Chamberlain's Wharf, Bermondsey, London SE1

Chamberlain's Wharf. c.1862. Bermondsey, London SE1, on the south side of the Pool of London. Now occupied by the (private) London Bridge Hospital, this is one of the former "Sufferance Wharves," which were authorised to deal with dutiable goods under certain conditions, and handled a wide range of commodities. By 1925 it had been taken over by Hay's Wharf (note the name on the building to its right), but it continued in use until 1969 (see Craig et al. 219). Hay's Wharf itself was the oldest and most successful wharf of all, coming to dominate the south bank between the two great bridges (London Bridge and Tower Bridge). Because of its size and its pioneering use of cold storage, it was labelled the "Larder of London." Its name is still current today, thanks to the nearby Hay's Galleria development, which also makes use of warehousing. Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2009. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Related Material

Bibliography

Craig, Charles, et al. London's Changing Riverscape: Panoramas from London Bridge to Greenwich. London: Francis Lincoln, 2009.


Last modified 12 August 2009