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Canada Water — Architecture & Industry On the 19th August, Jackie Husain took us for a walk to see the old and new architecture of Docklands. The name Canada Water comes from a small freshwater lake, fed by a borehole sunk during the construction of the Jubilee Line. After meeting at Canada Water Library we set off through the Surrey Quays Housing Estate. On the waterway running through the estate, we examined the preserved remains of the Scherzer Lifting Bridge. This was moved here from Deptford Creek in 1959 and would have rolled like a rocking chair to allow ships access between the Greenland and Canada docks. Near the attractive Mayflower pub (formerly the Spread Eagle, built c.1790, renamed 1957) we paused to admire the fanciful statue of a 17th century Pilgrim, looking with astonishment at a boy reading a 1930s newspaper with stories of the Mayflower and the USA. Christopher Jones, Captain of the Mayflower, who died in 1622, is buried in nearby St Mary's churchyard. We followed the Thames path on towards Rotherhithe, passing the surviving foundations of Edward III's 14th century palace. The name Rotherhithe is Saxon, meaning "mariners' landing place", indicating how long this area has been home to seafarers and shipbuilders. At around two miles long, Rotherhithe Street is said to be the longest in London, and follows the line of the old river wall, built to contain flooding from the Thames. From the Thames path, looking west, we could see the City on the north side of the river (St Helen's Undershaft is the little black box to the left of the Gherkin). We turned inland and made our way through Grade II listed Southwark Park back towards Surrey Quays station. |
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Chris Hall Website Manager Chroydon Chronicle Aviva Fellowship Croydon Area | CLICK HERE to see the detailed route of this walk on the website of Southwark Council, which has a library of South London walking maps |
Welcome to the online Newsletter of the Croydon Fellowship Area.