is a
Peninsula on the south bank of the
Thames in South East
London in the
London Borough Of Southwark , part of the
Docklands , facing
Wapping and the
Isle Of Dogs on the north bank. It has been a port since the
12th Century or earlier, and a shipyard since
Elizabethan times. It was the site from which the
Mayflower set off on its journey to carry the
Pilgrim Fathers to
Virginia in
1620 . The ship's captain, Christopher Jones, lived in Rotherhithe and was buried there in
1622 .
The name "Rotherhithe" derives from the
Old English ''hryther hyth'', meaning "Landing-place for cattle". The first recorded use of this name is circa
1105 , as ''Rederheia'' (A.D.Mills, ''Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names'', ISBN 0-19-282131-3).
Because much of Rotherhithe was covered by the now-defunct
Surrey Commercial Docks , the district is often referred to as ''Surrey Docks'' or (since the late
1980s ) ''
Surrey Quays '', though the latter name tends to be used more for the southern half of the peninsula. Its central part, a redeveloped area on the site of the former docks, is often called "Downtown". In the past Rotherhithe has also been known as the cognate "Redriff". It is part of the SE16 postal district. Electorally, the western half is Rotherhithe ward and the eastern half Surrey Docks ward.
Redriff was the fictional birthplace of
Jonathan Swift 's character Lemuel Gulliver, of ''
Gulliver's Travels '' fame, and where his family waited for him.
Rotherhithe is joined to the north bank of the Thames by three tunnels. The
Thames Tunnel to
Wapping was the first underwater tunnel in the world, built by the
Brunel s as a pedestrian tunnel. It is now occupied by the
East London Line of the
London Underground . The later
Rotherhithe Tunnel (opened
1908 ) carries a two-lane road to
Limehouse . The
Jubilee Line extension (opened
1999 ) has a railway tunnel to
Canary Wharf in the
Isle Of Dogs .
Although the docks were closed and largely filled in during the 1980s, and have now been replaced by modern housing and commercial facilities, Rotherhithe is still dominated by its former maritime heritage. The largest surviving dock on the south bank,
Greenland Dock , is the focal point for the southern part of the district, while preserved wharves dominate the riverside at the north end of Rotherhithe.
St. Mary's Church dominates the old town centre, a short distance from the historic
Brunel Engine House at the south end of the Thames Tunnel.
Because much of the former , mostly linked closely to the churches. Some of the redeveloped areas were also build by
Nordic architects, such as the Greenland Passage development by Danish Company Kjaer & Richter
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The relationship with Scandinavia and the Baltic is also reflected in the names of some of the buildings (such as the
King Frederik IX Tower), the street names (e.g. Sweden Quay, Norway Gate, Helsinki Square) or other place names (e.g.
Greenland Dock ). Another major influence factor was trade with
Russia and
Canada (mainly timber), reflected in names such as
Canada Water and the
Russia Dock Woodland.
Rotherhithe is the traditional home of the
Football team,
Fisher Athletic F.C. , although the team currently groundshares in
Dulwich Hamlet .
- Docklands Hilton (Hilton to Canary Wharf Ferry)
- Greenland Dock (Commuter Service)
