Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s and steps, such as the

Prospect of Whitby The Prospect of Whitby is a historic public house on the banks of the Thames at Wapping in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lays claim to being the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from around 1520. History The tavern was f ...

and Wapping Stairs. It also has a

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 ...

shore establishment base on the riverfront called HMS President and home to

Tobacco Dock Tobacco Dock is a Grade I listed warehouse located in the East London district of Wapping, and thereby the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Part of the London Docks designed by Scottish civil engineer and architect John Rennie, the warehouse w ...

and

King Edward Memorial Park King Edward Memorial Park is a public open space in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the northern bank of the River Thames. It was opened in 1922 in memory of King Edward VII. With an area of 3.3 hectares, it is the 11th largest par ...

. Many of the original buildings were demolished during the construction of the

London Docks London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port ...

and Wapping was further seriously damaged during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. As the London Docklands declined after 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 opposi ...

, the area became run down, with the great warehouses left empty. The area's fortunes were transformed during the 1980s by the

London Docklands Development Corporation The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an a ...

when the warehouses started to be converted into luxury flats.

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

moved his News International printing and publishing works into Wapping in 1986, resulting in a trade union dispute that became known as the " Battle of Wapping".

History

Origins

Formerly it was believed that the name Wapping recorded an Anglo-Saxon settlement linked to a personal name ''Waeppa'' ("the settlement of Waeppa's people"). More recent scholarship discounts that theory: much of the area was marshland, where early settlement was unlikely, and no such personal name has ever been found. It is now thought that the name may derive from ''wapol'', a marsh. Wapping was historically part of the Manor and Parish of Stepney. By the 17th century it formed two autonomous Hamlets, a Hamlet in this context refers to an autonomous area of a parish rather than a small village. The northern Hamlet was known as ''Wapping-Stepney'', as it was the part of Wapping within Stepney, the riverside part was known as ''Wapping-Whitechapel'' as it was the part within the parish of

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

, a parish which was previously also a part of the parish of Stepney. These Hamlets later became independent parishes, with ''Wapping-Stepney'' becoming known as St-George-in-the-East (in 1729) and ''Wapping-Whitechapel'' known as St John of Wapping (in 1694). The latter occupied a very narrow strip along nearly all of Wapping's riverside.

Riverside development

The draining of Wapping Marsh, and the consolidation of a river wall along which houses were built, were finally achieved by 1600 after previous attempts had failed. (See

Embanking of the tidal Thames The Embanking of the tidal Thames is the historical process by which the lower River Thames, at one time a broad, shallow waterway winding through malarious marshlands, has been transformed into a deep, narrow tidal canal. With small beginni ...

). The settlement developed along that river wall, hemmed in by the river to the south and the now-drained Wapping Marsh to the north This gave it a peculiarly narrow and constricted shape, consisting of little more than the axis of Wapping High Street and some north–south side streets. John Stow, the 16th-century historian, described it as a "continual street, or a filthy strait passage, with alleys of small tenements or cottages, built, inhabited by sailors' victuallers".'The Thames Tunnel, Ratcliff Highway and Wapping', Old and New London: Volume 2 (1878), pp. 128-37
accessed: 29 March 2007 A chapel to St. John the Baptist was built in 1617, and it was here that

Thomas Rainsborough Thomas Rainsborough, or Rainborowe, 6 July 1610 – 29 October 1648, was an English religious and political radical who served in the Parliamentarian navy and New Model Army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. One of the few contemporaries wh ...

was buried. Wapping was constituted as a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

in 1694. Wapping's proximity to the river gave it a strong maritime character for centuries, well into the 20th century. It was inhabited by sailors, mastmakers, boat-builders, blockmakers, instrument-makers, victuallers and representatives of all the other trades that supported the seafarer. Wapping was also the site of '

Execution Dock Execution Dock was a place in the River Thames near the shoreline at Wapping, London, that was used for more than 400 years to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts. The "dock" consisted of ...

', where pirates and other water-borne criminals faced

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

from a

gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, executioner's block, impalement stake, hanging gallows, or related scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of cri ...

constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they had been submerged three times by the tide. Wapping 1889

The Bell Inn, by the execution dock, was run by Samuel Batts, whose daughter,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, married James Cook at St Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex on 21 December 1762, after the

captain had stayed at the Inn. The couple initially settled in

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 mea ...

, attending St Paul's church, but later moved to

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

. Although they had six children together, much of their married life was spent apart, with Cook absent on his voyages and, after his murder in 1779 at

Kealakekua Bay Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples (heiaus) and al ...

, she survived until 1835. Said to be England's first, the

Marine Police Force The Thames River Police was formed in 1800 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and in the lower reaches and docks of the Thames. It replaced the Marine Police, a police force established in 1798 by magistrate ...

was formed in 1798 by magistrate

Patrick Colquhoun Patrick Colquhoun ( ; 14 March 1745 – 25 April 1820) was a Scottish merchant, statistician, magistrate, and founder of the first regular preventive police force in England, the Thames River Police. He also served as Lord Provost of Glasgow ...

and a Master Mariner, John Harriott, to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and the lower reaches of the river. Its base was (and remains) in Wapping High Street and it is now known as the

Marine Support Unit The Marine Policing Unit (MPU) is the waterborne policing unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service, forming part of the Met Taskforce (MO7) within Met Operations. Its 22 vessels are responsible for waterborne policing of the River Thames in ...

. The Thames Police Museum, dedicated to the history of the Marine Police Force, is currently housed within the headquarters of the Marine Support Unit, and is open to the public by appointment. In 1811, the Ratcliff Highway murders took place nearby at

The Highway A highway is a long road giving a relatively fast connection between two places. Highway may also refer to: Roads in England * The Highway (London) (previously Ratcliff Highway), a road in the East End of London * The Highway, a road in Br ...

and Wapping Lane.

London Docks

The area's strong maritime associations changed radically in the 19th century when the

were built to the north and west of the High Street. Wapping's population plummeted by nearly 60% during that century, with many houses destroyed by the construction of the docks and giant warehouses along the riverfront. Squeezed between the high walls of the docks and warehouses, the riverside area became isolated from the rest of London, although some relief was provided by Brunel's

Thames Tunnel The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet (11 m) wide by 20 feet (6 m) high and is 1,300 feet (396 m) long, running at a depth of ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

. The opening of

Wapping tube station Wapping is a train station, station on the East London line located on the northern bank of the River Thames in Wapping within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The station is served by National Rail London Overground services under the contr ...

on the East London Line in 1869 provided a direct rail link to the rest of London.

Modern times

Wapping was devastated by German bombing in the

and by the post-war closure of the docks. It remained a run-down and derelict area into the 1980s, when the area was transferred to the management of the

, a government

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...

with the task of redeveloping the Docklands. The London Docks were largely filled in and redeveloped with a variety of commercial, light industrial and residential properties. St John's Church, Wapping (1756) was located on what is now Scandrett Street. Only the tower and shell survived wartime bombing, and have now been converted to housing. In 1986,

's News International built a new £80m printing and publishing works in the north of Wapping. This became the scene of violent protests after News International's UK operation moved from Fleet Street to Wapping, with over 5,000 print workers being sacked when new technology was introduced.

Wapping dispute

The "Wapping dispute" or "Battle of Wapping" was, along with the miners' strike of 1984–85, a significant turning point in the history of the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movement and of UK industrial relations. It started on 24 January 1986 when some 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike after protracted negotiation with their employer, News International (parent of Times Newspapers and News Group Newspapers, and chaired by

). News International had built and clandestinely equipped a new printing plant for all its titles in Wapping, and when the print unions announced a strike it activated this new plant with the assistance of the

Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union The Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, known as the EETPU, was a British trade union formed in 1968 as a union for electricians and plumbers, which went through three mergers from 1992 to now be part of Unite the Un ...

(EETPU). The plant was nicknamed "Fortress Wapping" when the sacked print workers effectively besieged it, mounting round-the-clock pickets and blockades in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to thwart the move. In 2005, News International announced the intention to move the print works to regional presses based in

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

(the world's largest printing plant, opened March 2008),

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. The editorial staff were to remain, however, and there was talk of redeveloping the sizeable plot that makes up the printing works.

Society

Landmarks

Perhaps Wapping's greatest attraction is the Thames foreshore itself, and the venerable public houses that face onto it. A number of the ' watermen's stairs', such as Wapping Old Stairs and Pelican Stairs (by the Prospect of Whitby) give public access to a

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

zone (for the Thames is tidal at this point) littered with flotsam, jetsam and fragments of old dock installations. The area is popular with amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters. This activity is known as

mudlark A mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term used especially to describe those who scavenged this way in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries. The practice of searching the banks of rivers for items cont ...

ing; the term for a shore scavenger in the 18th and 19th centuries was a mudlark. St George in the East on Cannon Street Road is one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches. The church was hit by a bomb during

the original interior was destroyed by the fire, but the walls and distinctive "pepper-pot" towers remained intact. In 1964 a modern church interior was constructed inside the existing walls for the active congregation, and a new flat built under each corner tower. Behind the church lies St George's Gardens, the original cemetery, which was passed to Stepney Council to maintain as a public park in mid-Victorian times. At the outbreak of the Second World War the crypt of the church was used as a public air raid shelter and was fully occupied when the aforementioned bomb struck. There were no casualties and everyone was evacuated safely (thanks to the

air raid wardens ''Air Raid Wardens'' is a 1943 comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was the first of two feature films the duo made at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Set during World War II, just after Pearl Harbor, Stan (Stan L ...

and

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

). St John's Church, Wapping, the oldest church in Wapping, built in 1756 by Joel Johnson, was also hit by a bomb during

WWII 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 ...

. The distinctive lead-topped tower remains, and the former churchyard is a public park. Adjoining the church is St John's Old School, founded c. 1695 for the new parish and rebuilt together with the church in 1756. Wapping gibbet 1

The "

" was located on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. It was used by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

for over 400 years (as late as 1830) to hang pirates that had been convicted and sentenced to death by the Admiralty court. The Admiralty only had jurisdiction over crimes on the sea, so the dock was located within their jurisdiction by being located far enough offshore as to be beyond the low-tide mark. It was used to kill the notorious

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

. Many prisoners would be executed together as a public event in front of a crowd of onlookers after being paraded from the

Marshalsea Prison The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

across London Bridge and past the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

to the dock. PirateWapping

is a Grade I listed warehouse, adjacent to The Highway. It was constructed in approximately 1811 and served primarily as a store for imported tobacco. In 1990 it was converted into a shopping centre at a development cost of £47 million with the intention to create the " Covent Garden of the East End"; the scheme was unsuccessful, though, and went into administration. Since the mid-1990s the building has been almost entirely unoccupied. It is now occasionally used for filming, and for large corporate and commercial events. Three venerable

s are located near the Stairs. By Pelican Stairs is the ''

'', formerly the Devil's Tavern, which has a much-disputed claim to be the oldest Thames-side public house still in existence. Be that as it may, there has been an inn on the site since the reign of Henry VIII, and it is certainly one of the most famous public houses in London. It is named after a then-famous collier that used to dock regularly at Wapping. A replica of the old Execution Dock gibbet is maintained on the adjacent foreshore, although the actual site of Execution Dock was nearer to the '' Town of Ramsgate''. This also is on the site of a 16th-century inn and is located next to Wapping Old Stairs to the west of the ''Prospect''; by Wapping Pier Head — the former local headquarters of the Customs and Excise. Situated halfway between the two is the ''

'', named after the Scottish privateer

William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

. He was hanged on the Wapping foreshore in 1701 after being found guilty of murder and piracy. Although the pub occupies a 17th-century building, it was established only in the 1980s.

Literary and cultural references

Wapping has been used as the setting for a number of works of fiction, including ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...

''; the '' Doctor Who'' episode "

The Talons of Weng-Chiang ''The Talons of Weng-Chiang'' is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the seria ...

"; the ''Ruby In The Smoke'' novel in the

Sally Lockhart Veronica Beatrice "Sally" Lockhart (later Goldberg) is a fictional character in a series of books by Philip Pullman. Sally Lockhart is a dazzling 16-year-old, middle-class orphan whose father taught her a variety of useful things: accounting, mar ...

series by Phillip Pullman; the BBC sitcom ''

Till Death Us Do Part ''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitcom ...

'', in which the central character,

Alf Garnett Alfred Edward "Alf" Garnett is a fictional character from the British sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part'' and its follow-on and spin-off series '' Till Death...'' and ''In Sickness and in Health''. He also appeared in the chat show ''The Thoughts ...

, shares his name with Garnet Street in Wapping; season 4, episode 23 of Friends, "

The One with Ross's Wedding "The One with Ross's Wedding" is the two-part fourth-season finale of the American television sitcom ''Friends'', comprising the 96th and 97th episodes of the series overall. Originally broadcast by NBC on May 7, 1998, the episode features Ross, Mo ...

", which features St John's Church, Wapping; and the brothel in ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'', in which

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

is betrayed by

Jenny Diver Jenny Diver, née Mary Young (c.1700 – 18 March 1741) was a notorious Irish pickpocket, one of the most famous of her day. Background and migration to England Born around 1700 in Ireland, Diver was the illegitimate daughter of an unknown fath ...

. ''The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette'' is a compilation album by East End

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

. The plot of

Alfred Hitchcock's Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

1934 film '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' included the gangsters' hideout which was set in Wapping. A house left standing after the London Blitz, the nearby River Thames and a notional priory house, being used as a temporary prison, feature prominently in

Jack Higgins Henry "Harry" Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) so ...

sequel to The Eagle Has Landed titled

The Eagle Has Flown ''The Eagle Has Flown'' is a book by Jack Higgins, first published in 1991. It is a sequel to '' The Eagle Has Landed''. Plot summary Following the events in the previous novel, it is revealed that Kurt Steiner did not die after attempting to ki ...

, in which a captured German officer is freed after a failed commando raid.

Notable people

People who were born in Wapping include: *

W.W. Jacobs William Wymark Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943) was an English author of short fiction and drama. His best remembered story is "The Monkey's Paw". He was born in Wapping, London, on 8 September 1863, the son of William Gage Jacobs ...

, author of the 1902 short story ''

The Monkey's Paw "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs, first published in the collection '' The Lady of the Barge'' in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with ...

'' *

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

, Anglican

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and author of many

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s including ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

'' * Walter Kennedy, a notorious early 18th century pirate *

Arthur Orton Arthur Orton (20 March 1834 – 1 April 1898) was an English man who has generally been identified by legal historians and commentators as the "Tichborne Claimant", who in two celebrated court cases both fascinated and shocked Victorian soc ...

, a Tichborne Claimant * Les Reed, football coach and former manager of

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

People who lived in Wapping: * The American painter James McNeill Whistler, well known for his

views, painted ''Wapping'' (1860–1864) after returning to London from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in May 1859. Whistler took lodgings in Wapping where he explored the Thames to the east of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The painting is permanently displayed at the

National Gallery of Art Washington The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of cha ...

. * During the 1990s, Wapping was home to American singer and actress Cher. * TV presenter

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

lived in Wapping in 2012. * Actress Helen Mirren lives in Wapping.

Education

Transport

Rail

The local station is

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

on the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

East London line. The narrowness of the platforms was also a concern during the East London line extension, and today the station does not fully meet the safety standards for an underground station but is permitted to operate under a derogation from

Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate Established in 1840, His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) is the organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways. It was previously a separate non-departmental public body, but from 1990 to April 2006 it ...

. It is in

Travelcard Zone 2 Fare zone 2 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. Ba ...

. Formerly on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

, the Metropolitan and the District Railways were the first served the station on 1 October 1884, but the station was last served by District trains on 31 July 1905. The East London line closed on 22 December 2007, and was rebranded and reopened on 27 April 2010 when it became part of the Overground system. ;Buses

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

, D3, both operate within the area. ;Roads Wapping is connected to the National Road Network by

A1203 east–west to the north of the area. ;Cycling, walking, waterways The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

passes west–east through Wapping for cyclists and walkers. The Ornamental Canal runs through the area mostly in the centre to

Shadwell Basin Shadwell Basin is a housing and leisure complex built around a disused dock in Wapping, London. The old dock was formerly part of the London Docks, a group of docks built by the London Dock Company at Shadwell and Wapping as part of the wider d ...

In popular culture

* The 1967 film ''

To Sir, with Love ''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. Ja ...

'' was shot in Wapping.

References

Bibliography

*Madge Darby, ''Waeppa's People: History of Wapping'', Connor & Butler (Dec 1988), *Martha Leigh, ''Memories of Wapping 1900–1960: Couldn't Afford the Eels'', The History Press Ltd (4 July 2008), *National Council for Civil Liberties, ''No Way in Wapping: Effect of the Policing of the News International Dispute on Wapping Residents'', Civil Liberties Trust (May 1986),

External links

Local government siteWhat's in Wapping - Local community website
{{London Districts Areas of London Districts of London on the River Thames Districts of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Port of London