10 Facts About Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe is a residential district in south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark.

Rotherhithe has a long history as a port, with many shipyards from Elizabethan times until the early 20th century and with working docks until the 1970s.

Name "Rotherhithe" is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon Hryðer-hyð and it is suggested it means "landing-place for cattle".

Docks were closed and largely filled in during the 1980s, and have now been replaced by modern housing and commercial facilities, but Rotherhithe retains much of its character and its maritime heritage.

The building ceased to be a town hall in 1905 when the former Rotherhithe Council merged with the old Bermondsey Borough Council and the new council used premises in Spa Road.

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Rotherhithe had its own general hospital, St Olave's Hospital, on Lower Road close to the old town hall.

Originally established as seafarers' missions, Rotherhithe is home to a Norwegian, a Finnish and a Swedish church.

Rotherhithe is a popular place to live with South Africans, according to the UK census of 2011, and there was a South African themed pub at 351 Rotherhithe Street.

Rotherhithe is joined to the north bank of the Thames by three tunnels.

Parts of Rotherhithe Street were at one time or another called Jamaica Street, Lavender Street, Low Queen Street, Queen Street, Redriff Wall, Redriff, Rotherhithe Wall, Shipwright Street and Trinity Street.