Wapping is the part of London where we live and we absolutely love it! When the weather is nice, I have a walk I like to do. It is about a 2 mile walk and I get to see a lot of interesting things.
One of the first things I come to is the Prospect of Whitby (my book club meets here every 3-4 weeks). It is one of our local pubs (and our favourite). It is the oldest pub on the River Thames... opened in 1520 when Henry VIII was king. When it opened it was called the Pelican. Because of the dodgy area with sailors, thieves, pirates, etc., it was known as the 'devils tavern'.
Across the street from the Prospect is Shadwell Basin. I've seen school kids taking sailing and kayaking classes out here.
The draw bridge that used to let boats into the basin.... not your typical draw bridge.
Another view of the basin.... some of the best blackberries are along the path around the basin.
Wapping's 1 white duck....
Wapping Woods
The Shard... the tallest building in all Europe! When Buck was here we went up to the top! 72nd floor gives quite a view of London!! (& the window washers were out the day we went up... not a job I would like!)
This canal runs along Tobacco Docks. Ships use to come into these canals and unload their goods into warehouses along here.
One of our 5 swans....
A pair of our Canadian geese... we also have Egyptian geese (not as pretty sorry to say)
Another view of the canal...
Daddy Coot helping to feed their babies.... aren't the cute!!
Goose
This is Raine's School... a wealthy man founded the school in 1719. There were 50 boys and 50 girls. Each year 2 girls' names were drawn and they each received a dowry of 100GBP. That was enough to buy a house in Wapping... not any more!
This is part of St. John's Church. The church was bombed during the blitz and the only thing that remained was the steeple. Wings were later built on and converted into apartments.
This is the gardens across from the old church and the school. St. John's church was originally here but the ground was marshy and not stable so the church started to sink. The old tombstones from the church yard now line the walls of the garden.
When the docks and warehouses were in use, the bridges connected buildings so goods could be easily moved for storage. Some of the buildings had cranes that would hoist goods up from the street level to different floors.
This.... is where the the local Maine police work on their boats. Not a lot of people like this building because of it's 'modern' look.
The Marine Police dock... In 1798 the Marine police were established here. It was the first regular police force in the world! This police force was called in during the Ratcliff Murders (unsolved murders in Wapping 80 years before Jack the Ripper) and also during Jack the Ripper murders.
This is Captain Kidd named after the Scottish sailor turned pirate. He was hung in Wapping (among many, many others!) There was some debate about the naming of this pub because although Captain Kidd was hung nearby, Captain Cook frequented the area more. Captain Cook's father-in-law ran a public house in this area (so I've been told).
This building and the one next to it are the only buildings still used a warehouses....You can sort of make out the cranes on the side of the building.
You see the archway to the left? The opening of the Elephant Man was filmed along there. The Elephant Man was treated at the Royal Hospital in Whitechapel which is just north of Wapping (& Jack the Rippers major haunt).
This is our street - Wapping High Street. The Overground station is just on the right and our apartment is just after it.... The Overground actually goes under the River Thames and was the first tunnel to go under the river (150 years ago...)
We really love Wapping! We are 1 mile from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge but we have a great little community here. We have our own butcher, baker, veg shop, post office & coffee shop... The history in just this area is amazing! Gulliver travelled from here; Captain Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty) lived here and 4 of his 5 daughters were baptised here; John Newton was born here in 1725 (he wrote Amazing Grace); Dickens frequented here and some of his inspiration for his books and stories came from here; Samuel Pepys (an English naval administrator and a Member of Parliament) first visited Wapping in 1661; James McNeill Whistler (painter) visited here; several actors and rock stars have and do live in the area; among many others....
I hope you enjoyed the tour of Wapping!
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