Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SCANDINAVIAN SEAMEN'S MISSIONS
One of the more unusual legacies of Rotherhithe's seafaring past is the trio of Scandinavian
seamen's missions - a reminder of the former dominance of the timber trade in the nearby
Surrey Docks - which survive to the south of the tube station, around Albion Street. The most
prominent is the
Norwegian Seamen's Church
, by the approach road to the Rotherhithe
Tunnel, which flies the Norwegian flag and features a longboat atop its weather vane. Albion
Street itself still has a Scandinavian bent - even the nearby public toilets are bilingual - and
further down you'll find the well-maintained
Finnish Seamen's Mission
, built in modernist
style in 1958, with a freestanding belfry that looks more like a fire-station practice tower. The
Swedish Seamen's Church
(complete with hostel), further south at 120 Lower Rd, completes
the trio but is architecturally undistinguished.
to 80ft high by porters nicknamed “Flying Blondins” (after the tightrope walker),
who wore distinctive leather pads on their heads and shoulders to protect them from
splinters. The docks took a pounding in the Blitz, and on one particular occasion,
350,000 tons of timber were set ablaze in one of the largest fires ever seen in Britain.
Rotherhithe Street
Rotherhithe Street
, which hugs the riverbank, is the longest street in London at
around a mile and a half. It's mainly residential, a mixture of new Docklands
developments and council housing, but the
Thames Path
, which runs parallel to it
for most of the way, is pleasant enough to walk or cycle along, with great views over
to Limehouse and Canary Wharf.
Halfway along the street, you can learn more about the area's history at the
Pumphouse Museum
(Mon-Fri 10am-4pm; free;
T
020 7231 2976,
W
16
thepumphouse.org.uk; bus #C10 from
!
Canada Water or Rotherhithe),
housed in an old pumphouse on Lavender Road. Further along, you can catch a
boat back into town or on to Greenwich, from the Nelson Dock Pier beside the
Hilton
hotel. If you've time to kill, check out the three-masted schooner (now a
restaurant) built in the 1950s as a training ship for the French navy, and nearby
Nelson House
, a beautiful Georgian house built for one of the wealthy owners of
Nelson Dock.
