Hay's Galleria is a major riverside tourist attraction on the Jubilee Walk in the London Borough of Southwark

London Borough of Southwark

The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...

 situated on the south bank of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

.

Wharf

Hay's Galleria is named after its original owner, the merchant Alexander Hay, who acquired the property - then a brewhouse - in 1651. In around 1840 John Humphrey Jnr acquired a lease on the property. He asked William Cubitt (who was father-in-law to two of Humphrey's sons) to convert it into a 'wharf

Wharf

A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...

', in fact an enclosed dock, in 1856 and it was renamed Hay's Wharf.

During the nineteenth century, the wharf was one of the chief delivery points for ships bringing tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 to the Pool of London

Pool of London

The Pool of London is a part of the Tideway of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Tower Bridge. It was the original part of the Port of London. The Pool of London is divided into two parts, the Upper Pool and Lower Pool...

. At its height, 80% of the dry produce imported to London passed through the wharf, and on this account the Wharf was nicknamed 'the Larder

Larder

A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use.Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.Essential qualities of a larder are that it should be:*as cool as possible*close to food preparation areas...

 of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

'. The Wharf was largely rebuilt following the Great Fire of Southwark in June 1861 and then continued in use for nearly a century until it was badly bombed in September 1940 during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Trade declined drastically after the Second World War and the surrounding area became increasingly economically depressed.

Redevelopment

In the 1980s, with the increasing urban regeneration of the Thames Corridor and nearby London Docklands, the area was acquired by the St Martin's Property Corporation the real estate arm of the State of Kuwait, as part of their 'London Bridge City' development, stretching from London Bridge easterly to English Grounds where it is terminated by the Southwark Crown Court site and bound to the South by Tooley Street

Tooley Street

Tooley Street is a road in South London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. - St Olave :...

. The decision to retain the wharf, a Grade II listed structure, to sympathetically restore its tea and produce warehouses surrounding it, to provide office accommodation and shops, was done by permanently closing the dock gates, covering the 'impounded' area of the dock with a floor to the sill of the wharf-sides and, most spectacularly, enclosing the entire space with a roof, reminiscent of the Victorian railway termini of the same period, to create the galleria. This was implemented by Twigg Brown Architects

Twigg Brown Architects

Twigg Brown are a London-based architecture practice. Their notable projects include the Hay's Galleria as part of the overall Twigg Brown masterplan for London Bridge City and the Grosvenor Waterside development in Chelsea for Grosvenor....

 as part of their masterplan for the renewal strategy. In a fountain at the centre of the Galleria is an acclaimed 60 ft moving bronze sculpture of a ship, called 'The Navigators' by sculptor David Kemp, unveiled in 1987 to commemorate the Galleria's shipping heritage.

The development was supported by the London Docklands Development Corporation

London Docklands Development Corporation

The London Docklands Development Corporation was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its eighteen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an area of in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and...

. After its completion and opening in 1987, Hays Galleria became the first new visitor attraction of that period on the south of the river.

Activities

Office tenants have included the UK social work

Social work

Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...

 regulator, the General Social Care Council

General Social Care Council

The General Social Care Council is a the regulator of social workers and social work students in England. The GSCC protects the public by requiring high standards of education, conduct and practice of social workers by ensuring that only those who are properly trained and committed to high...

, and the Social Care Institute for Excellence

Social Care Institute for Excellence

The Social Care Institute for Excellence, ,is a UK charity, set up by government and funded by the UK Department of Health and the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland....

. The pub at the riverside entrance, 'The Horniman at Hay's' is named to commemorate one of the main tea producing companies associated with the trade here.

Because of its location on the southern Thames Path

Thames Path

The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996, following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton. It is about long....

, its panoramic views over the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

 from the riverside, and the location between London City Hall and Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....

 the Galleria is public thoroughfare visited by many tourists and local workers.For twenty years it housed a year-round market The Hays Galleria Marketwhich operated seven days a week. It had a resident artist and for more than 2 decades it was home to several permanent independent traders,long-term tenants of St Martins's Property Corporation selling souvenirs, touristic apparel and jewellery from traditional barrows positioned in fixed locations in the Galleria, On 8th October 2010 on the orders of CBRE the Managing Agents the barrows were removed.

Transport

• River services: London Bridge City Pier
  Thames Clipper
  Thames Clipper is a water-bus service operating in London on the River Thames. The company offers commuter services between eastern and central London, as well as tourist services under licence from London River Services. At present they transport around 7,500 passengers daily.-Company:Sean Collins...
  
   (Commuter service)
• Tube/National Rail: London Bridge station
  London Bridge station
  London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
  
  

External links

• Hay's Galleria
• Twigg Brown Architects Architects for the regeneration of London Bridge City, including refurbishment of Hays Galleria