Narrow Street
Encyclopedia
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,...
through the Limehouse
Limehouse
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....
area of 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...
.
History
A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharfWharf
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...
being completed in 1348. Lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
kilns or 'Lymehostes' used in the production of mortar and pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
were built at this location in the fourteenth century.
The area grew rapidly in Elizabethan times as a centre for world trade and by the reign of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
nearly half of the area's 2,000 population were mariners
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
. The area supplied ships with ropes and other necessities; pottery was also made here for the ships. 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...
s settled here building wooden houses and wharves in the cramped space between street and river, indeed Narrow Street may take its name from the closeness of the original buildings, now demolished, which stood barely a few metres apart on each side of the street.
The Limehouse Bridge Dock was established in 1766, for barges and small ships to access 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...
, which led to the Lee Navigation. Limehouse Basin
Limehouse 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...
was built in 1820, to transship imported goods to barges on 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....
. The two were linked in the early 19th century, and the lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
from the Cut to the river, filled in.
In 1661, Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
wrote in his diary of a visit to a porcelain factory in Narrow Street alighting via Duke Shore Stairs while en route to view work on boats being built for Herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
fishing. The Limehouse area fitted out, repaired and resupplied ships. In 1772, Smith & Sykes ran a sugar house a small factory that baked and refined sugar. In 1823, Taylor Walker & Co Ltd started brewing at the site of today's pub The Narrow formerly The Barley Mow
The Barley Mow
The Barley Mow is a cumulative song celebrated in the traditions of the folk music of Ireland, England, and Scotland. William Chappell transcribed the lyrics in his two-volume work The Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time ."The Barley Mow" has become a drinking song sung while...
.
Limehouse Cut was redirected into Limehouse Basin was one of the first docks to close in the late 1960s. 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...
s’ Church St Anne's Limehouse
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 designated a conservation area 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...
in the 1980s.
For much of the 20th century the area was dominated by the tall chimney of Stepney Power Station
Stepney Power Station
Stepney Power Station was a small coal-fired power station situated by the Thames on the north side of Narrow Street, Limehouse, London.-History:...
at Blyth Wharf, which has since been demolished.
Access to the area was always difficult, with the dock standing to the north, and the entrance to 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...
at one end. In 1993 the 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) Limehouse Link tunnel
Limehouse Link tunnel
The Limehouse Link tunnel is a 1.1 mile long tunnel in the Limehouse area of east London on the A1203 road which runs from the northern approach to Tower Bridge eastwards to a point just north of Canary Wharf in London Docklands...
was completed; further restricting traffic to the riverside area. The Narrow Street Swing Bridge is sited between the 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....
and the Thames.
Chinatown
In the eighteenth century a small group of Chinese sailors from CantonGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and Southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
settled along the old Limehouse Causeway creating the original London Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
. The Chinese community later moved 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...
following heavy bombing of the area during World War II
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...
often referred to as the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
.
Historic buildings
A number of historic buildings remain, including The GrapesThe 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 :...
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...
, which was notably bought in 2011 by 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...
, director Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
and Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
owner, Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev is the chairman of both Evening Standard Ltd, which owns the Evening Standard and also Independent Print Ltd which owns the Independent newspapers, which he bought in January 2009 and March 2010...
. Next to The Grapes is a rare example of an early Georgian
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...
brick terrace. Early Georgian houses can be distinguished from late ones in the way that the windows are not set back from the brick frontage.
Redevelopment
The late twentieth century brought much development to the area, with the erection of the Canary WharfCanary 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...
tower close by. Since the 1990s, many new apartment complexes have been built around the Limehouse Basin as well as Victorian
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...
warehouse conversions, with Limehouse now being one of the most sought after property sites in London. Its close proximity to the River Thames has made property prices around Limehouse and the Docklands soar over the last decade. However a 2001 Census http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/poplarandlimehouse listed 5.4% of Homes in Poplar
Poplar, London
Poplar 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...
and Limehouse as being without central heating and/or private bathroom.
The street is home to a number of good pubs and restaurants, including 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...
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....
, and Booty's Riverside Bar, an independently-owned pub which dates back to the 16th Century, with 19th century frontage. In the 18th century Booty’s was an engineering shop for the barge builders, Sparkes. By the 1870’s it was a licensed bar called The Waterman’s Arms owned by Taylor Walker, before being absorbed by Woodward Fisher, a lighterage firm run by Anne Fisher, popularly known as ‘'Tugboat Annie'’, a local real-life London version of the character in the film of that name. One of the great East End characters, she commanded a fleet of 200 barges.
Famous residents include the actors 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...
and 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...
, and politicians Lord 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...
, 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...
and Matthew Parris
Matthew Parris
Matthew Francis Parris is a UK-based journalist and former Conservative politician.-Early life and family:...
. It was also the home of the 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 ,...
, whose Narrow Street house, regarded as one of the best riverside houses in London, is still owned by his family.
Art and literature
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Narrow Street's harsh conditions and extreme poverty attracted the attention of early social reformers and latter political agitationAgitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
for better working conditions led to the creation of some of London's earliest trade unions.
Its picturesque buildings and atmospheric location abut
Abut
In property law, when two parcels abut it means they are adjacent to each other and against each others' borders....
ting onto the River Thames also attracted artists and writers.
- Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles 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...
' godfather Christopher Huffam ran his sail-making business from Newell Street, Limehouse. - James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
and Charles Napier HemyCharles Napier HemyCharles 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 Streets' river waterfront. - Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's fictional detective Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
visits an opium den in Limehouse looking for clues. - George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's book Down and Out in Paris and LondonDown and Out in Paris and LondonDown and Out in Paris and London is the first full-length work by the English author George Orwell , published in 1933. It is a memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is a picaresque account of living on the breadline in Paris and the experience of casual...
features a Limehouse lodging house.
Transport
In 2010 the street became part of CS3, a continuous cycle route from AldgateAldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
to Barking
Barking
Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...
and one of London's first Cycle Superhighways. In October residents raised a petition calling for CS3 to be moved from Narrow Street onto the A13 Commercial Road
Commercial 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...
, arguing that the street was too narrow and that incidents of abuse and aggression had risen sharply since the route was introduced. Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) said they had no plans to move it. Mayor Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
defended the choice as a road that was already popular with cyclists to and from the City
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...
. The London Cycling Campaign
London Cycling Campaign
The London Cycling Campaign is an independent membership charity lobbying for better conditions for cyclists in London. Its vision is to make London "a world-class cycling city"...
supported the route but called for improvements. In 2011, TfL agreed to remove logos from the road surface, but not to change the route.
Nearest places
- 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:...
- Stepney
- Poplar
- 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:...
e - Limehouse CutLimehouse CutThe 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...
- St Dunstan's, StepneySt Dunstan's, StepneySt Dunstan's, Stepney is an Anglican Church which stands on a site which has been used for Christian worship for over a thousand years. It is located in Stepney High Street, in Stepney, London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-History:...
- St Anne's LimehouseSt Anne's LimehouseSt 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:...
The nearest Docklands Light Railway stations are Limehouse and 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...
River boat service piers
- Canary Wharf PierCanary Wharf PierThe 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....
See also
- Henry MayhewHenry MayhewHenry Mayhew was an English social researcher, journalist, playwright and advocate of reform. He was one of the two founders of the satirical and humorous magazine Punch, and the magazine's joint-editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days...
- George Robert SimsGeorge Robert SimsGeorge Robert Sims was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and bon vivant.Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for Fun magazine and The Referee, but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums...
- Sir Walter Besant
- Clement AttleeClement AttleeClement 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...
- Colin Gwyer & Associates Ltd v London Wharf (Limehouse) LtdColin Gwyer & Associates Ltd v London Wharf (Limehouse) LtdColin Gwyer & Associates Ltd v London Wharf Ltd [2003] BCC 885 is a UK insolvency law and company law case concerning directors' duties...
[2003] BCC 885, litigation which took place on a Narrow Street property - Stepney Historical Trust
External links
- LDDC
- Chinatown
- Taylor Walker & Co http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/746
- Limehouse http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/parish/limehouse.htm
- Early history http://www.mernick.co.uk/thhol/limehouse.html
- Early history http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover/data/Poplar/index.cfm
- Duke Shore stairs http://www.burkes-peerage.net/sites/common/sitepages/lwallindex.asp
- Image reference: Greenwood's Map of London 1827 http://users.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood/imagemap.html
- Image reference: Limehouse Link 1993