IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Swan Road, LONDON, SE16 4LJ

Consists of five buildings :- Seaford House (Rotherhithe Street), Winchelsea House (Swan Road), Rye House (Kenning Street) to the right of the image, Hythe House (Railway Avenue) bulk of image and in between the four is Sandwich House. Area now covered by the estate once contained Cow Court, Longs Court and nearby was a Swan Alley (all 1746), Swan Street (1797) and Kenning Buildings together with a stone yard (1868).

An old East London Brewery house (The Wenlock Brewery Co of Wenlock Road in Shoreditch) which was built in 1913. The dock trade may have gone but there is a large residential community to serve in Rotherhithe. Spectators have gathered to watch the London Marathon passing through.

Recent pictures of this corner pub show that the Wenlock Brewery panels at the top of the pub have been painted over. This was how it looked around 25 years ago. Wenlock Brewery was in Wenlock Road, Shoreditch, and was bought out by Bass brewery in 1961. From a print. Date approximate.

Brick pub on the corner of Swan Road. Above the cornice are well-preserved signs reading, "1913 / The Wenlock Brewery Co Ltd". A view approximately twenty-five years earlier: Image

This was recorded from 1757 until 1820 and had an early name of the 'Six Decanters'. Today the street shown is Tunnel Road and the immediate area is quite historic: 1825 Sir Marc Brunel commenced the building of the Thames Tunnel; 1826 his son Isambard took over the project; 1828 building stopped owing to lack of cash; 1836 building recommenced; 1842 tunnel opened for pedestrians by Queen Victoria; 1869 tunnel closed to pedestrians when bought by the East London Railway; 1875 first train travelled along the tunnel; 1884 first train stopped at Rotherhithe. Building shown is the original pump house for the project and to its right is the original air shaft. All this and the 'graft' starting in Rotherhithe and the Queen opens it at the north end! The machine in the image is purely 'decoration' as it is an electrically-driven pump used in the docks from 1929 until 1969.

This was first recorded in 1757 and finished trading in 1819. Grices Granary or Wharf was built on the site which still remains today with an address of number 82. In 1976 Sands Films obtained the building. As may be seen, the 'Mayflower' pub is within spitting distance and on the left is St Mary's Church. Possible point of interest re the two metal bollards: in the 1960s and 1970s there were a great number of such bollards around the immediate vicinity; practically all were cannon from ships that had been dismantled in the area. Many were stolen for either their 'historic' or 'scrap' value.

This is now part of the London Oeergraound, having formerly been on the East London Line of the London Underground.

Looking south-southwest. At the end of the street is what looks like a ventilation shaft for the London Overground, which looks as if it runs underground between the houses and the road, between Rotherhithe and Wapping stations.

This is the pumping engine house associated with the Rotherhithe end of Marc Brunel's Thames tunnel. The first tunnel under the Thames. The engine house has now had a metal chimney extension on the square brick base seen in the centre.

Encased road and entrance to Fitzmaurice's Rotherhithe Tunnel as seen from the extension of Brunel's tunnel ie Rotherhithe underground station.