. The earliest parts of the current cathedral date to about 1220, but there are Roman remains underneath.
Even in its reduced current form, I decided to give the social distancing nightmare of Borough Market a wide berth. I appreciate the traders need to make a living, but there were far too many people there to be comfortable. Instead I chose to wander some back streets while reading about Borough Market in my guide book. Cameron-Cooper informs us that this is London’s first recorded vegetable market, dating back to the 11th Century!
Nearby is what remains of the Bishop of Winchester’s palace. Why was it here and not in Winchester? Not sure. It was one of the most important buildings in medieval London before it burned down. This little remaining fragment was discovered and preserved during redevelopment in the 1980s.
The Golden Hinde is a replica of the ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world. Our book tells us that the average height of Drake’s sailors was 5ft 4in., which would certainly have helped them all fit in. There is more on Drake in this recent walk around Greenwich and Deptford. You can normally visit, but it looks like they’re doing some well-timed restoration work.
London Wharves and Warehouses – Across London Bridge
The marker reminds us that, in crossing over the Thames, we are heading into the City of London. Looking back along the stretch of river we have just passed through, we can see Tower Bridge, the HMS Belfast and historic and modern buildings. London Bridge Hospital in yellow stone with white top and bottom, stands out far more than it does from the riverfront.
The modern bridge back down to the riverfront gives us a great view across to the Shard, as well as information on Thames wildlife.Adelaide House is one I’ve never noticed, but Cameron-Cooper points it out in our guidebook. It is Art Deco in design, and was once London’s tallest commercial building. It was also the first to have a mini-golf course on the roof! In the background is the Church of St Magnus the Martyr which we will see on an upcoming stroll around Roman London.
Old Billingsgate Fish Market is just ahead, as reflected in the fish-themed lampposts.
And here is Billingsgate. A market operated here from the Middle Ages (specialising in fish from 1698) until it moved to the Isle of Dogs in 1982. The women working here were the inspiration for the term ‘fish-wives‘. This is the second structure on our walk designed by Sir Horace Jones. The first, Tower Bridge, is in the background.
This imposing building was formerly a Customs House, currently used by HMRC. This was a centre for registering ships, and controlling import and export duties. From the mid-16th Century this one location could no longer cope, so specialised quays (including Hope Wharf at Rotherhithe) took on some of the load.
We finish our walk at Tower Hill. This was the heart of Roman Londinium, and the Norman Conquest ensured that cross-Channel trade flourished. It was William the Conqueror who first built the Tower to intimidate English locals and potentially invading Danes. In the bottom image, you can see All Hallows By The Tower on the left, which has Roman ruins in its crypt. On the right is the Port of London Authority building. The PLA started life in 1909 to manage the tidal Thames. A nice place to end our river walk.
Thanks for joining me on this walk along the Thames! Want more ideas for historic walks in London? Sign up below for a weekly Salterton Arts Review newsletter:
Travelers' Map is loading... If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
4 thoughts on “London Wharves and Warehouses”