Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It lies on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

between

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...

(to the east), and

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has meant ...

(to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used.

History

Etymology and origin

The name ''Ratcliffe'' derives from the small sandstone cliff that stood above the surrounding marshes, it had a red appearance, hence ''Red-cliffe''. Ratcliff was historically part of the Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney. The place name Stepney evolved from ''Stybbanhyð'', first recorded around 1000 AD. ''Stybbanhyð'' probably translates into modern English as "Stybba's hithe (landing place)", with Stybba the individual who owned the Manor (estate). The hithe itself is thought to have been at Ratcliff, just under south of St Dunstan's Church.

Civil and ecclesiastical administration

The hamlet was divided between the parishes of

and

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

until 1866, when it was constituted a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

(as Ratcliffe). From 1855 it was administered by Limehouse District Board of Works, and in 1900 became part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the condition of the area had improved somewhat - the 1868 'National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland' describes Ratcliffe as inhabited by persons connected with shipping and having extensive warehouses, with the area 'well paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with water from the reservoir at Old Ford'. The parish church of Ratcliffe, St. James in Butcher Row, was built in 1838 and served the area until 1951 (it was damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), when the parish was merged with St. Paul, Shadwell. In 1948 the church site became (and remains) the East London home of the Royal Foundation of St. Katharine.

History

Ratcliffe in earlier times was also known as "sailor town". It was originally known for shipbuilding but from the fourteenth century more for fitting and provisioning ships. accessed 20 April 2008 In the sixteenth century various voyages of discovery were supplied and departed from Ratcliffe, including those of Willoughby and Frobisher. By the early seventeenth century it had the largest population of any Hamlet (administrative sub-division) in Stepney, with 3500 residents. It was again a site of shipbuilding in the seventeenth century - a number of sailing warships were built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

here, including one of the earliest frigates, the ''Constant Warwick'' in 1645. Located at the western end of

Narrow Street Narrow Street is a narrow road running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London, England. It used to be much narrower, and is the oldest part of Limehouse, with many buildings originating from the eighteenth century ...

it was made up of lodging houses, bars,

brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...

, music halls and

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

dens. This overcrowded and squalid district acquired an unsavoury reputation with a large transient population. In 1794 approximately half of the hamlet was destroyed in a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

but, even so, it continued as a notorious

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

well into the nineteenth century. From the late sixteenth century Ratcliffe and surrounding areas were notable areas for non-conformist

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

John Penry John Penry (1563 – 29 May 1593), who was executed for high treason during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is Wales' most famous Protestant Separatist martyr. Early life He was born in Brecknockshire, Wales; Cefn Brith, a farm near Llangammar ...

preached in the area in 1592/3, until he was spotted by the local vicar at Ratcliffe and subsequently hanged. By 1669 around 200 Presbyterians were worshipping at a warehouse at Ratcliffe Cross and there was a purpose built

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

meeting house in Schoolhouse Lane, which was demolished by soldiers in 1670. In late 1811 seven

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

took place in

Ratcliffe Highway The Highway, part of which was formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a reputation for vice and crim ...

(more recently St. George's Street), allegedly committed by a sailor named Williams, who committed suicide after being captured. The murders were later fictionalised in an account by

De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his ''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quince ...

The Ratcliffe Fire

The Ratcliffe Fire was the largest fire disaster in London between the Great Fire of 1666 and the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

in 1940. The fire took place in July 1794 when a smaller fire ignited a barge loaded with

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...

. The conflagration that followed destroyed over 400 homes and 20 warehouses and left 1000 people homeless. Following the fire tents were set up near to St. Dunstan's Church whilst the area was rebuilt.F A Youngs, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol.I, London, 1979 Hamlet of Radcliffe

Population and area

The hamlet of Ratcliffe covered and had a Census population of: Hamlet of Ratcliffe 1801-1901

References

External links and information

*Ratcliffe https://web.archive.org/web/20051226015402/http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/parish/ratcliff.htm *Ratcliffe https://web.archive.org/web/20060213214435/http://www.eastlondonhistory.com/ratcliff.htm *The Ratcliffe waterfront http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/upload/img_200/PX9445.jpg *The

Museum in Docklands The Museum of London Docklands (formerly known as Museum in Docklands), based in West India Quay, explains the history of the River Thames, the growth of Port of London and the docks historical link to the Atlantic slave trade. The museum is pa ...

has an area set up to look like 'Sailortown' and information about the Ratcliffe Fire
1903 description of the Parish of St James, Ratcliff
by

Walter Besant Sir Walter Besant (14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant. Early life and education The son of wine merchant Will ...

{{LB Tower Hamlets History of local government in London (pre-1855) History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Parishes united into districts (Metropolis) Port of London Limehouse Stepney Shadwell

History

Etymology and origin

Civil and ecclesiastical administration

History

The Ratcliffe Fire

Population and area

See also

References

External links and information