Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on the south bank of a bend in the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the east. It borders Bermondsey to the west and Deptford to the south-east. The district is a part of the Docklands area.
Rotherhithe has a long history as a port, with Elizabethan shipyards and working docks until the 1970s. In the 1980s, the area along the river was redeveloped as housing through a mix of warehouse conversions and new-build developments. The Jubilee line was extended to the area in 1999, giving fast connections to the West End and to Canary Wharf; the East London underground line was converted to part of the London Overground network in 2010, which provides easy access to the City of London. As a result, Rotherhithe is now a gentrifying residential and commuter area, with urban regeneration progressing around Deal Porter Square at Canada Water; a new town centre with restaurant and retail units, as well as new residential developments, is emerging here around the existing freshwater dock and transport hub.
Rotherhithe is east of London's centre point at Charing Cross.
Etymology The name "Rotherhithe" is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon Hrȳðer-hȳð, meaning "landing-place for cattle".A Dictionary of British Place-Names, A.D. Mills Rotherhithe, Oxford University Press, 2003, The first recorded use of this name was in about 1105, as Rederheia. In the past Rotherhithe was also pronounced and written as Redriff(e).BBC London, A Thames Tour of RotherhitheJohn Wells’s phonetic blog, Redriff, 31 October 2007
Description
The docks were closed and largely filled in during the 1980s, and have now been replaced by modern housing and commercial facilities, but Rotherhithe retains much of its character and its maritime heritage. The largest surviving dock on the south bank, Greenland Dock, is the focal point for the southern part of the district, while there are many preserved wharves along the riverside at the north end of Rotherhithe. St. Mary's Church is at the centre of the old Rotherhithe village, which contains various historic buildings including the Brunel Engine House at the south end of the Thames Tunnel.
Canada Dock was the dock basin furthest away from the River Thames in the Surrey Docks complex, and it was linked to Albion Dock and Greenland Dock at its northern and south-eastern extremities via the Albion Canal. The dock has been remodelled, and its northwest half retained as an ornamental lake, renamed Canada Water. The canal has remained as a walkway and water feature within the redeveloped area.
Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority have announced a significant regeneration project focused on Canada Water and Rotherhithe. Known as the 'Canada Water Masterplan', the project has proposed the development of an additional 3,500 homes, as well as a new high street, town square, parks, leisure centre and footpath links. The landmark Tesco store will also be relocated.Canada Water Masterplan Exhibition handout The project would be developed in multiple phases over the coming 15 to 20 years. Some local community groups oppose the plan based on environmental and cost considerations.Canada Water West Action Group
Rotherhithe is the home of the football team Fisher F.C. and Ballers Football Academy, who train & play fixtures at St Pauls Stadium. The Championship team Millwall Football Club is nearby in the London Borough of Lewisham.
The sustainable transport charity Sustrans has proposed the construction of a bicycle and pedestrian swing bridge from Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf, and cost-benefit and feasibility studies were undertaken. In January 2009 the London Mayor Boris Johnson said he would not fund the bridge, citing budget cuts due to the credit crunch, with the result that the project was effectively put on ice. However the idea is still being supported by Sustrans.
There are two Anglican churches in Rotherhithe: St. Mary's Church, St Marychurch Street, SE16 4JE and Holy Trinity Church, Rotherhithe. Bryan Road, SE16 5HF There are two Roman Catholic churches: St Peter and the Guardian Angels, 72 Paradise St, SE16 4QD and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. St. Elmos Road, SE16 6SJ
King's Stairs Gardens King's Stairs Gardens is a small park on the river towards the Bermondsey boundary. In September 2011 Thames Water announced that they wanted to build an access shaft for the "super-sewer" Thames Tideway Tunnel. Due to local action by The Save King's Stairs Gardens Campaign, which collected over 5000 signatures, Thames Water decided to build the access shaft in Chambers Wharf instead.Tideway – Chambers Wharf
Local landmarks and history
The Mayflower TRA Hall now occupies the site of the old Rotherhithe Town Hall. The building ceased to be a town hall in 1905 when the former Rotherhithe Council merged with the old Bermondsey Borough Council and the new council used premises in Spa Road. The old Rotherhithe Town Hall became a library and a museum. It was razed to the ground by repeated bomb hits and near misses during the Second World War (see below).
Rotherhithe had its own general hospital, St Olave's Hospital, on Lower Road close to the old town hall. Built originally in the early 1870s on land adjoining Rotherhithe Workhouse, it became the infirmary of St Olave's Union in 1875, and was renamed St Olave's Hospital in 1930. Subsequently, becoming part of the Guy's Hospital Teaching Group in 1966, it closed in 1985 and the site has been redeveloped into the residential Ann Moss Way.
The Terriss Theatre (named after the actor, William Terriss) opened in 1899 and was later renamed the Rotherhithe Hippodrome of Varieties. It stood on Lower Road by Culling Road. It was bombed in the 1940s and stood empty until demolition in 1955.
When the roundabout facing the Rotherhithe Tunnel was redeveloped in the early 1980s, several 19th-century buildings were demolished including a school and a nunnery. A public house, the "Europa", described in an early 20th-century history of the area as one its oldest, was also demolished.
The Daily Mail and Evening Standard newspapers were printed at Harmsworth Quays in Rotherhithe from 1989 to 2012. The building became the Printworks events venue until its demolition in 2024.
On 1 April 1904 the civil parish was abolished and merged with Bermondsey. At the 1901 census (the last before the abolition of the parish), Rotherhithe had a population of 38,460.
Ecclesiastical parish
The ancient parish, dedicated to St Mary, was in the Diocese of Winchester until 1877, then the Diocese of Rochester until 1905, and then finally in the Diocese of Southwark. From 1840, as the population of Rotherhithe increased, a number of new parishes were formed:
Christ Church, Rotherhithe in 1840 All Saints, Rotherhithe in 1842 Holy Trinity, Rotherhithe in 1842 St Barnabas, Rotherhithe in 1873
In addition, as the population of neighbouring Deptford increased, parts of Rotherhithe parish were included in the new parish of: St Katherine, Rotherhithe in 1886 with parts of St James, Hatcham
Nordic connection
Because much of the former Surrey Docks had strong trade links to Scandinavia and the Baltic region, the area is still home to a thriving Scandinavian community. During World War II, in fact, it housed the Norwegian Government-in-Exile. Originally established as seafarers' missions, Rotherhithe is home to a Norwegian,Norwegian Church and Seamen's Mission, St Olav's Church accessed 4 July 2007 a FinnishThe Finnish Church in London accessed 4 July 2007 and a SwedishThe Swedish Church in London accessed 4 July 2007 church. The Finnish Church and the Norwegian Church are both in Albion Street; they were built in 1958 and 1927 respectively (Rotherhithe Library is between them). There are also a number of "community centres" for the Nordic community in London, including hostels, shops and cafés and even a sauna, mostly linked closely to the churches.
Some of the redeveloped areas were built by Nordic architects, such as the Greenland Passage developmentGreenland Passage development accessed 4 July 2007 by Danish Company Kjær & Richter. This gives some areas a distinctly "Nordic" feel in terms of house and street design.
The relationship with Scandinavia and the Baltic is also reflected in the names of some of the buildings (such as the King Frederik IX Tower), the street names (e.g. Finland Street, Sweden Gate, Baltic Quay, Norway Gate, Helsinki Square) or other place names (e.g. Greenland Dock). Another major influence factor was trade with Russia and Canada (mainly timber), reflected in names such as Canada WaterCanada Water Campaign and Canada Water Consultative Forum accessed 4 July 2007 and the Russia Dock Woodland.
Other connections Rotherhithe is also a popular place to live with South Africans, according to the UK census of 2011, and there was a South African themed pub at 351 Rotherhithe Street.
The Mayflower In July 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Rotherhithe and picked up 65 passengers, probably from Blackwall, then proceeded to Southampton on the south coast of England to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage to America. At that time, the English Separatists, who later became known as the "Pilgrim Fathers", were mostly still living in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. There they hired a ship called the Speedwell to take them from Delfshaven in the Netherlands to Southampton to join the Mayflower.Archived copy www.mayflower.com Route and Maps of the Voyage
The ship's master, Christopher Jones, died shortly after his return in 1621 and is buried in an unmarked grave at St Mary's Church. No one can be sure where on the Rotherhithe peninsula the Mayflower was berthed, but research by Graham Taylor shows that the inlet at Earl's Sluice is the likeliest place. The Mayflower pub, despite external and interior appearances, dates only from the 1950s. The extent to which the pub was damaged during the Second World War, and was rebuilt or simply restored, is uncertain.
China Hall
On Lower Road, about halfway between Surrey Quays and Canada Water stations, there was a public house called the China Hall; at one time it was the entrance to a riparian playhouse visited by Samuel Pepys and mentioned in his diary. It is not known how long the theatre remained on the site, but it was reinvigorated in 1777 and George Frederick Cooke acted there the following year. In the winter of 1779, it was destroyed in fire. The site of the theatre became a well-known tea-gardens, with the "usual arbours and 'boxes'" during the Victorian period, but by the 1920s, most of the gardens had been absorbed into the Surrey Commercial Docks as part of a timber yard.
Second World War Like the rest of the London Docks, the Surrey Commercial Docks were targeted by the Luftwaffe. On 7 September 1940, on the first day of the London Blitz, the deal yards of Surrey Docks were set ablaze. The raid ignited over a million tonnes of timber in Quebec Yard, causing the most intense single fire ever seen in Britain.
The bombing of the old Rotherhithe Town Hall during the Second World War gives an indication of how heavy the bombing in Rotherhithe was. The first damage to the building occurred when Luftwaffe bombs landed nearby in April 1941, and there was more bomb damage in February and June 1944. Later the same month (June 1944) the Town Hall was severely damaged by a direct hit from a V1 doodlebug. In November 1944 it was further damaged by near misses, and was finally destroyed by one of the last V1s to land on London.