London Bridge, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe walk

Saturday 22nd March, and Twelve of us met at London Bridge Station for Claire’s walk from there to Rotherhithe.  The day was pleasant enough – a decent amount of sunshine, not too cold, and the possibly stormy showers threatened for later in the afternoon didn’t get us.

Almost always if I have walked in these parts – being south of the Thames and therefore alien territory – it has been along the riverside path, but Claire’s walk – in the main – was different. We turned right off Tooley Street into Bermondsey Street where the decent amount of sunshine was quickly occluded by a long and dark tunnel under the railway lines serving London Bridge Station. This reminded me of the sort of location that is often used in London-based evil-crime dramas.

The workshop and studio of Peter Layton, London Glassblowing,Emerging from the darkness, we soon reached the premises of Peter Layton, London Glassblowing, where we were warmly welcomed by the reception staff. The gallery displays beautiful and expensive examples of their work, so there was a reasonable request that we take off any rucksacks as we walked around. As well as appreciating the completed works, you can stand and watch the process itself at the workshop and furnaces at the rear of the premises. Chatting to one of the staff, I asked if I might take photographs of the gallery, and indeed of her, using her wonderfully decorated eyes as an excuse. She seemed pleased to assent to this, and gave permission to publish the photograph on our website.

Moving on – well, we almost didn’t. There was considerable discussion as to where we might pause for that light refreshment that is often referred to as ‘coffee’, but may well alternatively be tea or something else, and a tiny-looking ‘Chapter 72 Low-key stop for coffee and baked goods’ shop enticed some of the group inside. Meanwhile, I investigated a narrow cobbled alleyway – Carmarthen Place - immediately alongside. This would once have been a passage-way through the rows of houses to the fields beyond, but now leads to a 1930’s estate.

Grange Walk, the Charity School for Girls and early 19th century terraced housesWhen the coffee-imbibers had imbibed, we continued our perambulation, passing Morocco Street on our right, then Tanner Street and Tanner Street Park on our left. These street names are reminders of the tanning industry that was prevalent in these parts, processing leather from the 18th to the early 20th century.

Further on, we passed St Mary Magdalen, a Grade II* listed late 17th century church, behind and alongside which is its graveyard and associated watch house. Watch houses were a shelter for men guarding the graveyard from grave robbers, but this one is now a cafe. We do have a watch-building at St Mary’s in Wanstead, but the Wanstead one is more of a sentry box than a house. You can see reference to it in a walk we did in Wanstead back in 2011 here.

1836 Railway Viaduct tunnel in Abbey StreetWe crossed Abbey Street into Bermondsey Square. Although Abbey Street is a bit of a giveaway, there wasn’t anything I could see of an abbey. It has gone. Nearby, though, as we walked down Grange Walk, there are some late seventeenth century houses and on the wall of one of them are two large hinges – convincing evidence of the gates of an abbey for an abbeyologist, I am sure. The rest of the street includes a former girls' charity school – which has the words “Bermondsey Vnited Charity School for Girls” and “Erected A.D. 1830” inscribed in stone – and a nice terrace of early 19th century brick 2-storey houses.

Riverside edge of the Tideway Project at Chambers WharfWe turned left from Grange Walk into the road called The Grange, on both sides of which are much more modern maisonettes, fronted by grass lawns which were brightened by Sweet Violets and Speedwells, and further on lots of Daffodils and a variety of flowering cherry trees. The Grange related to the farm house of the abbey, and we turned right into Abbey Street again, the street which once connected the abbey to the river. That is the Thames river, of cours, but alongside the road ran the small Neckinger River. This is one of those so-called ‘lost’ rivers, as it flows underground now from somewhere in Southwark to the Thames, where it is still visible at Saviour’s Wharf. The strange-sounding name might derive from the term "devil's neckcloth", a slang term for the hangman's noose. In the 17th century, convicted pirates were hanged by the neck by the wharf at the Neckinger’s confluence with the Thames.

Ten of the group by the Thames. Another is hiding and another behind the cameraWe walked through another of those somewhat eerie road tunnels, the railway viaduct above supported by two rows of fluted blue-painted doric columns, twelve each side of the roadway. As there were twelve of us, that is a column each, which could hve made a photograph. However - as was so often the case on this walk - we were too spread out to get into formation, and anyway, who would have taken the photograph? A blue plaque commemorates that this Grade II listed bridge is one of two surviving bridges which supported London's first passenger railway line, the London & Greenwich Railway. The bridge was completed in 1836.

We crossed Jamaica Road and walked along George Row, at the end of which is Jacob Street, recalling Jacob’s Island, once an area of slums and notoriety and the site of Bill Sykes's death in Dickens's 'Oliver Twist'.

Turning right into Chambers Street, we passed the hoardings protecting the Chambers Wharf site of the Tideway East Project. Tideway East is the project that has built a 25Km ‘Super Sewer’ from Acton to Abbey Mills (Stratford), where it connects with the Lee Tunnel to carry waste to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. It opened operationally on March 28th this year (2025).

Ada Salter statue, and some EFOG members reading about the SaltersAfter passing the construction site, we were able to access the Thames riverbank by way of Bevington Street and Fountain Green Square, opposite which is the Old Justice pub. This pub is in 1930’s ‘Tudor’ style, and a blue plaque commemorates it as the location in Paul McCartney’s film "Give My Returns to Broad Street" and for the music video to his hit single "No More Lonely Nights".

We followed the Thames Path from here, which like much of the Thames Path in the London area is a bit on and off as far as being a Thames-SIDE path is concerned. Just before The Angel pub, which provided us with a stop and a few drinks, there is a waterside platform with statues commemorating Dr Alfred Salter, his wife Ada, their daughter Joyce and their cat, whose name I don’t know. After working as a physician at Guy’s Hospital, in 1898 he moved to the deprived area of Bermondsey where he set up a medical practice. He offered free medical services to those who could not afford to pay, and offered what has been described as an ‘NHS before the NHS’. Near this point would have been where the view of "The Fighting Temeraire" - the painting by Turner - was painted, as the ship was on her way to be broken up at Rotherhithe.

The Angel PubAfter an unplanned stop-off at The Angel, we continued along the roadways parallel to the Thames, eventually to reach and visit St. Mary’s Church, Rotherhithe. The small playground adjacent to the churchyard reminded me of a previous EFOG visit to this area, when I photographed Ken on the slide, and we visited the nearby Brunel Museum. That walk is described here. Inside the church, two throne-like chairs are part of what is left of The Fighting Temeraire herself, having been made from its timbers.

Not far along Saint Marychurch Street (I wonder how it got that name?) we crossed a somewhat complex intersection of roads and foot and cycle-paths by the entrance to the Rotherhithe road tunnel, and went into St Olav’s Norwegian Church, where we had tea or coffee and waffles, prepared and served to us by Norwegians. This was a restful and pleasant near-end to our walk, and from there we walked the short distance to Rotherhithe Station, caught a train to Whitechapel, another to Stratford, and went our separate ways home.

Thanks to Claire for leading an interesting walk.

Paul Ferris, 28th March 2025.