If you ever wanted to be convinced about the fascination of London then go and explore those areas of the capital that rarely get a mention in the guide books. Take Rotherhithe for example, just a mile down from Tower Bridge, along Tooley Street and Jamaica Road, and there you find an area that was once alive with ship-building and repairing, cargoes being loaded and unloaded and all the activity associated with a riverside community.
Before the second World War, the area was a maze of docks. When they finally closed in the 1970s and became derelict, Rotherhithe faced a grim future. But the transformation has been remarkable; most of the docks have been filled in and replaced with houses and shops. Surrey Quays is a paradise for shopaholics.
But massive redevelopment has not obliterated all the memories. The streets and some of the buildings around St Mary's Church have survived; so too has the old school built in the early 18th century and somewhere in the nearby churchyard - now a small garden - is the resting place of Captain Christopher Jones, skipper of the Mayflower which took the Pilgrims to America early in the 17th century.
The Sands Film Studio and Photo Archive is worth a visit; so too is the Brunel Museum in the recently renovated pumping house which was part of the remarkable 19th century project to build the World's first underwater tunnel. There are surprises too; the Norwegian and Finnish communities, established in Rotherhithe when timber from the Baltic countries was a major import, still have churches in area offering a friendly welcome to visitors.
If you want to discover more about Rotherhithe then join a LONDON FOOTSTEPS walking tour of the area. They start at Canada Water station on the Jubilee Line. Get in touch and I can give you more details. info@londonfootsteps.co.uk
