Limehouse
Encyclopedia
Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames
opposite Rotherhithe
and between Ratcliff
to the west and Millwall
to the east.
Limehouse stretches from Limehouse Basin in the west to the edge of the former Chinatown
in Pennyfields in the east; and from the Thames in the south to the Victory Bridge at the junction of Ben Jonson Road and Rhodeswell Road in the north.
The area gives its name to Limehouse Reach, a section of the Thames which runs from Shadwell
, through Ratcliff and then Limehouse and on to Millwall.
. The name is from Old English
lim-ast "lime-oast". The earliest reference to Les Lymhostes occurs in 1356.
, has enjoyed better links with the river than the land, the land route being across a marsh
. Limehouse became a significant port
in late medieval times
, with extensive docks and wharves. Although most cargoes were discharged in the Pool of London
before the establishment of the docks, industries such as shipbuilding
, ship chandler
ing and rope
making were established in Limehouse.
Limehouse Basin opened in 1820 as the Regent's Canal Dock. This was an important connection between the Thames and the canal system, where cargoes could be transferred from larger ships to the shallow-draught canal boats. This mix of vessels can still be seen in the Basin: canal
narrowboat
s rubbing shoulders with sea-going yacht
s.
From the Tudor era
until the 20th century, ships crews were employed on a casual basis. New and replacement crews would be found wherever they were available - foreign sailors in their own waters being particularly prized for their knowledge of currents and hazards in ports around the world. Crews would be paid off at the end of their voyages and, inevitably, permanent communities of foreign sailors became established, including colonies of Lascars and Africans
from the Guinea Coast
. Large Chinese communities at both Limehouse and Shadwell
developed, established by the crews of merchantmen
in the opium and tea
trades, particularly Han Chinese
. The area achieved notoriety for opium
dens in the late 19th century, often featured in pulp fiction
works by Sax Rohmer
and others. Like much of the East End
it remained a focus for immigration
, but after the devastation of the Second World War many of the Chinese community
relocated to Soho
.
On 12 February 1832, the first case of cholera
was reported in London at Limehouse. First described in India
in 1817, it had spread here via Hamburg
. Although 800 people died during this epidemic, fewer than had died of tuberculosis
in the same year, cholera visited again in 1848 and 1858.
The use of Limehouse Basin as a major distribution hub declined with the growth of the railways, although the revival of canal traffic during World War I and World War II gave it a brief swansong. Today, Stepney Historical Trust works to advance the public's education in the history of the area.
. In November 1982, the LDDC published its Limehouse Area Development Strategy. This built on existing plans for Limehouse Basin, and offered a discussion framework for future development, housing refurbishment and environmental improvements across the whole of Limehouse. It was based on four major projects: Limehouse Basin, Free Trade Wharf, what was then known as the Light Rapid Transit Route (DLR) and the Docklands Northern Relief Road, a road corridor between The Highway and East India Dock across the north of the Isle of Dogs.
However, it was not until the mid 1980s with the abolition of the Greater London Council that the impetus for improvements to the infrastructure was provided. The key to development in Limehouse lay next door in the Isle of Dogs. Initial development plans on the island had been modest: light industrial development and a low rise business park. The Limehouse Studios
were an early development on the island; despite the name the studios were located in South Quay, not Limehouse.
By 1984, 8 million sq it of potential commercial development was predicted. In 1985 proposals for a 10-12 million sq it development on the 71 acres (287,327.1 m²) of Canary Wharf were being considered. The sheer scale of the Canary Wharf
proposals, and in due course the rapid implementation of the first phase of development, provided the impetus to the transport improvements which completely altered prospects for Limehouse as well as for the Isle of Dogs
.
On 30 July 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
David Lloyd George
made a polemical speech in Limehouse attacking the House of Lords
for its opposition to his "People's Budget
". This speech was the origin of the phrase "To Limehouse", or "Limehousing", which meant an incendiary political speech.
From 1906 to 1909, Clement Attlee
worked as manager of Haileybury House, a club for working class
boys in Limehouse run by his old school. Prior to this, Attlee's political views had been conservative
, but he was shocked by the poverty and deprivation he saw while working with slum
children, and this caused him to become a socialist
. He joined the Independent Labour Party
in 1908, and became mayor of Stepney
in 1919. At the 1922 general election
, Attlee became MP
for the constituency of Limehouse
, which he represented while Prime Minister.
On 25 January 1981, MPs Shirley Williams
, Roy Jenkins
, William Rodgers
and David Owen
made the Limehouse Declaration
from Owen's house in Limehouse, which announced the formation of the Council for Social Democracy in opposition to the granting of block votes to the trade union
s in the Labour Party
to which they had previously belonged. They soon became leading politicians in the Social Democratic Party
.
Today, Limehouse is part of the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse
and has been represented in the House of Commons since 1997 by Jim Fitzpatrick
MP (Labour
), and in the London Assembly
since 2000 by John Biggs
AM (also Labour).
(lyricist) and Philip Braham
(composer) in 1921 to write the popular jazz
standard Limehouse Blues
, which was introduced by Jack Buchanan
and Gertrude Lawrence
in the musical revue
"A to Z". Much later, it was reprised in the ballet "Limehouse Blues" featuring Fred Astaire
and Lucille Bremer
in the musical film Ziegfeld Follies
(1946). In both instances the actors were heavily disguised as Chinese. Limehouse Blues
was also the name of a 1934 film, starring George Raft
.
Thomas Burke
wrote Limehouse Nights (1916), a collection of stories centered around life in the poverty-stricken Limehouse district of London. Many of Burke's books feature the Chinese character Quong Lee as narrator. The area also features in the Fu Manchu
books of Sax Rohmer
, where a Limehouse opium den
serves as the hideout of the Chinese
supervillain
. The notion of East End opium dens seems to have originated with a description by Charles Dickens
of a visit he made to an opium den in nearby Bluegate Fields
inspired certain scenes in his last, unfinished, novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood
(1870). More recently, the popular graphic novels of Alan Moore
, "From Hell" (1989) and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (1999) contain a number of references to the notorious criminality of the area in Victorian London.
Other notable performances on film include those by Hoagy Carmichael
in To Have and Have Not
(1946) and by Borrah Minevich and His Harmonica Rascals in One in a Million (1936). The area also appeared in Anna Mae Wong's 1929 film Piccadilly
, whereas the toughly alluring Shosho, Ms. Wong was said to embody the Limehouse Chinatown mystique.
Birthplace of the rock group Limehouse Lizzy
Sir Humphrey Gilbert
lived here, and was an advocate of opening up the Northwest Passage
. This inspired Martin Frobisher
to sail to Baffin Island
,and he returned with a mysterious black rock. Gilbert set up the Society of the New Art with Lord Burghley
and the Earl of Leicester
who had their alchemical laboratory in Limehouse. However their attempts to transmute the black rock into gold
proved fruitless. (Humphrey's brother Adrian Gilbert was reputed a great alchemist
and worked closely with John Dee
.)
Captain Christopher Newport
lived in Limehouse for several years up until 1595. He rose through the sailing ranks from a poor cabin boy
to a wealthy English privateer
and eventually one of the Masters of the Royal Navy
. He became rich pirating Spanish treasure vessels in the West Indies
. In 1607 he sailed the Susan Constant
, followed by the Godspeed
and Discovery
, as Admiral of the Fleet
to Jamestown
. He helped secure England's foothold in North America through five voyages to Jamestown. He sailed his entire life, dying on a trading voyage to Bantam
, on the island of Java
in present day Indonesia
. His sailing experience in Limehouse made him known as Captain Christopher Newport, of Limehouse, Mariner.
Charles Dickens' godfather
ran his sailmaking
business from Church Row (Newell Street); and James McNeill Whistler and Charles Napier Hemy
sketched and painted at locations on Narrow Street's river waterfront. Contemporary residents include the actor Sir Ian McKellen
, Matthew Parris
, and comedy actress Cleo Rocos
, actor Steven Berkoff
, comedian Lee Hurst , as well as politician Lord David Owen. Limehouse was also the home of the late film director Sir David Lean
.
St Anne's Limehouse
was built by Nicholas Hawksmoor
. A pyramid originally planned to be put atop the tower now stands in the graveyard. The church is next door to Limehouse Town Hall and close to Limehouse Library
, both Grade II listed buildings, the former now used as a community centre. Across the road is the Sailors' Mission, where Situationist International held its conference in 1960. The building subsequently became a run-down hostel for the homeless which became notorious for its squalor, although it has since been converted into a luxury apartment block.
Further to the southwest, Narrow Street, Limehouse's historic spine, which runs along the back of the Thames wharves, boasts one of the few surviving early Georgian terraces
in London. Next to the terrace
is the historic Grapes
pub, rebuilt in 1720 and well-known to Charles Dickens, featuring as the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters in Our Mutual Friend
. A few doors along is Booty's Riverside Bar. Almost every building on the other side of Narrow Street was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War
, including hundreds of houses, Taylor Walker & Co's Barley Mow Brewery and a school. One notable exception is a former public house
, known locally as 'The House They Left Behind', because it was the only Victorian terrace
to survive. It still stands today, with the aid of three large supporting pillars.
Further along the street is 'The Narrow', a gastropub
, now run by Gordon Ramsay
. It is housed in the Grade II listed, former dockmaster
's and Customs House
, for Limehouse Dock.
, located to the immediate west of the Limehouse Basin, serves the c2c
mainline trains out to Essex, and Docklands Light Railway
, which is two stops from Bank & Tower Gateway in the City of London. The next stop to the east on the DLR, Westferry
, also lies within the Limehouse area.
There are no tube stations in the immediate area. The nearest London Underground
train stations are Canary Wharf tube station
— on the Jubilee Line
, to the east; and Stepney Green tube station
on the District line
, to the north.
passes west-east through Limehouse, while the A1203 Limehouse Link tunnel passes under Limehouse Basin, linking The Highway
with the Docklands Northern Relief Road. The northern entrance of the Rotherhithe Tunnel
emerges in Limehouse, to the west of the Basin and close to Limehouse railway station.
Narrow Street
forms a part of the north bank of the Thames Path
, the walk is between tall former warehouses and modern flats. Many were built with planning covenants granting river access, but these are now often barred to the public. Vehicular access is limited, as the area is cut off by the entrance to the Limehouse tunnel and parking is strictly controlled, however this makes the area reasonably quiet for cyclists. Public access to the foreshore is prohibited, apparently part of the security arrangements for former Foreign Secretary
, David Owen.
basin with its marina
remains a working facility. The same is not true of the wharf
buildings that have survived, most of which are now highly desirable residential properties. Limehouse Basin connects to the Regent's Canal
via the Commercial Road Lock
to the north, and the River Thames
via Limehouse Basin Lock
to the south. The Limehouse Cut
connects the Basin to the River Lea in the east.
The nearest Thames River Boat stop is Canary Wharf Pier
, located to the east.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
. It is on the northern 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,...
opposite Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
and between Ratcliff
Ratcliff
Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a former hamlet lying by the north bank of the River Thames between Shadwell and Limehouse. It is now a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is located to the south of Stepney.-Etymology:...
to the west and Millwall
Millwall
Millwall is an area in London, on the western side of the Isle of Dogs, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the south of the developments at West India Docks, including Canary Wharf.-History:...
to the east.
Limehouse stretches from Limehouse Basin in the west to the edge of the former Chinatown
Chinatown, London
The name Chinatown has been used at different times to describe different places in London. The present Chinatown is part of the Soho area of the City of Westminster, occupying the area in and around Gerrard Street...
in Pennyfields in the east; and from the Thames in the south to the Victory Bridge at the junction of Ben Jonson Road and Rhodeswell Road in the north.
The area gives its name to Limehouse Reach, a section of the Thames which runs from Shadwell
Shadwell
Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east...
, through Ratcliff and then Limehouse and on to Millwall.
Etymology
The name relates to the local lime kilns or, more precisely, lime oast located by the river and operated by the large potteries that served shipping in the London DocksLondon Docks
The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had docked at wharves on the River Thames, but by this time, more...
. The name is from Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
lim-ast "lime-oast". The earliest reference to Les Lymhostes occurs in 1356.
Maritime links
From its foundation, Limehouse, like neighbouring WappingWapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
, has enjoyed better links with the river than the land, the land route being across a marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
. Limehouse became a significant port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in late medieval times
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, with extensive docks and wharves. Although most cargoes were discharged in 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...
before the establishment of the docks, industries such as shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, ship chandler
Ship chandler
A ship chandler is a retail dealer in special supplies or equipment for ships.For traditional sailing ships items that could be found in a chandler might include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch , linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum, tools A ship...
ing and rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
making were established in Limehouse.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
s rubbing shoulders with sea-going yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s.
From the Tudor era
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
until the 20th century, ships crews were employed on a casual basis. New and replacement crews would be found wherever they were available - foreign sailors in their own waters being particularly prized for their knowledge of currents and hazards in ports around the world. Crews would be paid off at the end of their voyages and, inevitably, permanent communities of foreign sailors became established, including colonies of Lascars and Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
from the Guinea Coast
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
. Large Chinese communities at both Limehouse and Shadwell
Shadwell
Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east...
developed, established by the crews of merchantmen
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in the opium and 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...
trades, particularly Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
. The area achieved notoriety for opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
dens in the late 19th century, often featured in pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
works by Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
and others. Like much of the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
it remained a focus for immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, but after the devastation of the Second World War many of the Chinese community
British Chinese
British Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
relocated to Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
.
On 12 February 1832, the first case of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
was reported in London at Limehouse. First described in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1817, it had spread here via Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Although 800 people died during this epidemic, fewer than had died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in the same year, cholera visited again in 1848 and 1858.
The use of Limehouse Basin as a major distribution hub declined with the growth of the railways, although the revival of canal traffic during World War I and World War II gave it a brief swansong. Today, Stepney Historical Trust works to advance the public's education in the history of the area.
Modern Limehouse
Limehouse Basin was amongst the first docks to close in the late 1960s. By 1981, Limehouse shared the docklands-wide physical, social and economic decline which led to the setting up of the London Docklands Development CorporationLondon 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...
. In November 1982, the LDDC published its Limehouse Area Development Strategy. This built on existing plans for Limehouse Basin, and offered a discussion framework for future development, housing refurbishment and environmental improvements across the whole of Limehouse. It was based on four major projects: Limehouse Basin, Free Trade Wharf, what was then known as the Light Rapid Transit Route (DLR) and the Docklands Northern Relief Road, a road corridor between The Highway and East India Dock across the north of the Isle of Dogs.
However, it was not until the mid 1980s with the abolition of the Greater London Council that the impetus for improvements to the infrastructure was provided. The key to development in Limehouse lay next door in the Isle of Dogs. Initial development plans on the island had been modest: light industrial development and a low rise business park. The Limehouse Studios
Limehouse Studios
Limehouse Studios was an independently-owned television studio complex built in No. 10 Warehouse of the South Quay Import Dock. This was located at the eastern end of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs in London, which opened in 1983...
were an early development on the island; despite the name the studios were located in South Quay, not Limehouse.
By 1984, 8 million sq it of potential commercial development was predicted. In 1985 proposals for a 10-12 million sq it development on the 71 acres (287,327.1 m²) of Canary Wharf were being considered. The sheer scale of the Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
proposals, and in due course the rapid implementation of the first phase of development, provided the impetus to the transport improvements which completely altered prospects for Limehouse as well as for the Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
.
Significant events in politics
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
made a polemical speech in Limehouse attacking the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
for its opposition to his "People's Budget
People's Budget
The 1909 People's Budget was a product of then British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, introducing many unprecedented taxes on the wealthy and radical social welfare programmes to Britain's political life...
". This speech was the origin of the phrase "To Limehouse", or "Limehousing", which meant an incendiary political speech.
From 1906 to 1909, Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
worked as manager of Haileybury House, a club for working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
boys in Limehouse run by his old school. Prior to this, Attlee's political views had been conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, but he was shocked by the poverty and deprivation he saw while working with slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
children, and this caused him to become a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. He joined the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
in 1908, and became mayor of Stepney
Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-Boundaries:...
in 1919. At the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
, Attlee became MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the constituency of Limehouse
Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)
Limehouse was a borough constituency centred on the Limehouse district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- History :...
, which he represented while Prime Minister.
On 25 January 1981, MPs Shirley Williams
Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby
Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby PC is a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party in 1981...
, Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, William Rodgers
William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank
William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC , usually known as William Rodgers but also often known as Bill Rodgers, was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior British Labour Party politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party...
and David Owen
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
made the Limehouse Declaration
Limehouse Declaration
The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior British Labour politicians, all MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
from Owen's house in Limehouse, which announced the formation of the Council for Social Democracy in opposition to the granting of block votes to the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s in the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
to which they had previously belonged. They soon became leading politicians in the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
.
Today, Limehouse is part of the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse
Poplar and Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)
Poplar and Limehouse is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first past the post system of election....
and has been represented in the House of Commons since 1997 by Jim Fitzpatrick
Jim Fitzpatrick (politician)
James Fitzpatrick is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Poplar and Limehouse since the 2010 General Election. From 1997 to the 2010 election he was the member for Poplar and Canning Town...
MP (Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
), and in the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
since 2000 by John Biggs
John Biggs
John Biggs is a Labour Party politician and member of the London Assembly representing the City and East constituency. He is a former leader of Tower Hamlets Borough Council....
AM (also Labour).
Cultural references
The area inspired Douglas FurberDouglas Furber
Douglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length...
(lyricist) and Philip Braham
Philip Braham
Philip Braham was an English composer of the early twentieth century, chiefly associated with theatrical work.-Biography:...
(composer) in 1921 to write the popular jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
standard Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
, which was introduced by Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
and Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
in the musical revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
"A to Z". Much later, it was reprised in the ballet "Limehouse Blues" featuring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Lucille Bremer
Lucille Bremer
Lucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer.Bremer was born in Amsterdam, New York and began her career as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, aged 16. Bremer, along with fellow stars Vera-Ellen and June Allyson, appeared as a 'Pony Girl' in the Broadway musical Panama...
in the musical film Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies (film)
Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 Hollywood musical comedy film directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, Merrill Pye, George Sidney and Charles Waters...
(1946). In both instances the actors were heavily disguised as Chinese. Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
was also the name of a 1934 film, starring George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
.
Thomas Burke
Thomas Burke (author)
Thomas Burke was a British author. He was born in Eltham, London.His first successful publication was Limehouse Nights , a collection of stories centered around life in the poverty-stricken Limehouse district of London...
wrote Limehouse Nights (1916), a collection of stories centered around life in the poverty-stricken Limehouse district of London. Many of Burke's books feature the Chinese character Quong Lee as narrator. The area also features in the Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
books of Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, where a Limehouse opium den
Opium den
An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France...
serves as the hideout of the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
. The notion of East End opium dens seems to have originated with a description by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
of a visit he made to an opium den in nearby Bluegate Fields
Bluegate Fields
Bluegate Fields was one of the worst slum areas that once existed just north of the old, east London docks during the Victorian era. Two streets in the area had actually been named Bluegate Fields at different times – present-day Dellow St. Bluegate Fields (also known as Blue Gate Fields) was one...
inspired certain scenes in his last, unfinished, novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens. The novel was left unfinished at the time of Dickens' death, and his intended ending for it remains unknown. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, the story focuses on Drood's uncle, choirmaster John Jasper, who...
(1870). More recently, the popular graphic novels of Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, "From Hell" (1989) and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (1999) contain a number of references to the notorious criminality of the area in Victorian London.
Other notable performances on film include those by Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
in To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not is a 1937 novel by Ernest Hemingway about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain who lives with a prostitute and runs contraband between Cuba and Florida. The novel depicts Harry as an essentially good man who is forced into blackmarket activity by economic forces beyond his...
(1946) and by Borrah Minevich and His Harmonica Rascals in One in a Million (1936). The area also appeared in Anna Mae Wong's 1929 film Piccadilly
Piccadilly (film)
Piccadilly is a British film directed by Ewald André Dupont, written by Arnold Bennett and starring Gilda Gray, Anna May Wong, and Jameson Thomas. The film was produced by British International Pictures and released by Wardour Films Ltd...
, whereas the toughly alluring Shosho, Ms. Wong was said to embody the Limehouse Chinatown mystique.
Birthplace of the rock group Limehouse Lizzy
Notable residents
Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
lived here, and was an advocate of opening up the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. This inspired Martin Frobisher
Martin Frobisher
Sir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage...
to sail to Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
,and he returned with a mysterious black rock. Gilbert set up the Society of the New Art with Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
and the Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
who had their alchemical laboratory in Limehouse. However their attempts to transmute the black rock into gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
proved fruitless. (Humphrey's brother Adrian Gilbert was reputed a great alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
and worked closely with John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
.)
Captain Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the Susan Constant, the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to find the settlement at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, which became the first permanent...
lived in Limehouse for several years up until 1595. He rose through the sailing ranks from a poor cabin boy
Cabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
to a wealthy English privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
and eventually one of the Masters of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. He became rich pirating Spanish treasure vessels in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In 1607 he sailed the Susan Constant
Susan Constant
Susan Constant, captained by Christopher Newport, was the largest of three ships of the English Virginia Company on the 1606-1607 voyage that resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia.-History:Susan Constant was rated at 120 tons. Her keel length is estimated at 55.2 feet...
, followed by the Godspeed
Godspeed (ship)
Godspeed, under Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, was one of the three ships on the 1606-1607 voyage to the New World for the English Virginia Company of London. The journey resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia.-History:All 39 passengers and 13 sailors she carried on that...
and Discovery
Discovery (1602 ship)
Discovery was a 20-ton "fly-boat" of the British East India Company, launched before 1602.Discovery was the smallest of three ships that were led by Captain Christopher Newport on the voyage that resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new Colony of Virginia in 1607...
, as Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...
to Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
. He helped secure England's foothold in North America through five voyages to Jamestown. He sailed his entire life, dying on a trading voyage to Bantam
Bantam (city)
Bantam in Banten province near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Banten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into...
, on the island of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
in present day Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. His sailing experience in Limehouse made him known as Captain Christopher Newport, of Limehouse, Mariner.
Charles Dickens' godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
ran his sailmaking
Sailmaker
A sailmaker makes and repairs sails for sailboats, kites, hang gliders, wind art, architectural sails, or other structures using sails. A sailmaker typically works on shore in a sail loft. The sail loft has other sailmakers. Large ocean-going sailing ships often had sailmakers in the crew. The...
business from Church Row (Newell Street); and James McNeill Whistler and Charles Napier Hemy
Charles Napier Hemy
Charles Napier Hemy was a British painter best known for his marine paintings and his two paintings in the Tate collections....
sketched and painted at locations on Narrow Street's river waterfront. Contemporary residents include the actor Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Matthew Parris
Matthew Parris
Matthew Francis Parris is a UK-based journalist and former Conservative politician.-Early life and family:...
, and comedy actress Cleo Rocos
Cleo Rocos
Cleo Rocos is a UK-based comedy actress and television/theatre producer and presenter, best known for appearing on The Kenny Everett Television Show. She is of Greek and English descent...
, actor Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
, comedian Lee Hurst , as well as politician Lord David Owen. Limehouse was also the home of the late film director Sir David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
.
Buildings
St Anne's Limehouse
St Anne's Limehouse is a Hawksmoor Anglican Church in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was consecrated in 1730, one of the twelve churches built through the 1711 Act of Parliament.-History:...
was built by Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton.-Life:Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a yeoman farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire. On his death he was to leave property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham and a...
. A pyramid originally planned to be put atop the tower now stands in the graveyard. The church is next door to Limehouse Town Hall and close to Limehouse Library
Limehouse Library
Limehouse Public Library in Limehouse, London was first proposed for construction in 1888, but the required finances could not be raised until 1900 when J Passmore Edwards was approached for assistance. He subscribed a sum of £5000, and he subsequently laid the foundation stone on October 19 of...
, both Grade II listed buildings, the former now used as a community centre. Across the road is the Sailors' Mission, where Situationist International held its conference in 1960. The building subsequently became a run-down hostel for the homeless which became notorious for its squalor, although it has since been converted into a luxury apartment block.
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
in London. Next to the terrace
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
is the historic Grapes
The Grapes
The Grapes is a public house backing onto the Thames waterfront, located at 76 Narrow Street, London E14 8BP . It is owned in partnership by Evgeny Lebedev, Sean Mathias and Ian McKellen, and managed by Paul Mathias.- History :...
pub, rebuilt in 1720 and well-known to Charles Dickens, featuring as the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters in Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
. A few doors along is Booty's Riverside Bar. Almost every building on the other side of Narrow Street was destroyed by bombing in 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...
, including hundreds of houses, Taylor Walker & Co's Barley Mow Brewery and a school. One notable exception is a former public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, known locally as 'The House They Left Behind', because it was the only Victorian terrace
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
to survive. It still stands today, with the aid of three large supporting pillars.
Further along the street is 'The Narrow', a gastropub
Gastropub
Gastropub or Gastrolounge refers to a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food.The term gastropub, a portmanteau of gastronomy and pub, originated in England in the late 20th century. English pubs were drinking establishments and little emphasis was placed on the serving of food. If...
, now run by Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
. It is housed in the Grade II listed, former dockmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
's and Customs House
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
, for Limehouse Dock.
Education
Nearest places
- PoplarPoplar, LondonPoplar is a historic, mainly residential area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about east of Charing Cross. Historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was...
- Isle of DogsIsle of DogsThe Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
- WappingWappingWapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
- ShadwellShadwellShadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east...
- StepneyStepneyStepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
- RotherhitheRotherhitheRotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
- Bethnal GreenBethnal GreenBethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
- RatcliffRatcliffRatcliff or Ratcliffe is a former hamlet lying by the north bank of the River Thames between Shadwell and Limehouse. It is now a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is located to the south of Stepney.-Etymology:...
Rail, DLR and Tube
Limehouse stationLimehouse station
Limehouse station is a railway station located in the Limehouse district of east London. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2 and is served by Docklands Light Railway services and by National Rail services operated by c2c out of Fenchurch Street station...
, located to the immediate west of the Limehouse Basin, serves the c2c
C2c
c2c is a British train operating company that is part of the National Express Group. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London to east London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway...
mainline trains out to Essex, and Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
, which is two stops from Bank & Tower Gateway in the City of London. The next stop to the east on the DLR, Westferry
Westferry DLR station
Westferry DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway , in the Limehouse district of east London. The station is located in Travelcard Zone 2...
, also lies within the Limehouse area.
There are no tube stations in the immediate area. The nearest London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
train stations are Canary Wharf tube station
Canary Wharf tube station
Canary Wharf tube station is a London Underground station on the Jubilee Line, between and . It is in Travelcard Zone 2 and was opened by Ken Livingstone setting an escalator in motion on 17 September 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. It is maintained by Tube Lines...
— on the Jubilee Line
Jubilee Line
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
, to the east; and Stepney Green tube station
Stepney Green tube station
Stepney Green is a London Underground station on the District and Hammersmith and City lines, located on the junction of Globe Road and Mile End Road in the Stepney area of east London, United Kingdom.-History:...
on the District line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
, to the north.
Roads
The A13 Commercial RoadCommercial Road
Commercial Road , in length, is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It runs from "Gardener's Corner" , through Stepney to the junction with Burdett Road , Limehouse from which point the route becomes the East India Dock Road...
passes west-east through Limehouse, while the A1203 Limehouse Link tunnel passes under Limehouse Basin, linking The Highway
The Highway
The Highway, formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a mile-long road in the East End of London, with several historic landmarks nearby. The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a very notorious reputation for vice and crime and was the site of the infamous Ratcliff...
with the Docklands Northern Relief Road. The northern entrance of the Rotherhithe Tunnel
Rotherhithe Tunnel
The Rotherhithe Tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in East London. It connects the Ratcliff district of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the river. It is designated as the A101...
emerges in Limehouse, to the west of the Basin and close to Limehouse railway station.
Narrow Street
Narrow Street
Narrow Street is a narrow street running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London.- History :A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharf being completed in 1348...
forms a part of the north bank of the 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....
, the walk is between tall former warehouses and modern flats. Many were built with planning covenants granting river access, but these are now often barred to the public. Vehicular access is limited, as the area is cut off by the entrance to the Limehouse tunnel and parking is strictly controlled, however this makes the area reasonably quiet for cyclists. Public access to the foreshore is prohibited, apparently part of the security arrangements for former Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, David Owen.
Waterways
Though no longer a working dock, Limehouse BasinLimehouse Basin
The Limehouse Basin in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets provides a navigable link between the Regent's Canal and the River Thames, through the Limehouse Basin Lock. A basin in the north of Mile End, near Victoria Park connects with the Hertford Union Canal leading to the River Lee...
basin with its marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
remains a working facility. The same is not true of the 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...
buildings that have survived, most of which are now highly desirable residential properties. Limehouse Basin connects to the Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
via the Commercial Road Lock
Commercial Road Lock
Commercial Road Lock is a lock on the Regent's Canal, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It marks the point at which the canal enters Limehouse Basin, and is the penultimate lock before the canal reaches the Thames....
to the north, and 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,...
via Limehouse Basin Lock
Limehouse Basin Lock
Limehouse Basin Lock is a lock forming the exit from Limehouse Basin to the Thames, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the final lock on the Regent's Canal. The Narrow Street swing bridge sits between the lock and the river....
to the south. The Limehouse Cut
Limehouse Cut
The Limehouse Cut is a straight, broad canal in the East End of London, which linked the lower reaches of the River Lee Navigation to the River Thames...
connects the Basin to the River Lea in the east.
The nearest Thames River Boat stop is Canary Wharf Pier
Canary Wharf Pier
The Canary Wharf Pier is a London River Services pier on the River Thames in London, UK. It is located to the west of the Canary Wharf district, close to Narrow Street, Limehouse....
, located to the east.