Stepney to Wapping. So much to see.

Here are some pics from a few weeks ago when I walked from Whitechapel High Street to The Prospect of Whitby pub on the Thames Path. It's an area I like a lot and every time I pass through I spot something I hadn't noticed last time. Here goes. 

Heading first to Stepney Farm, I decided rather than walk via gorgeous Stepney Green, as is often my default route, that I'd use White Horse Lane. It's a mix of old and new housing and then there's this with this strange construction at No.39a bearing the date of 1928 in very badly-rendered numbers!

Here was the Ideal Garage at street level with Goldstein Marks, mantle manufacturers (ladies' coats) upstairs. Indeed, in the 1930s, most of this street was occupied by Jewish garment manufacturers intermingled with btchers, bakers, tobacconists etc. The windows are clearly UPVC replacements and it's fair to assume that they would have originally been metal frames. I wonder what the building looked like in 1928 and what it was used for.

On the opposite side of the road I noticed a street with a beery name and pondered if I could make a collection of other street names after alcoholic beverages. Short answer: No!

I wandered through the farm, perused the farmers' market and designer-maker stalls and went to say hello to some of the animals. I then crossed the road and admired the chunky railings around the churchyard in Belgrave Street with their multiple layers of peeling paint.

Via a dogleg around the almshouses, this then becomes White Horse Road – note White Horse Road not Lane – surely this was all one name before and alluded to a White Horse pub. I will look at old maps and update this later. 

Just before Wakeling Street I spotted some Mercers Maidens high up on the social housing block that I never noticed before., even Though I was already aware of the one at the rear of The Old Ship on the same block, round the corner here – an excellent proper locals' pub btw. Strange that I hadn't previously wandered arund the whole perimeter to see if I could find any more 

A quick snap of the wonderful elaborate doorway to what is now The Half Moon Theatre, built in the 1860s as Stepney Borough Council's public health offices. Then across Commercial Road and into Cable Street for a little detour to hunt out some other Mercers Maiden markers I had spotted a while back.

At the corner of Hardinge Street sits the Old Ship public house, now converted into flats. There are some words between the windows:

It reads "Nine feet eight inches eastward is one of the boundaries of the parish of St George, Middx 1823". Nice. it refers to St George's in the East which is one of the magnificient Hawkmoor churches in this area. Around the corner on the left, near the DLR line, there's The Convent of Mercy and Coburg Dwellings, both bearing markers that show this is Mercers Company land.

A quick peek at pre-WW2 directories shows that there used to local shops all the way along the opposite side of the street. I haven't looked into whether the demolition was due to bomb damage, but it's likely considering the amount of buildings that were affected here.

Mercers Maiden mission accomplished, so I headed due south to Shadwell Basin via Glamis Rd and Wapping Wall. First into the market there which is open every Saturday and offers a good selection of handmade wares plus food and beverages of all kinds around tables at the centre. I was glad to bump into an elderly and fascinating local man I know who lives nearby. Good chats over beers and then to the Go East Vintage Flea Weekender which is occasionally within this old hydralulic pumping station. These pics are from my last visit in March and show how it's not just the items for sale that makes it worth the £3 entry fee:

I stopped for a chat with my friend Rusty who sells a wonderful range reclaimed items of all sizes, from glass ink wells to huge pub mirrors. I was particularly interested by this salt glazed vessel: 

It depicts Thomas Dartmouth as Jim Crow. I've never heard of him or the character before. Nor have I ever seen a bottle of this style before. I'll have to keep my open for others. 

And so to the Prospect of Whitby for a pint and a a bit of boat watching from the back window. 

A nice afternoon well spent.