Bermondsey

This is the 7th station on the Jubilee Line that I have visited and the 150th out of 272 stations that I am challenging myself to photograph and research in my ' Above the Underground' challenge. Even though I have entered my 7th year of doing this, I am still finding it interesting as there is always something or somewhere new to discover. I try to visit these stations when there are as few people as possible around, usually that means early on Saturday or Sunday mornings.  

Bermondsey station was opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line extension. In line with the other stations on this line's extension it is noted for its use of natural light. 

 

The escalators are lined with concrete and have a high ceiling giving the station a feeling of spaciousness.

 

It was intended that the station would have a multi-storey office building above it but as yet that hasn't happened. I turned right out of the station onto the Jamaica road. The name is a reference to goods arriving in the nearby docks from Jamaica.

I walked past a row of shops. Although not that old it all looked a bit run down although it might be that these shops were not yet open.

There is very little housing that has survived from the 19th century. At the end of that century much of the housing in Bermondsey was in an appalling state and parts of it had been condemned as being unfit for human habitation. By the late 1920s land had been cleared and work begun on building five storey blocks of flats on what became known as the Dickens estate. A large investment from the London County Council saw further redevelopment in the interwar years and the building of more five and seven storey blocks.

The one exception is this 21 storey building which was completed in 1964 and seems out of place amongst the low rise blocks surrounding it.

I turned left onto Southwark Park Road and into the park. Southwark Park was one of the earliest parks to be opened by the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1869.

When the park first opened in 1869 there was no provision for public music but the local community wanted to listen to music in the park. The Crown Brass band was given permission in 1878 to play on Saturdays. A permanent wooden grandstand was installed in 1883. This was replaced in 1889 by an iron structure which was bought by the London County Council from the Great Exhibition.. The bandstand was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and remained in situ until the late 1950s when it was replaced by a functional rectangular bandstand which was later removed. In 1999 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant for the restoration of historic features in the park and a replica of Fowke's bandstand  was built which is the one we can see today.

This fountain is London's first public memorial to honour a working class man. Jabez West, a blacksmith's son, came to Bermondsey in the 1830s. He worked in the leather trade but became known in the area for devoting his time to political reform and the temperance movement. The drinking fountain was paid for by public subscription.

The park also has a bowling green, although you would have to be a member of the club to play. Many public parks have bowling greens. I remember going to watch my father play bowls in our local park during the summer months in the 1950s and 60s. Woe betide me if I ever stepped onto the green!

The objective of the game is to roll biased balls so that they stop as close as possible to the 'jack', a much smaller ball. Usually played outdoors but nowadays there are a number of indoor venues especially during the winter months. 

These sculptures are caryatides (Greek architectural supports used instead of a pillar or column). These caryatides were built to flank the main entrance of Rotherhithe Town Hall in 1897. The building was severely damaged during WW2. Although the caryatides remained after the rest of the building was demolished they were eventually found a permanent home here in 2011.

With its close proximity to the docks and  import of foodstuffs from around the world, a lot of food processing industries grew in Bermondsey. There was Cross and Blackwell, Liptons, Pearce Duffs and Peek Frean. These have now mainly relocated but this huge biscuit factory, on Drummond Street, still remains although it no longer produces biscuits.

Peek Frean biscuit factory moved to this site in 1873. Some of its most memorable biscuits are still just as popular today - Garibaldi, Marie, Bourbon as well as Twiglets and Cheeselets which were developed here during the interwar period. The Peek Frean factory closed here in 1989. It is now a global brand and is owned by various food businesses. The biscuit factory site and buildings are now the Tower Bridge Business Complex which  includes many other businesses, a gym and residential apartments.

This mural beneath the railway bridge is known as The Bermondsey Mural.

Painted by Sean Thomas in 2020 it features a collection of signs and phrases using a wide range of typefaces.

Although a number of pubs have closed down in recent years in this area there seems to be a rise in these craft beer pubs which appear to be springing up in the locality. 

The large church of St James is a local landmark. It was completed in 1829 and was one of the most expensive of the 50 new churches built by the Commission for building new churches. It became a Grade II listed building in 1949.

In 1855 the churchyard was closed to burials as part of the need to move cemeteries away from built up areas in an effort to prevent the spread of the plague. After its closure local people used the churchyard to dry clothing.  With no income from burials the church found it difficult to maintain the churchyard and over the next 30 years it became neglected and overgrown. In 1886, the churchyard was landscaped and the following year the management of the park was transferred to the Borough Council. However the park was small and short of play space for the children. Undeterred the children used the granite balustrades of the front steps of the church as slides. Arthur Carr the chairman of Peek Frean biscuit factory used the churchyard as a short cut to work. He was so impressed with the fun the children had sliding down the balustrades that he funded the building of a 'joyslide'. The slide was opened in 1921 and went on to give years of fun to local children. The worn out, delapidated slide was removed in the 1980s.

 

I crossed back over Jamaica Road making my way towards the Thames. On the way, I passed this house with a blue plaque on the side, in honour of Tommy Steele. An English entertainer he was regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. My very first record was 'Little White Bull' by Tommy Steele which my father gave me when I was about 11 or 12. I have never forgotten it as it was very rare to be given a present when it wasn't your birthday or Christmas.

I came out at the Thames opposite this building known as the 'Leaning Tower of Rotherhithe'. Standing on its own it's a building you can't miss either from the riverside or the embankment. This was once one of many buildings along here owned by Braithwaite & Dean, a barge company. It is thought that this sole building survived demolition in the 1960s because it was brick built whereas others were predominately wooden. The barge company used the building until the early 1990s. It is now a private residence.

This is the Angel Inn. There has been an inn on this site since the 15th century which was built by the monks of Bermondsey Priory. The present building dates from the early 19th century. Captain Cook visited the inn before travelling to Australia.

Just across from the Inn  are the remains of a manor house (c.1350) built for Edward III. They were discovered in the 1980s when archaeologists from the Museum of  London  were excavating this area. 

This sculpture 'Dr Salter's Daydream' by Diane Gorvin, shows an older Dr  Alfred Salter imagining his young wife Ada and their daughter Joyce in happier days. Throughout Bermondsey there are many references and memorials to the Salters.

The Salter statues. Alfred Salter (1873-1945) was a doctor at Guy's Hospital and Ada Salter, his wife,  worked to improve housing and environmental conditions. He treated his poorest patients without charge whilst Ada opened social clubs to help transform the lives of Bermondsey's prostitutes.  The Salters' lives were marred by personal tragedy when their 8 year old daughter, Joyce, died from Scarlet fever. To win trust and to avoid privilege, they had chosen to live amidst the disease ridden slums and have their daughter educated locally but the cost proved high. Though Joyce's death bonded the Salters for ever with the people of Bermondsey, they were inconsolable. 

Alfred later became active in politics and became an MP for the area in 1922 and worked tirelessly to improve  conditions in the area and helped to establish a local health service previously unknown in the area. Whilst living in Bermondsey in 1898 he described the conditions he found: 'Water was drawn from one standpipe for 25 houses, 'on' for two hours daily but never on Sundays. There was no modern sanitation and only one WC and cesspool for 25 houses. Queues lined up each morning, often standing in the rain or snow. It was utterly impossible to maintain bodily cleanliness. The conditions of thousands of homes were the same at the time.'

  

This is Cherry Garden Pier. It is used by City Cruises, a company that runs trips up and down the Thames either for sightseeing or private functions. It used to be a popular night out to go for a meal and/or disco on one of these privately chartered boats as it motored up and down the Thames. 

The name can be traced back to the 17th century when there was a large garden here that was part of a cherry orchard. It is mentioned in Samuel Pepys diary ( a great source of information about London in the 17th cent) on the date 13 June 1664'.....down to Greenwich and there saw the King's Works...and so to the Cherry Garden and so carried some cherries home'. The Cherry Garden was closed in 1708 and the pier built c1860. Although there is a small green area planted here now there are no cherry trees.

Continuing my walk along the Thames I past this newish housing development with this line of trees. Are they cherry trees I wonder? I must remember to return in the spring and see them in flower.

This structure jutting out into the Thames is part of London's super sewer, a 25km tunnel that will run below the Thames from west to east. It will prevent sewage pollution that currently enters the Thames. At its deepest point the tunnel will be 65m below London.

Six Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) are being used to build the super sewer. The tunnel is due to be operational in 2025. 

I walked around the large Tideway building and back onto the Thames path as I just couldn't resist walking a little further before returning to Bermondsey station.

Just ahead of me is St Saviour's Dock and along the river at this point is where a number of barges are moored. A few years ago there was a campaign to have the barges and boats removed even though barges and similar vessels have moored here for over 200 years. Local land residents objected to the noise from the increase in houseboats and their renovations that a petition was made to have the moorings removed. It turned into a highly publicised and celebrity led fight against the removal which focused on the enhanced greenery the houseboats brought to the area with their onboard gardens.

They won their case and the houseboats and other barges remain although they did make some adjustments to the rules surrounding the moorings.

A short walk from the barge moorings is the bridge over the mouth of one of London's 'lost' rivers, the Neckinger. This hydraulic cable stay swing bridge across the Dock was installed in 1995 to connect up the Thames path.

In the 18th century the Thames was so busy that cargoes were often stranded on ships for weeks. The area became notorious for pirates who attacked moored vessels. If caught they were hanged at the mouth of this dock. The river that fed the inlet took the name Neckinger, from the 'Devil's Neckinger'. Neckerchief was London slang for the noose used to hang the pirates. 

I left the Thames path and retraced my steps over the small bridge to have a look at the old warehouses as I make my way back to Jamaica Road and the tube station. In the early 19th century this area was a notorious rookery or slum. Dickens used it in his novel 'Oliver Twist'. He set Fagin's den in one of the warehouses and Bill Sykes met his end in the ooze bed of Folly Ditch.

 Folly Ditch, a loop of the River Neckinger encircled this area which was originally called Jacob's Island. Described by Charles Dickens as 'surrounded by a muddy ditch, six to eight feet deep' the island contained many mills, warehouses and wharves. The worst housing on Jacob's Island was cleared in the nineteenth century to make way for warehouses. However, this was not before a major cholera epidemic in 1849-50 and a fire that raged for two weeks or more in 1861.  Most of the early buildings were demolished and replaced by Victorian buildings, many of which have now gone or been redeveloped. 

New Concordia Wharf  was the first to be redeveloped into residential accommodation. This wharf was originally a grain store.

The redevelopment of New Concordia Wharf was completed in 1981.Further developments followed all mainly luxury apartments with a few offices. I wonder what Dickens would think of this area now. When I first read 'Oliver Twist' I had no idea that the squalid area Dickens  described was very much a real place and not just a figment of his imagination.

An extract from chapter 50 'Oliver Twist' 

… beyond dockhead in the Borough of Southwark, stands Jacob’s Island, surrounded by a muddy ditch, six or eight feet deep and fifteen or twenty wide when the tide is in, once called Mill Pond, but known in the days of this story as Folly Ditch….at such times, a stranger, looking from one of the wooden bridges thrown across it at Mill Lane, will see the inhabitants of the houses on either side lowering from their back doors and windows, buckets, pails, domestic utensils of all kinds, in which to haul the water up…….and when his eye is turned from these operations to the houses themselves, his utmost astonishment will be excited by the scene before him. Crazy wood galleries common to the backs of half-a-dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon the slime beneath; windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem too tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud, and threatening to fall into it, as some have done; dirt-besmeared walls and decaying foundations; every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage; all these ornament the banks of Folly Ditch.

Some of the street names still reflect the history of the area. I walked down Mill Street and back onto Jamaica Road. I had enjoyed my walk around this historical part of  Bermondsey.

Canada Water

 I am South of the river again for this, the 6th station I have visited on the Jubilee Line. Of the 270 underground stations only 29 are south of the river with 7 of them on the Jubilee Line. [UPDATE: From 20th September 2021 two new stations opened on the Northern Line at Nine Elms and Battersea Power station bringing the total number of stations to 272 with 31 south of the river.] The station opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line extension. It also serves the London Overground Line.

As I exited the train I had to check that I was at the right station as it looked just the same as the previous two with its brushed steel, concrete and glass. In fact this was the first to be designed in the Jubilee Line extension project. 

The station has 4 lifts and 8 escalators and is built on 3 levels. The ticket office and shops lie immediately below ground in this large concourse which occupies the same space as St Paul's Cathedral. The two east west platforms of the Overground line are on the second level below ground and the Jubilee line platforms are on the lowest level 22m (72ft) down.

Above ground is a glass drum allowing natural light to reach deep into the station - the same design principle as previous stations on this line.

Next to glass drum of the station is a glass roofed bus station which was designed to fit in a relatively small space between the station drum and the railway ventilation openings, a high wall and tower blocks.

Looking up you can see a row of 16m long roof spans cantilevered from a row of central columns which support a 100m long glass and aluminium canopy. Had I not read about this I would probably not have looked up and noticed anything.

The first building you notice on leaving the station is the library. Clad in aluminium sheets anodised in a light bronze, the library stands out as it overlooks the plaza and the lake. It opened in 2011 and has recently been named the busiest library in London. 

It sits at the north end of the Canada Water basin, an ecological lake in the site of an old dock which was originally used to import timber from Canada. Its shape of an inverted pyramid is to provide a single large library floor on a smaller footprint site.

On the other side of Canada Water is Surrey Quays shopping Mall and retail park. Although a reasonably sized shopping centre I have always found it soulless and lacking in character.

Above the main entrance, inside the building is one of two murals in the shopping centre. Tesco, who developed the shopping centre commissioned the murals to reflect the history of the area. This one depicts the wood wharves, as two of the main products brought into these docks were Scandinavian and Baltic timbers. At one point Surrey Docks had six timber ports but that all changed when large container ships were used to transport the goods. The murals were installed in 1988 but look as though they have only been painted recently.

I left the shopping centre and followed signs for Greenland Dock and then I noticed this large red bridge by the side of the road. It did take me quite some time to discover that this is the Greenland Dock Bridge. It was used to carry the road between Greenland Dock and Canada Dock. Today the bridge no longer carries the road but sits next to it. The bridge was moved here from Deptford Creek in 1959 and provided a simple bascule bridge that opened to allow the ships to go from Greenland dock to Canada Dock which was the dock furthest away from the River Thames in the Surrey Dock complex. Bascule means 

seesaw or balance and this Scherzer bascule bridge is a lift bridge that rolled back on a curved base to rise so that ships could pass beneath. The bridge had two main components  - the length spanning the gap and the counterweight filled with water. It sits on tracks and electric motors wind the bridge over the tracks with the assistance of cogs and racks that fix it into place at 90 degrees. An ingenious and simple feat of Victorian engineering. With the closing of the docks in the late 60s and the redevelopment of the area the bridge is no longer needed but I am pleased it is still here and easy for anyone interested to go and have a look. 

It looks even bigger when you stand below it. The passageway takes you under the road and back to the shopping mall.

With my back to the bridge I am now facing the water of Greenland Dock. This is one of the earliest of London's docks. Originally Howland Great Wet Dock was laid out in 1695-99 on land owned by the first Duke of Bedford as a facility for 120 merchant ships.  From 1793 it was sold and became a centre for the whaling trade and was renamed Greenland Dock. The Dock was greatly enlarged in 1895-1904 at a cost of nearly a million pounds. It was almost doubled in length and in its depth. The Greenland lock which was the entrance from the River Thames was also enlarged  to enable  the large ships from Canada to enter and turn around in the Dock. The Dock was closed in 1970. It is now a water sports centre.

 

Evidence of the dock's previous life remains in situ.

The tall buildings at the end of the dock are in Canary Wharf across the River Thames.

I walked around the dock which was a lovely walk on such a beautiful day. There are four bridges crossing parts of the dock. Only one is in its original position. The others were brought here when it was decided that this dock was not going to be filled in. This lattice bridge in the middle of the picture was constructed here in 1904 when the lock was extended to cope with larger ships. It crosses the Greenland Dock lock although the lock is no longer in use. The only way in and out of the dock is via Steel Yard Cut, a linking channel between Greenland Dock and South Dock.

South Dock runs parallel to Greenland Dock and is London's largest marina with 200 berths.  It was converted into a marina in the 1990s and is now surrounded by residential homes. South Dock was built in 1811as part of one of the three competing dock companies that occupied the bend in the river at Rotherhithe. Heavily bombed during the war, it reopened afterwards but was closed along with the other docks in 1970.    

 

This is the lock between the marina and the Thames.

Next to the marina is Greenland (Surrey Quays) Pier. The river boat service was founded in 1999 and was known as the Thames Clippers ( now called Uber at Thames Clippers). The service has 17 high speed catamarans and operates a daily service serving 23 piers along the Thames from Putney in the West to Woolwich in the East. It is a reliable and frequent service running every 10-20 minutes and is an alternative to using road or rail to get in and out of Central London. 

I left the Thames to complete my walk around  Greenland Dock. I was now at the opposite end to where I started. At this end of the dock there were a number of houseboats moored in what looked like permanent residential moorings. 

This beautiful Bridge is the Norway Cut Swing Bridge. It was designed by James Walker in 1855 and used to be at the lock entrance to the South Dock. It was moved here in 1987 as a fixed bridge over this inlet  and is no longer a swing bridge. The channel it crosses was to the former Norway Dock but this has now been blocked off and a new development called The Lakes has been constructed. 

This is the view from the other side of the bridge looking out onto Greenland Dock.

I decided to leave Greenland Dock and follow the path into the new development. It wasn't what I expected at all.

Although the houses themselves don't look anything special, it is the fact that they are surrounded by water that is so different. In Venice or Amsterdam you may see scenes like this but it is very unusual here in the UK. The buildings were constructed in 1988 to 1996 and have been built out into what was the old Norway Dock. When the docks closed in 1969 this dock was filled in but the developers re-excavated it to create a water feature for the residents. The homes all have a view of the water but they enter/exit their homes via pathways and roads which you can't see from this view.

I really enjoyed just watching the ducks and the swans gliding past and imagine it would be a very pleasant and peaceful place to live here.

I followed the pathway out onto the road. 

The road brought me  to the back of the Moby Dick pub. The front of which looks out onto Greenland Dock.

The pub's name alludes to the whaling trade, which also gave the dock itself its present name in the 18th century after it was used to offload whale blubber and oil harvested from the Arctic Ocean.

I left Greenland Dock and walked through Russia Dock Woodland. In 1980 the Russia Dock was filled in and transformed into a park. The dock was originally used for importing timber from Norway, Russia and Sweden.

I walked through the park and came out near the station. From there I walked down Surrey Quays Road.

Built in 1887, this former Superintendent's offices of Surrey docks was restored to its original condition in 1985. The first raid of the Blitz was in London on the 7th September 1940 when the Surrey Docks and this building were set alight. During the night raids in 1940/41 this area was targeted many times. Then again in 1944 a total of 30 V1s and 7 V2s landed in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey destroying much of the area and with a great loss of life. 

Across the road from  the Dock offices is King George's field. It is named in memory of  King George V (1865-1936). A grant of £500 from the King George's Fields Foundation was used in 1938 to create a recreation ground for children next to All Saints Church.

 The church was badly damaged by rocket attacks in WW2 but wasn't demolished until 1960 when the park was  extended and reshaped.

Turning right from Surrey Quays Road I walked down to the roundabout at the end of Lower Road. Turning Left takes you towards London Bridge but if you turn right you come to the Rotherhithe tunnel which takes you beneath the River Thames to Canary Wharf or the A12 out to the East.

The tunnel is one of three road tunnels (Dartford, Blackwall and Rotherhithe) that go under the Thames. This one is unusual as it is a single tunnel for two way traffic. It also has a footpath on either side for pedestrians. I am amazed that anyone would want to walk through this very busy tunnel unless they are wearing an oxygen mask.  

On the other side of the right hand wall of the tunnel is this church. This is the Norwegian Church dedicated to St Olave. During the 19th and 20th century a number of Scandinavians lived in this area as sailors from Norway, Finland and Sweden came over on the ships bringing timber here from these countries and so missions and churches were set up to serve these new communities.

Around the corner from the church is Albion Street. Once a thriving market street, with the closing of the docks in 1970 and the opening of the shopping mall at Canada Water, the area is going through major regeneration. At either end of the street the pubs  have both closed but new shops and businesses are opening.

It was a sunny but cold morning and I decided to visit the Deli Felice for a hot drink.

Here I met the owner, Felice,  who has lived in this area most of his life. Born in Sicily he moved to England at the age of six and he has the most wonderful accent that is a mix of South London and Sicilian. 

His cafe had lots of artwork on the walls as he offers free exhibition space to local artists. I enjoyed my chat with Felice and got the feeling that this cafe played an important role providing a meeting place for  the community.

A little further along the road was another mission/church. Although it doesn't look like one, this is the Finnish church in London. Inside, as well as a place of worship, it also has a cafe and a shop that sells Finnish groceries and delicacies. It also runs a hostel and a genuine Finnish sauna.

I left Albion Street via a small passageway, the Railway Walk, which brought me out at Rotherhithe station. This station was on the old East London Line which opened in 1869. This line used the first tunnel built under the Thames. In fact this tunnel  from Wapping to Rotherhithe was the first tunnel under a navigable river anywhere in the world. It was designed by Marc Isambard Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel was put in charge of operations and at one time nearly lost his life in a flood in the tunnel. The tunnel was designed for horse drawn carriages but they ran out of money before its completion and they couldn't afford to build ramps at the entrance. . The tunnel was eventually opened in 1843 as a foot tunnel but was later sold to the railways and became part of the Underground system in 1865. In 2010 it became part of the London Overground with trains going South to West Croydon and Crystal palace and North to Dalston and Highbury and Islington.

I followed the street adjacent to the station which brought me out at the Brunel Museum. 

The small museum is housed in Brunel's Engine House built by Marc Isambard Brunel as part of the infrastructure for the tunnel. It was constructed between 1825 and 1843 and contained the tunnel shaft and pumping house.

 

This Grade II listed building was once Grice's Granary, a warehouse built around 1780, it was extended during the next two centuries. Some of the wooden beams are 200 years old and were originally parts of ships. Since 1976 the building has been used by the Rotherhithe Picture Research Library and Sands Films Studio. The studio is used by many production companies for filming and recording a wide variety of programmes. The studio also makes film costumes and has produced the costumes for 'Les Misérables', 'Beauty and the Beast' as well as for the opera companies of The Metropolitan in New York and the Royal Opera House in London.

All the buildings along this street back onto the River Thames. This 17th century pub is the Mayflower  named after the ship of that name. The Mayflower left Rotherhithe in July 1620 for Southampton captained by Christopher Jones. It then went on to Plymouth where it sailed across the Atlantic with 102 passengers and a crew of 30. The pilgrims as they were known landed and settled in Massachusetts. Captain Jones returned to Rotherhithe on the Mayflower in 1621. He died lass than a year later and is buried in the church opposite. There is a statue dedicated to him in the churchyard.

Around the ship shaped base of the memorial are the words: To the memory of Christopher Jones 1570-1622, master of the Mayflower. He landed 102 planters & adventurers at Plymouth Massachusetts 21 Dec 1620. They formed the first permanent colony in New England. The statue was paid for by relatives of the Mayflower pilgrims. 

This is the church of St Mary built in 1715 by John James an associate of Sir Christopher Wren. The churchyard contains a number of graves and memorials to sailors and captains who lived and died in Rotherhithe.

Near the church is this early 18th century building which was once the St Mary Rotherhithe Free School. The free school was originally founded by Peter Hills and Robert Bell in 1613 for the education of eight sons of seafarers who lived in the parish. Peter Hills was a sailor who became Master of Trinity House during the reign of Elizabeth I and James I. Hills left  the sum of £3 a year in his will to pay for a school master and another £3 for its upkeep. In the early 18th century the school received a large donation and increased its intake to 65 boys and 50 girls. In 1797 the school moved to this building on St Marychurch Street where two stone statues dressed in the traditional school bluecoats of the day can be seen. In 1836 the girls moved out of the building and were educated at the new St Mary's School close by in Lower road Rotherhithe. This building was extended at the back and by the late 1800s up to 200 boys were educated here. The school was evacuated in 1939. However, the name of Peter Hills and his role in establishing the first free school in the parish of St Mary's, Rotherhithe has not been forgotten. A short distance away is the school 'Peter Hills with St Mary's and St Paul's Church of England Primary School' which opened in 1982.

 The old house cum school has since been converted into offices.

Next to the school building is this small low building known as the 'watch house'. It was used by a watchman or constable whose job was to look out for wrongdoers especially grave robbers or 'Resurrection Men'. These men would rob the graves of fresh corpses to sell for medical research. It was rife in this area due to the proximity of Guys Hospital which needed the bodies for medical research. The watch-house was closed when the Metropolitan Police was formed 1829.

Before returning to Canada Water station I returned to the Thames path which was just a couple of minutes walk away from St Marychurch Street to have a look at the river. You can see the tall Shard building in the distance at London Bridge just two miles away. I hope you have enjoyed exploring this historic area, south of the river, with me.