By Caroline Powell
We’ve been working recently for a well-known company, creating a walk from Tobacco Dock to the Tower of London. The company wanted a really entertaining and informative way to finish their daylong conference and asked us provide a walk taking in the wonderful rich history of the Wapping area. This is just the sort of challenge the whole team relish, and we have all done plenty of research to produce a fascinating walk, packed with history and amusing anecdotes. We will put on our calendar in due course so anyone will be able to book it.
Tobacco Dock is a great place to start the walk. Its fantastically atmospheric 19th century buildings still retain a sense of the former glory of the London Docklands.
Sadly, or perhaps not so sadly, the effort to turn it into the eastern Covent Garden equivalent failed in recent years, so the building is now used for events and conferences and can be visited on special open days by the general public.
The walk takes in the public house that JMW Turner bought for his lady friend, Sophia Booth. We also look at many of the warehouses that survived the bombing of World War 2, and it is possible to access some of the steps down to the River Thames, as well to peer in the general direction of Execution Dock where many famous people met their end, including Captain Kidd.
A walk through Wapping would not be complete without looking at a pub or two; there used to be many more in existence and again these buildings have plenty of wonderful stories associated with the clientele, including judge Jeffries, better known as the ‘Hanging Judge’.
Towards the end of our walk, we pass the beautiful late 18th/early 19th century houses now lived in by a few famous people, whose names shall be known only to those who join our walks!
Wapping High Street is well worth a visit if you visit the Tower of London; it’s a peaceful haven away from the crowds milling around the tower, and yet another of London’s hidden secrets.
If you have an idea that you would like us to turn into a walk, get in touch with us via info@sixinthecity.co.uk . We’d love to help turn your initial thoughts into a fully-planned tour!
