I Never Knew That About London by Christopher Winn

Author:Christopher Winn [Winn, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781407028217
Publisher: Ebury Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

For the first few years of its life the bridge was opened several times a day. Approaching ships would hoot their horn when they reached Cherry Pier downstream, as a signal that they wished to come through. Today, 24 hours’ notice is required for the bridge to open. In 1952 a crowded double-decker bus was caught on the bridge as it started to open and the driver had no choice but to accelerate and jump the gap.

St Katharine’s Dock

Oldest Charity

ST KATHARINE’S DOCK, westernmost of London’s wet docks, was opened in 1827 on the site of St Katharine’s Hospital, ENGLAND’S OLDEST ROYAL CHARITY, founded by Queen Matilda in 1148. Covering 25 acres (10 ha), it is Thomas Telford’s only major work in London. During the building of the dock, 11,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes, most without compensation, and the excavated soil was removed up river and deposited on to the marshes to provide level foundations for what became Pimlico. The dock was badly bombed during the Blitz and was the first of London’s docks to undergo redevelopment. It now boasts luxury apartments and shops, a hotel and the Dickens Inn.

It was from St Katharine’s Dock, on 17 September 1921, that ERNEST SHACKLETON left England for the last time, on his final expedition to the Antarctic in the Quest. The following January he died of a heart attack off South Georgia and was buried on the island.

St Katharine’s Royal Foundation still operates from premises on Butcher Row in Limehouse.

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