London Group 4
This London Group is led by Anne Jones. Meetings are indoors or out in London, on the first Wednesday
November Meeting
For our November walk we went from Fenchurch Street Station to Tower Bridge & decided that on another walk we would do the high walkway & engine room but this time carry on walking eastwards towards Rotherhithe. The route did not take us beside the Thames but detoured slightly inland in south Bermondsey, where we passed the Angel Pub which dates from the early 19th century but the original tavern dated from 15th century when it was owned by the Monks of Bermondsey. It still contains a trap door once used by smugglers. Unfortunately it was not open when we passed. Opposite the pub is open ground where a 14th century manor house once stood, built by Edward 3rd & believed to have been lived in by Henry 4th while suffering from leprosy. Past the Angel pub is the leaning tower, a thin 4 story building where the lightermen used to collect their wages.
We had lunch in the Mayflower Public House which is named after the ship the Mayflower which started its journey to America in 1620. The captain was a Rotherhithe
Resident & is buried in St Mary's church.
We next visited the Brunel Museum which consists of the Engine House & the Pump House & was opened in 1975. In 1824, Marc Brunel began constructing the first tunnel in the world to be built under a navigable river, it ran between Rotherhithe & Wapping & was completed in 1843. The Pump House played a vital role in preventing the tunnel from flooding, but the tunnel was never successful as it was only accessible on foot & was full of squalid stalls selling their goods. In 1864 it was taken over by a consortium of Railway Companies & is now part of the East London line, trains can be heard passing underneath when in the Shaft. The shaft of the pump house has a 42 foot high chamber & an elegant staircase to enter it & has been converted into an acoustically sealed multi use venue for weddings, concerts etc. After this we unfortunately forgot to visit St Marys Church as we didn't pass it & continued walking back to Fenchurch street station.
Photos of inside of the Angel Pub, the Mayflower Pub, Brunel museum.
Click on a picture below to see it full-size with more details.
