Beginning with narrow post-industrial back alleys and ending at the green pastures of Surrey Docks Farm, Rotherhithe Street is London’s longest street. But people might also be surpised by the depth of its history.
St Mary’s Church
Rotherhithe Street begins as a narrow pedestrian backstreet on the Thames’ southern bank, just north of the Rotherhithe tunnel. The first notable stop is St Mary’s, a church built in the 18th century.
The four pillars holding the roof look as if they are stone, but are actually formed from old ships’ wooden masts which have been covered in plaster.
It is the burial place of Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower Ship, which sailed the Pilgrim Fathers from Rotherhithe to the New World in the Autumn of 1620.
Boo Lee, a Palau prince who arrived in England in 1784, was one of the first Pacific Islanders to travel here. He sadly died from smallpox six months after arriving in London and is also buried here.
The Charity School
The church also sits alongside the old ‘Charity School’. Founded in 1612, by Master Mariner Peter Hills and the seafarer Robert Bell, its original aim was the educate the eight sons of sailors from the parish.
Generous donations allowed it to expand and by 1836 it had 150 boys in attendance all of whom were clothed as part of the school’s charitable status and taught about the Christian faith.
The old building was Grade-II listed in 1949 and has since been converted into offices but it still bears the same distinctive doorbell from its school days, as well as a carved plaque reminding passers-by of its origins.
Two stone statues of Charity School children wearing their bluecoats still guard the entrance to the building. And of course further along the Rotherhithe Peninsular is a modern day primary school called Peter Hills.
- READ MORE: Free schools are actually rather ‘old school’ in Rotherhithe – published in 2015
The Mayflower pub
Opposite the church is The Mayflower pub, which sits at the place where its name-sake vessel set sail 400 years ago. Established in 1550, it claims to be the oldest pub built on the Thames’ banks.
Legend has it that it was actually built on top of the rotting timbers of the Mayflower which was left to decay in the bank’s mud. Inside, you’ll find dark timber beams and low ceilings reminiscent of a bygone era.
The pub was rebuilt as the Spread Eagle and Crown in 1780 and renamed as The Mayflower in 1957.
Anyone visiting the pub who can claim direct descent from one of the Pilgrim fathers is welcome to sign the ‘Descendants Book’. Indeed, so strong is the Mayflower’s connections to the States that it is the only pub in the UK that is licensed to sell US postage stamps.
- READ MORE: The Mayflower got a Southwark Blue Plaque – published in 2017
The Brunel Museum
Just a few metres down the road, on the right, is the Brunel Museum, based at the Brunel Engine House.
The museum is named after the famous French-British engineer Marc Isambard Brunel, and tells the story of the Britain’s greatest engineering family.
The pair constructed the Thames Tunnel. Completed in 1843, it was a convenient pedestrian thoroughfare for working people, but also gained a murky reputation for criminality and vice.
In 1865, the East London Railway Company bought the tunnel to link passengers and goods between Liverpool Street and the South London Line.
Today, those taking the overground train from Wapping to Rotherhithe are actually passing through the tunnel.
- READ MORE: Prostitutes, corpses and ‘vampire shopkeepers’ – the sordid history of Brunel’s tunnel – published in 2015
The Bascule Bridge
Continue eastwards and you will reach the bascule bridge which crosses Surrey Water.
Built around 1930, it would raise like a drawbridge to allow ships to pass through.
Its design is very similar to that of Tower Bridge, albeit much smaller and with only one raising ‘leave’ as opposed to two. ‘Bascule’ is French for seesaw and refers to the bridge’s distinctive raising mechanism, prized for its simplicity and low energy usage.
Nelson House
Walk on past the Blacksmith’s Arms and you’ll stumble across Nelson House, a Georgian building constructed in the 1740s.
The Grade-II listed building was occupied by numerous shipbuilders – most notably John Randall who built multiple ships for the East India Company and 50 naval ships.
John Randall is believed to have committed suicide by throwing himself from one of the building’s windows. The house only got its contemporary name in the 19th century, after the Battle of Trafalgar, which saw Horatio Nelson triumph over the combined French and Spanish fleets during the Napoleonic Wars.
Surrey Docks Farm
At the very end of Rotherhithe Street is Surrey Dock, a working city farm and charity established in 1986.
It’s home to pigs, goats, sheep, donkeys, poultry and more. It narrowly escaped closure during the coronavirus pandemic.
- READ MORE: Surrey Docks Farm blue plaque unveiled after public vote – published in 2017