Narrow Street

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Narrow Street is just that, a narrow street running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London (51°30′32″N, 0°2′1″W).

Narrow Street 1827
Narrow Street 1827
Narrow Street 1993
Narrow Street 1993

Contents

[edit] History

A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharf being completed in 1348. Lime (mineral) kilns or 'Lymehostes' used in the production of mortar and pottery were built at this location in the fourteenth century. The area grew rapidly in Elizabethan times as a center for world trade. River workers gravitated to the area to offload imported goods from ships to the then new Limehouse Bridge Dock now Limehouse Basin. By the reign of James I nearly half of the area's 2,000 population were mariners. Ships Chandlers settled here building wooden houses and wharves in the cramped space between street and river, indeed Narrow Street may take its name from the closeness of the original buildings, now demolished, which stood barely a few meters apart on each side of the street. In 1661 Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary about a visit to a porcelain factory in Narrow Street alighting via Duke Shore Stairs[1]while en route to view work on boats being built for Herring fishing. The Limehouse area fitted out, repaired and resupplied ships. In 1823 Taylor Walker & Co Ltd started brewing at the site of today's pub The Narrow (formerly "The Barley Mow"). Limehouse Basin was one of the first docks to close in the late 1960s. Nicholas Hawksmoors’ Church St Anne's Limehouse was designated a conservation area by the London Docklands Development Corporation in the 1980s and in 1993 the 1.8 km Limehouse Link tunnel was completed moving heavy traffic away from Narrow street.

[edit] Chinatown

In the eighteenth century a small group of Chinese sailors from Canton and Southern China settled along the old Limehouse Causeway creating the original London Chinatown. The Chinese community later moved to Soho following heavy bombing of the area during World War II often referred to as the Blitz.

[edit] Historic buildings

Early Georgian terrace on Narrow Street, with The Grapes public house. (January 2006)
Early Georgian terrace on Narrow Street, with The Grapes public house. (January 2006)

A number of historic buildings remain, including The Grapes public house. Next to The Grapes is a rare example of an early Georgian brick terrace. Early Georgian houses can be distinguished from late ones in the way that the windows are not set back from the brick frontage.

[edit] Redevelopment

The late twentieth century brought much development to the area, with the erection of the Canary Wharf tower close by. Since the 1990s, many new apartment complexes have been built around the Limehouse Basin as well as Victorian warehouse conversions, with Limehouse now being one of the most sought after property sites in London. Its close proximity to the River Thames has made property prices around Limehouse and the Docklands soar over the last decade.

The street is home to a number of good pubs and restaurants, including The Narrow, a gastropub run by Gordon Ramsay.

Famous residents include the actors Sir Ian McKellen and Steven Berkoff, and politicians Lord David Owen and Matthew Parris. It was also the home of the iconic film director Sir David Lean, whose Narrow Street house (regarded as one of the best riverside houses in London) is still owned by his family.

[edit] Art and literature

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Narrow Street's harsh conditions and extreme poverty attracted the attention of early social reformers and latter political agitation for better working conditions led to the creation of some of Londons earliest trade unions. [2]

Its picturesque buildings and atmospheric location abutting onto the River Thames also attracted artists and writers.

[edit] Transport

Nearest stations:

[edit] Notes

The Anglo-Saxon word tirl, means 'narrow street' or a 'gate' to keep horses and other cattle out of the city.

[edit] Related links

[edit] References

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