Canada Water
Encyclopedia
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...
in the Docklands in south-east 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...
. Canada Water tube and bus station
Canada Water tube station
Canada Water station is a London Underground and London Overground station in Rotherhithe, in south London, UK. It takes its name from Canada Water, a lake which was created from a former dock in the London Docklands....
is named after the lake, and lies immediately to the north, while Surrey Quays Shopping Centre is also adjacent, sitting immediately to the south. The surrounding part of Rotherhithe is now increasingly known as Canada Water, after the Underground station as much as the lake itself.
The lake is named after the former Canada Dock, of which Canada Water is the surviving northern third, and which was mainly used by ships from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. As with much of the Docklands, the Surrey Commercial Docks
Surrey Commercial Docks
The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe on the south bank of the Thames in South East London. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969...
closed in the 1970s. During the 1980s, 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...
took over, and invested heavily in the redevelopment of the area. About half of Canada Dock was infilled and the Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a name given to a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks...
Shopping Centre built on top of it; the remainder was converted into the present lake and wildlife refuge. An ornamental canal, Albion Channel, was created (through the site of the now filled-in Albion Dock) linking Canada Water to Surrey Water, with the spoil used to create Stave Hill
Stave Hill
Stave Hill is an artificial hill adjacent to the Stave Hill Ecological Park, it is part of Russia Dock Woodland, and is located in Rotherhithe, London...
in nearby Russia Dock Woodland.
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of the parts of 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...
along the river, the extension
Jubilee Line Extension
The Jubilee Line Extension is the extension of the London Underground Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the Jubilee line was first proposed in the 1970s and a modified route was constructed during the 1990s...
of 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...
in 1999 moved the focus to the area immediately around Canada Water. The opening of the new Canada Water tube station
Canada Water tube station
Canada Water station is a London Underground and London Overground station in Rotherhithe, in south London, UK. It takes its name from Canada Water, a lake which was created from a former dock in the London Docklands....
gave the area rapid connections to the rest of London, with 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...
one stop, Westminster
Westminster tube station
Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. It is served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines. On the Circle and District lines, the station is between St. James's Park and Embankment and, on the Jubilee line it is between Green Park and Waterloo. It is in...
less than 10 minutes, and Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
around 15 minutes away by underground train. The station's connection to the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
network in 2010 has added a quick connection to 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...
, with a journey of around 10 minutes to Shoreditch High Street station
Shoreditch High Street railway station
Shoreditch High Street is a railway station in Shoreditch, London. The station is located on Bethnal Green Road close to Shoreditch High Street and is served by London Overground services running on the extended East London Line under the control of the London Rail division of Transport for London...
, near Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
.
Much of the area is now going through a phase of rapid development, with new residential developments, a new library which opened in November 2011, cafés and restaurants being built around the lake; there are also plans to redevelop the shopping mall.
Canada Water is the only body of fresh water in London Docklands. During the construction works in the early 1980s, part of the lining was damaged and some pollution took place. The London Docklands Development Corporation undertook remedial works to restore the water ecology. Attempts were made to secure a water supply from the flooded tunnels of London Underground by building a pipeline to the dock from the flooded tunnels, but due to concerns about health and safety the water could not be supplied. Attempts were made to secure water from Thames water, but the quantity required would have been too great to justify at that time. Finally, historical research by the Landscape Architect Fraser Borwick revealed that historically ground water had been extracted to supply various industrial processes using wind power. After checking the borehole results of the Jubilee Line construction team, it was established that large amounts of potable water were available and a borehole 80 metres long was sunk into the ground. The borehole is lined for 60 metres, and the bottom 20 metres is into chalk. The water can be extracted using the windpump to keep the dock topped up with fresh water.
Places nearby
- Surrey Quays Shopping Centre
- Greenland DockGreenland DockGreenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in...
- 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...
- Russia Dock Woodland
- St. Mary's Church, RotherhitheSt. Mary's Church, RotherhitheSt Mary's Church, Rotherhithe is the local Church of England parish church in Rotherhithe, formerly in Surrey and now part of south east London. The parish is now within the diocese of Southwark and under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Fulham...
- Stave HillStave HillStave Hill is an artificial hill adjacent to the Stave Hill Ecological Park, it is part of Russia Dock Woodland, and is located in Rotherhithe, London...
(including Ecological Park) - Swedish Seamen's Church
- Southwark ParkSouthwark ParkSouthwark Park is located in Rotherhithe, in central South East London, and is managed by the London Borough of Southwark. It first opened in 1869 by the Metropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks...
- Bacon's CollegeBacon's CollegeBacon's College is a secondary school and sixth form college in England, located in Rotherhithe, London. Bacon's College was one of the handful of CTCs, however it officially changed to Academy status in 2007.-History:...
External links
- Canada Water Redevelopment promotional website
- Canada Water Consultative Forum & Canada Water Campaign