Hay's Galleria is a mixed use building in the London Borough of Southwark situated on the south 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 ...

featuring offices, restaurants, shops, and flats. Originally a warehouse and associated wharf (''Hay's Wharf'') for the port of London, it was redeveloped in the 1980s. It is a

Grade II listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

History

Hay's Wharf

Hay's Galleria is named after its original owner, the merchant Alexander Hay, who acquired the property – then a brewhouse – in 1651.History of the Galleria
In around 1840 John Humphrey Jnr acquired a lease on the property. He asked

William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type o ...

(who was father-in-law to two of Humphrey's sons) to convert it into a '

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locati ...

', in fact an enclosed dock, in 1856 and it was renamed Hay's Wharf. During the nineteenth century, the wharf was one of the chief delivery points for ships bringing tea to the

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were th ...

. At its height, 80% of the dry produce imported to London passed through the wharf, and on this account the wharf was nicknamed 'the Larder of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'. The wharf was largely rebuilt following the Great Fire of Southwark in June 1861 and then continued in use for nearly a century until it was badly bombed in September 1940 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 opposi ...

. In 1920, the owners of the wharf purchased the shares of Pickfords as part of their Hay's Wharf Cartage Company subsidiary. This subsidiary was sold to the Big Four railways in 1933. The progressive adoption of containerisation during the 1960s led to the shipping industry moving to deep water ports further down the Thames and the subsequent closure of Hay's Wharf in 1970.

Redevelopment

In the 1980s, with the increasing

urban regeneration Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...

of the Thames Corridor and nearby

London Docklands 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 o ...

, the majority of the area was acquired by the St Martin's Property Corporation, the real estate arm of the State of Kuwait. The easterly end of the site was developed as

London Bridge City Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) St Olave The earliest ...

of which Hay's Galleria' forms part. The decision was made to retain the dock and to restore its tea and produce warehouses surrounding it to provide office accommodation and shops. The dock gates were permanently closed, the 'impounded' area of the dock was covered with a floor to the sill of the wharf-sides and the entire space was enclosed with a glass roof designed by the young architect Arthur Timothy while he worked with Michael Twigg Brown Architects. This scheme was implemented by Twigg Brown Architects as part of their masterplan for the renewal strategy. In a fountain at the centre of the Galleria is a 60 ft moving bronze sculpture of a ship, called 'The Navigators' by sculptor David Kemp, unveiled in 1987 to commemorate the Galleria's shipping heritage. The entire construction of the Galleria, Cottons, No 1 London Bridge and Thames river wall rebuild was managed and completed by Laing Management Contracting. The development was supported 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 ...

. After its completion and opening in 1987, Hays Galleria became the first new visitor attraction of that period on the south of the river.

Activities

Office tenants have included the UK

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

regulator, the General Social Care Council, and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. The pub at the riverside entrance, 'The Horniman at Hay's', is named to commemorate one of the main tea-producing companies associated with the trade here. Due to its location on the southern

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 ...

, its panoramic views over 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 ...

from the riverside, and the location between London City Hall and

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark ...

, Hay's Galleria is visited by many tourists and local workers. For 20 years it housed a year-round market - the Hays Galleria Market, which operated seven days a week. It had a resident artist, and for more than 2 decades, it was home to several permanent independent traders, long-term tenants of St Martins Property Corporation selling souvenirs, touristic apparel, and jewellery from traditional barrows positioned in fixed locations in the Galleria. On 8 October 2010, on the orders of CBRE, the managing agents, the barrows were removed. The barrows were reinstated under the new managing agents post 2014, and as at 22 August 2017 there are 8 barrows operating in the Galleria.

Transport

* River services: London Bridge City Pier (Commuter service) * Tube/National Rail:

London Bridge station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

References

External links

*
Hay's GalleriaTwigg Brown Architects
Architects for the regeneration of London Bridge City, including refurbishment of Hays Galleria Architects *Timothy Associates Architects. * * * * {{coord, 51.5058, -0.0837, display=title, region:GB_scale:2000 Retail buildings in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in London London docks Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Southwark St Martins Property Group Privately owned public spaces