A street that winds through Southwark harbor is officially the longest in London. Rotherhithe Street measures a total of 2.4km which for just one road in an unassuming part of the city is quite a feat.
It’s about the same distance from Big Ben to Knightsbridge, and it takes 37 minutes to walk from one end to the other. The start of the street which is a stone’s throw from Rotherhithe Overground station is perhaps the most interesting stretch of all.
Tall Victorian-style brick buildings flank both sides of the narrow path, making it look like something out of a Charles Dickens novel. Just a short walk from the start, the spire of St Mary’s Church suddenly comes into view, along with one of London’s most fascinating cemeteries.
READ MORE: The East London pub where Americans are desperate to prove they are related to its incredible history arrives on pilgrimage
Christopher Jones, the captain of the Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrim Fathers from England to Massachusetts in 1620, is buried in the cemetery along with Prince Lee Boo who was one of the first Pacific Islanders to ever visit Britain.
Its link with the settlers is celebrated by the Mayflower Pub just opposite – which also claims to be London’s oldest riverside pub. Of the original 102 people who boarded the ship, they are believed to have 35 million descendants worldwide. As many as 10 million of these are from the United States.
As a result, the pub’s manager Jamie Gurd told us last year that Americans regularly stop at the pub when they visit London to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. Although it runs through London’s historic docklands, you’ll find that most of the buildings were actually rebuilt after being heavily bombed during the Second World War
Rotherhithe long had a reputation for building ships, as can be seen today by Nelson House which lies along the route. Named after Admiral Horatio Nelson, it was home to prominent owners and remains a stunning example of Georgian architecture.
A slightly more morbid historical connection is that British shipbuilder John Randall took his own life by jumping out of one of the windows of Nelson House in 1803. Along the way through Rotherhithe Street you’ll see incredible views of Canary Wharf before continuing along the meander. of the Thames to its terminus just past Surrey Docks Farm. Check out our video at the top of the article to see the walk in full.
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