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LONDON 1st – 3rd April 2005 |
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An exploration of some of the older parts of London’s rich industrial history with guided walks linked by travel on the Underground, by river bus and on the Docklands Light Railway. |
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We will start our visit to London, on Friday afternoon, with a journey east to Spitalfields, just outside the City of London. Spitalfields, despite the approach of high-tech city offices, remains surprisingly unchanged. In the 17th century, the Huguenot silk weavers arrived. In the later part of the 19th century, there was a flood of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe, while in the 20th century, there was wave of Bangladeshi workers. Each of these cultures has left its mark on the area. Still to be seen are attic workshops, the buildings where George Scammell set up his early cast and carriage works, the improved dwellings for workers and Spitalfields Market itself. This was once threatened with demolition but is now home to a thriving alternative market. To the north lie the remains of the Eagle Brewery established in Brick Lane by the Quaker Truman family in the 17th century. Close by is the Boundary Estate, an urban renewal scheme of the 1890s developed by the new London County Council. Even today the quality of the architecture, as well as the materials used, shines through. |
Notice on Scammell's Works (c) Sue Hayton, 2005 |
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Tower Bridge from the River (c) Sue Hayton, 2005 |
On Saturday morning, we will take a river bus from the centre of town to Greenwich, passing many historic buildings and bridges. We will be able to have an unusual view of the underside of Tower Bridge as well as the entrance to some of the old docks. Greenwich was the birthplace of Henry VIII and the haunt of Samuel Pepys among others. Today, it is best known as the home of the Meridian as well as the National Maritime Museum and Observatory. We will investigate some of the forgotten corners of this riverside town such as the trinity Almshouses, almost hidden under the shadow of the mighty LT electricity generating station. We will also find evidence of the work of Joseph Bazalgette, a sewage pumping station on the banks of the River Ravensbourne at Deptford Creek. From there, we can also admire the end of the London & Greenwich Railway of 1836, London’s first passenger steam railway. Nor will we neglect Greenwich’s riverside taverns where people like Dickens would have enjoyed a white bait supper. |
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For our Saturday afternoon walk, we will take the Docklands Light Railway which runs in one of the newest tunnels under the Thames. We will take time to explore some of the older buildings close to Canary Wharf associated with the West India Docks. Our afternoon will finish at the new Museum in Docklands which tells the story of the London Docks as well as its thousands of dock workers. It is housed in 19th century warehouses, some of the few original docks’ buildings remaining in this part of the Isle of Dogs. Sunday morning will see us following the route of the Metropolitan Line, the world’s first underground railway, from Smithfield to Paddington, on foot as well as on the Undergound. We will stop to admire some of the sites along the way including the work on the new Eurostar terminus at St Pancras and some of the other termini, like Baker Street and Marylebone, where we will seek out the older remains. |
The new roof at St Pancras Station (c) Sue Hayton, 2005 |
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City Safaris are organised by Heritage of Industry Ltd, 80 Udimore Road, Rye, Sussex, TN31 7DY
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