A Rothehithe wander

[Wapping]

The sun is out and it’s time to check out the pubs of Rothehithe.

It’s only a short (one stop) hop from Wapping, under the Thames, to Rotherhithe.

Rotherhithe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

Off the train at Rotherhithe station, which is on the so called ‘Windrush Line’, renamed when TfL divided the previous generic ‘London Overground’ network into separate distinct individual lines. Whilst the separation of the lines, giving each section its own name was a good idea, it’s a great pity that TfL didn’t call the line that passes under the Thames (using Brunel’s original and first tunnel) the ‘Brunel Line’.




The local primary school created quite a nice mural, celebrating Brunel’s engineering feat. What a pity TfL didn’t take a leaf out of the kids’ imagination:

Thames Tunnel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

London Overground line names

London Overground lines are to be named to make the network easier to navigate. We aim to make the changes by the end of 2024

tfl.gov.uk

 

[timeandtide]

Off the train at Rotherhithe station, which is on the so called ‘Windrush Line’, renamed when TfL divided the previous generic ‘London Overground’ network into separate distinct individual lines. Whilst the separation of the lines, giving each section its own name was a good idea, it’s a great pity that TfL didn’t call the line that passes under the Thames (using Brunel’s original and first tunnel) the ‘Brunel Line’.

View attachment 488010
View attachment 488011

The local primary school created quite a nice mural, celebrating Brunel’s engineering feat. What a pity TfL didn’t take a leaf out of the kids’ imagination:

View attachment 488012

Thames Tunnel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Agreed!

 

[Wapping]

The first pub on my Wander will be The Angel, but first let’s have a look at what’s close by.

The site of King Edward III’s Thames side Manor House:



And the commemoration of a local doctor, his wife, daughter and cat:

The Ruins Of King Edward III's Manor In Rotherhithe - Living London History

Walk along the Thames path through Bermondsey and you will come across a fascinating site: the ruins of a medieval manor house

livinglondonhistory.com

Dr Salter's Daydream: A Moving Set Of Statues In Bermondsey - Living London History

Walk along the river path through Bermondsey and Rotherhithe and you will find an unusual set of statues. The set of four statues depicts Dr

livinglondonhistory.com

 

[Wapping]

The Angel (to me at least) has one fault. I am not a big fan of Sam Smth’s pubs. It’s a great location but…..



The excellent view northwards across the river to Wapping. On the extreme right, you can see the head quarters of the River police. Moving left,
the modern towers of the City of London to the left of centre, along with the edge of Tower Bridge (nearly obscured by the wooden pillar) and the Shard on the south bank of the Thames in Bermondsey:



I can remember passing the Angel when I (along with thousands of others) queued for about 14 hours to see and pay my respects to the Queen, lying in state in Westminster Hall, several miles away in Westminster.

The Angel, Rotherhithe

The Angel, one of the oldest Rotherhithe pubs, is now in splendid isolation in front of the remains of Edward III's mansion on the Thames Path at the western edge of Rotherhithe. The site was first used when the Bermondsey Abbey monks used to brew beer which they sold to pilgrims. It is located...

layersoflondon.humap.site

 

[Posh Pete]

Lager! You really must have an aversion to Sam Smith's , Richard!

Anyway ... carry on.

 

[Wapping]

Lager! You really must have an aversion to Sam Smith's , Richard!

Anyway ... carry on.

It’s actually Sam Smth’s branded cider. I won’t drink lager unless I need to piss on a fire.

 

[Wapping]

The Angel behind us, let’s head eastwards along the Thames footpath:



To be continued….

 

[Keith Chapman]

I always enjoy your wanders Richard, keep going.

 

[Wapping]

Thank you.

 

[Wapping]

Next stop will be the Mayflower pub, but before we get there, there’s something to see along the way….

 

[The Other PaulG]

Edward III's gaff is going to need a bit of work...

 

[Wapping]

On we go…

There is a little cafe, built into what was a night watchman’s hut. The watchman’s job was to prevent grave robbers from digging up recently interred bodies for dissection at the nearby teaching hospital, Guy’s:



Adjoining the cafe, there was a ‘poor school’ funded (as they all were) by public subscription:

 

[LOLGEOFF]

It would be interesting to know how quickly advances in medical knowledge could be attributed to the work of the Resurrectionists.

 

[Wapping]

Just across from the cafe, there is the excellent church of St Mary the Virgin Rotherhithe, which is worth a look:



The church, like so many, is not open every day. But I struck lucky:

 

[Fireflyer]

Always good to see perspectives from actual residents of London as I’ve got to admit I only ever consider brief visits to what I mainly view, like most cities, to be a place I could never live in.

Great to see history being focused on recognising the selflessness of people whose lives and achievements might so easily be lost in the passing of time.
These two for instance, ostensibly ordinary people, but dedicating themselves to achieve extraordinary things. There’s many of today’s MP’s who would do well to follow their principles and commitment to bettering those they serve.

 

[Wapping]

I always like to look at the memorial plaques and tombs in churches, not least as they sometimes give you a snapshot of the lives people lived, short as they sometimes were. Their stories will still be around, long after Facebook and TikTok are gone:



This one was particularly interesting. An islander from Palau might even seem exotic to us today. One can only wonder what was made of him (and him of London) in the late 1700’s:



We’ll come across this little fellow again later on the Wander:



It’s easy to forget how much society as a whole relied on the generosity of others:




The church provides an excellent four page potted history to read during the visit. I’d recommend it:

St. Mary's Rotherhithe – A living parish church on the banks of the Thames since 1282

stmaryrotherhithe.com

Prince Lee Boo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

PS Palau island was of course the scene of viscous fighting between the US Marine Corps and the army of Imperial Japan, as the Americans sought to ‘Island Hop’ across the Pacific towards Japan’s home islands.

 

[Burridge01]

Did you not visit the Brunel museum, you were right on top of it.I worked on the Thames Tideway tunnel at Bermondsey. If you walk towards Tower Bridge(there is a pub right next door)you can nose at the modern architecture that is the coffer dam we installed.And my machine nearly disappearing into the Thames in said cofferdam.Oh how we

 

[Wapping]

Patience…..



PS The Thames Tideway is an amazing engineering feat. I am going to a little post on how well they’ve restored and improved the park that they took over in Wapping for the pumping station, close to the vent for the Rotherhithe Tunnel. I must say I had my doubts over their promises, but they’ve kept their word. Well done them and those that worked on the whole project.

 

[LOLGEOFF]

It’s easy to forget how much society as a whole relied on the generosity of others:

It seems to similar nowadays but more anonymously with Red Nose Day, the London and other city Marathons, food banks, charity shops, and, although there's also an incentive, the National Lottery. As they put these plaques and boards up in churches, that were probably heavily attended, I wonder if some of the generosity by the named was due to peer pressure or repentance, making sure that there was a place in heaven for them?