Rotherhithe London Itinerary: Hidden Gems, History and Landmarks

A collection of Rotherhithe’s best hidden gems in a complete itinerary of London’s maritime and industrial past, cobblestone streets, and quirky sights!

London houses many secret neighborhoods, and one of my favorite is Rotherhithe, whose name is Saxon for ‘sailors’ haven’.

A very local, village-like part of London, not unlike the beautiful Marylebone we walked together some time ago, which may have been forgotten by tourists, but played a huge part in the city’s industrial and maritime development.

Cobblestone streets and picturesque pubs, along with plenty of historical gems are what make the Rotherhithe area worth visiting – and that’s precisely where I will take you today.

Rotherhithe London Itinerary: Hidden Gems, History and Landmarks

The Bermondsey area and Rotherhithe are close – walking the Thames Path will make you discover lots of hidden gems in both of these maritime neighborhoods.

We will therefore start our Rotherhithe itinerary by looking at the view of the City of London from the Bermondsey Wall.

Here, you will find Dr Salter’s Daydream, a collection of four sculptures depicting the Salter family.

Dr. Alfred Salter and his wife Ada were significant local figures of the Rotherhithe area in the early 20th century, and together, contributed to social welfare.

While he also worked on improving public health, Ada is mostly known for being the first female mayor of London – the sculptures also depict their daughter, Joyce, and their cat, with a view of the Shard and other London landmarks in the background.

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The view on the City of London and dark brick warehouses is especially dreamy – you will spot, in the distance, St John’s Wharf as well.

Bermondsey Wall East also offers a cute view on The Angel, a reddish pub that makes you feel like you’re in the heart of a village rather than a large city.

Go past The Angel, and we’ll keep walking the Thames Path – you really cannot get lost, as it’s always straight, straight, straight – and where it’s not straight, the path is clearly indicated.

A nice walk along the river is something I often do from lively Southbank up to the London Eye, but walking around Rotherhithe provides another kind of insight into London’s history.

Before you go through the pathway located under a red brick building, turn around and you’ll have a clear view on The Shard, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s and the City of London, all mixed with historic buildings.

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At the end of this pathway, Prince’s Stairs offers views on further maritime constructions covered in climbing ivy and quirky porthole windows.

Take a left when leaving Prince’s Stairs and as we keep going straight, we’re arriving at picturesque Rotherhithe Street with its suspended pathways – they will remind you of the gorgeous Shad Thames, closer to Tower Bridge.

This street, with its arched windows, is part of Rotherhithe Village and a photographer’s dream, which reveals on the right, the beautiful St Mary’s Church.

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If you enter and walk around the church, you will see a couple of hidden gems such as a sculpture and the church’s secret garden, but we won’t go just now, as we will come back later on.

Instead, if you go straight on Rotherhithe Street, you will come across the famous Mayflower Pub, one of the oldest pubs of London, in which you can grab food at pretty much any time of the week.

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Keep walking and at the crossroads between Railway Avenue and Tunnel Road, you will see the Brunel Museum, which bears the name of two engineers who constructed the Thames Tunnel, the world’s first underwater tunnel.

The museum is great to visit if you would like to understand more about the innovating engineering techniques used for the Thames Tunnel – it is not free, but an interesting sight.

As we keep walking down Rotherhithe Street, we will see ever more maritime buildings, one of them Charles Hay and Son Ltd, a barge and lighter building company established in 1789, an austere building with bright blue doors which has been transformed into residential spaces.

Turn left to follow the Thames Path, and you’ll see yet another curious sculpture on Cumberland Wharf, which is the approximate site from which the Mayflower and the Pilgrims set sail to settle in America in 1620.

The sculpture, The Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim’s Pocket, was made by Peter McLean, a local artist, and erected in 1991.

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You can keep going down the Thames Path to see more of the historic buildings the area is filled with, and you will find another curious sight on Salt Quay, at the end of Rotherhithe Street: a Scherzer rolling bascule lift bridge.

There are actually two sights in one in this spot, since on the left on the bascule bridge, you will see the striking Old Salt Quay pub.

A similar bridge can be found near Wapping, and are some reminders of London’s industrial past which tend to be oh too forgotten in our daily lives.

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Once we have checked out the Scherzer bascule bridge, let us go back on our steps and make our way to St Mary’s Church again.

This time, we will cross the churchyard and reach the other end, where other hidden gems await.

When you cross the churchyard from Rotherhithe Street, turn left right after the church and you will spot another part of the graveyard, colorful, with a couple of sculptures and flowers.

You can walk around this small garden, sit on the bench to reflect on life, and then, let’s leave the church grounds through the door on the left.

In this part of quaint Rotherhithe, we have other historical sites to see, and the first one is visible from St Mary’s Church: St Mary Rotherhithe, a charity school originally established in 1613, with its two statues representing scholars in traditional bluecoats.

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Sticking to the right side of the building, we now have a really cute coffee shop, the Watchhouse, another branch of which you can find in Bermondsey, amongst other locations.

Fitting name, too, since it is located inside an old Watch House.

A plaque on top of the coffee shop tells you that during the 19th century, a Watch House was the place where someone would guard against bodysnatchers, who would steal corpses from burial grounds for medical purposes at Guy’s Hospital.

(By the way, if you ever have some time, even just one hour in London Bridge will show you some hidden gems of Guy’s Hospital, which is located on the same street as The Shard).

And indeed, if there is a graveyard on the grounds of St Mary’s Church, which we’ve just popped by, there are also still tombstones visible in St Mary Churchyard Gardens, the garden next to the Watch House.

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Walking down the street from the Watch House, more buildings tell the past life of Rotherhithe, including the Hope (Sufferance) Wharf.

Sufferance wharf means that the goods could be unloaded without the usual customs controls, and a plaque gives us more detail about the term: ‘a sufferance wharf was a licensed private wharf where good could be stored until the duty on them was paid’.

While this wharf, like many in the area, has been transformed into homes, it used to be one of the many London wharves used to unload and store good – back when London was a bustling trading and shipping point.

And facing the Hope (Sufferance) Wharf, you will find another quaint building: an engine house dating back to 1821.

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Now, this Engine House might be little more than yet another building to us, today, but, well, it is not.

The Engine House is indeed associated with the construction of the Thames Tunnel between Rotherhithe and Wapping, and was built to house steam-powered pumps which helped remove water from the tunnel as it was being constructed.

At the time, we’re talking early 19th century, this was an engineering prowess, especially when you know that this was the first underwater tunnel ever constructed.

The project was led by a father and a son, Marc Isambard Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and the Engine House is now part of the Brunel Museum we’ve seen earlier, close to St Mary’s Church.

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As we walk past the Hope (Sufferance) Wharf, the Watch House and the Engine House, the street winds on the right and takes us to our last spot: The Ship.

This pub used to be called the Great Eastern, and the building as we know it, with dangling plants and very English brick, was built in the early 20th century.

The backyard is my favorite part, a gorgeous sight to enjoy while walking around the beautiful Rotherhithe.

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Rotherhithe London Itinerary: Hidden Gems, History and Landmarks

Thus finishes our itinerary in quaint Rotherhithe – one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in London, with strong ties to the city’s industrial and maritime past.

A walk around the area goes to show that while London can be overly modern, it never forgets its roots.

And isn’t it the mix of old and new that makes the city so interesting to visit?

Until next time!

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