This London Walk began at Bermondsey Underground Station. Shortly before the start time, everyone appeared including the guide. The first thing she did was to make us cross Jamaica Road and take a path to Janeway Street and Wilson Grove, to view the social housing built in the 1920s. The impetus for this came from Doctor Alfred Salter and his wife Ada. Dr. Salter worked at Guy’s Hospital and used to bicycle to and from work through this area of Bermondsey, which was very deprived. And so he somehow got funding to create a cottage home for every family. There are 54 houses in all, and they still look charming, and are quite different from the blocks of flats that surround them. Dr. Salter became a Labour politician and his wife Ada was a great support to his work to help the poor people of Bermondsey.
We continued along Wilson Grove to the river, to the so-called Bermondsey Walls, which are just a shelf of land that acts as a buffer between the river and the residential areas. Passing Bevington Street (an unsigned Rope Walk), we progressed west to the River Neckinger, which we crossed via a new steel bridge. We were now on a road called Shad Thames (thought to be derived from St John, as the St John’s Hospitalers were active in this region in the Middle Ages.) On one side of the Neckinger were the China Wharf and the New Concordia Wharf. On the other side was the Butler Wharf. Because these wharves were so near the Pool of London (just beyond Tower Bridge) all the expensive stuff like china, tea and spices were off-loaded here.
At some point we turned left, away from the River Thames and onto Tooley Street, and then we used Tower Bridge Road to go under the many arches of the train tracks. (Tower Bridge was built in 1894 to free up the traffic congestion caused by the fact that London Bridge was closed during the night.) Then we turned right onto Tanner Street and that took us to Bermondsey Street. Turning left would have taken us to St. Mary’s Church Bermondsey, but as it was closed all the time, we turned right instead. We detoured into Leathermarket Gardens, where there were some fine views of The Shard and other high rises, before coming back to Bermondsey Street.
What does the name Bermondsey mean? According to the guide, Bermond is the name of a person who lived here in the 500s, in the hundred years or so after the fall of the Roman Empire in England. Sey means higher ground. My maternal grandfather came from this area, on the wrong side of the river, which is why I’d chosen this particular walk. In the Middle Ages there was an enormous structure in this area ~ Bermondsey Abbey ~ where Queen Elisabeth Woodville spent her declining years after the death of her husband King Edward IV and the murders of her two boys, the Little Princes in the Tower. (She is said to have chosen Bermondsey Abbey because it had views of the Tower of London.)
Although this walk will not bring you any beautiful views, being a rather grimy corner of London filled with ugly buildings, nevertheless it is extremely interesting. If you are visiting London and want to get off the tourist track, this is the walk for you.
If you are visiting London and would like to go on a guided walk, I can highly recommend London Walks. To find them, point your browser to https://www.walks.com/.
