The old London Docks

[mossie]

In my Memory Lane Stepney thread I mentioned meeting my son for a pub meal. When I was posting I realised I did not have a shot of the pub's exterior, so here goes



And here is their tale of Pepys



i had described before the bascule bridge on the approach, Here is another shot with the Canary Wharf towers threatening to swamp it.



while I was out on the top terrace I realised that I could see another one across the Thames. This was to allow boats to Enter the Surrey Docks across Rotherhithe Street.



I had already passed this one on my way down from the DLR. The roadway is blocked by vans belonging to several contractors who were engaged in refurbishing it. I spoke to one of the painters who told me they had travelled over 5 hours down from Newcastle for two days work, shows how badly our construction industry has been fragmented.



But I have got ahead of myself. To get here I took the train from Ipswich. alighting at Stratford to take the Docklands Light Railway down to Shadwell, passing over Bower Street on the way. Here comes my DLR train when I changed lines at Poplar



At Shadwell I had a cup of tea in a cafe under a railway arch which had this misleading photo on the wall closing the back

.

I set off from there to the site of the old docks and soon reached Wapping Woods. What! a wood in the darkest East End. Never. In fact it is a pleasant park made from the filled in Eastern Dock which is joined to Shadwell Basin by a short canal which passes under Garnet Street



and the canal, or what's left of it



Carrying on west towards the main London Docks a little strip of water passes under Wapping Lane to Reach Tobacco Dock, now a sort of museum cum office and housing a couple of old boats



The entrance carries this sign, which reminds me that a hogshead was once a size of barrel, whether larger or smaller that a firkin I have no idea, but barrels came in various sizes



What were once bustling docks have now become valuable real estate and flash flats abound, the main London Docks which now follow are home to Fleet Street after its retreat from the unions. I didn't sully their doorstep



There is more to come I'm afraid, but not a lot

[breeze]

Looks like quite a nice day out, Mossie. You'll be back to the pub by the end of your day, I hope.

About the painters from Newcastle, you'd think London would have a few painters available. I'd like to think the Newcastle employer is a small firm that underbid some big London firms, but that seems unlikely.

[onlyMark]

The most time I ever spent in London was about six weeks whilst working all hours and I never had time to do much exploring. It's good to see parts of it now. I never realised there were that many bascules around either.
Also I was curious about the name of the pub as Whitby itself is not exactly close by. Now I know it was named only relatively recently, 19th century, after a collier (not in this case a coal miner, but a type of ship that carried sea coal) that would 'park' nearby.
I also read that in 1953 the pub was raided by armed robbers. You weren't in the area at the time, were you Mossie?
On a point of accuracy, a hogshead is six times larger than a firkin - which itself is half the size of a kilderkin. Easy really.

Good stuff Mossie, if you get down to the smoke again, the photos are fascinating.

[mossie]

Breeze, the pub was my objective for lunch. And this is it, not much but I have entered my second childhood, and have started to grow again, unfortunately only round the midriff.



The pub has a really large fireplace, well cluttered up.



I spent some time on the terrace upstairs and looked down on the noose put up to illustrate the pub story of hanging pirates there. In fact Execution Dock is a little further up river, although Judge Jeffries is also reputed to have been a customer



Looking down on the beach shows a strange mixture of stone, broken concrete and well worn brickwork. I would guess at some time the beach had been built up, with the brickwork possibly emanating from Blitzed buildings judging by the erosion caused by movement of the tides



A swan was swanning up and down making plaintive cries, possibly looking for a cygnet or a mate



Across the far side someone has a houseboat very handily placed, wonder what the mooring fee is for that



As well as pleasure cruises it is possible to have high speed trips up the river. Dread to think what it must cost, and one has to wear all the protective clobber.



One doesn't expect to find a tree plantation on a dockside, but an effort is being made to civilise the area



all the while one is frequently interrupted by the noise of airliners whining overhead, no doubt calling up "Speedbird 29, Fifteen miles long finals" and getting an answer something like "29, you are number nine for landing, stand by". I am guessing, never having heard modern R/T patter.



Walking round the Basin I spotted this lad fishing, he told me that the lottery had provided money last year to stock it with carp, Further round I spotted a group of Poles doing the same thing. I guess they did all right for their Christmas dinner



It is a pleasant spot



After lunch I walked down to Wapping High Street to catch a bus back to civilisation.



passing New Crane Wharf on the way, once warehouses, now expensive riverside flats





and the odd shop



There are also New Crane Stairs leading down to a long forgotten landing stage



Even a mooring ring beside it. The beach still shows the bomb damage rubble.

[Deleted]

That's a part of London where I have never been so it is all the more interesting to me. I keep telling myself I need to go to the Docklands, but since I never spend more than two or three days in London at a time, I never get around to it.

Your photos have remotivated me, Mossie, because it all looks like exactly the sort of area that I love to explore.

[bixaorellana]

Yet another inspiring thread from you, Mossie -- I always want to go to the places you show.

Admirable detective work there on identifying the riprap on the beach.

I love all the pictures showing how high the tide gets. As for the canal and the basin, it is wonderful that they were never covered over, but left for history and beauty. Stocking the basin was such a lovely, democratic idea, too.

[mossie]

I had picked up an estate agents glossy advertising magazine and in it they had a full page for a flat in New Crane Wharf.

"Sought after warehouse conversion in Wapping....fantastic apartment....exposed brickwork.....arched windows.....Juliet balcony" WOW "1012 sq ft (say 100 sq metres)....every room enjoying panoramic views of the City skyline ..... 2 bedrooms, modern bathroom, well fitted kitchen and dual aspect reception/dining room.....24hour porterage, a building manager and a secure underground parking space"

This can be yours for only £899,950. (About 4 times what my miserable hovel is worth)

[cheerypeabrain]

I'm ashamed to say that I've only just had a look at this EXCELLENT thread. Mossie you photos and descriptive narrative is very enjoyable. Thank you medear.