Leamouth is a locality in the Blackwall area of 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 ...

. The area takes its name from the former ''Leamouth Wharf'' and lies on the west side of the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Bow Creek stretch of the

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

, at its confluence with 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 ...

. The neighbourhood consists of two small peninsulas, separated from the rest of Poplar by the remaining part of the

East India Docks The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the W ...

. The northern peninsula lies in a hairpin

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

and is named ''Goodluck Hope'' after one of the adjacent reaches of the

, while the other is known as ''Orchard Place''. The area was traditionally the easternmost part of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, with

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

on the other side of the Lea. The area was long referred to locally as ''Bog Island'', due to its inaccessibility and propensity to flood; however the building of the

Thames Barrier The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is c ...

and the artificial raising of the more vulnerable riverside land, means the nickname refers to a now much reduced threat.

Administration

The area was historically part of the ''Hamlet of Poplar'', an autonomous area of the Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney. The ''Hamlet of Poplar'' became an independent

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 or ...

in 1817. The civil parish of Poplar had a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

committee which organised services such as poor relief and road maintenance.

History

Orchard Place was the name of its

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

on the spit; this had become an eponymous

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 ...

from 1800–60. Orchard Place gives its name to the area's main street with extends into both of the local peninsulas.

Isolation

Always an isolated location, Leamouth was made more inaccessible by the construction of the

, which opened in 1806. After that, the only access was from Leamouth Road which connects to a remote part of the

East India Dock Road East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from Limehouse to Canning Town in London. The road takes its name from the former East India Docks in the Port of London, and partly serves as the high street of Poplar. To the west it becomes Co ...

. Improved road connections were made available in the late 20th century.

Social condition

To house the area's workers, there were about 100 small two-storied cottages – built from the 1820s and condemned in 1935. There was the Bow Creek school (founded in 1865), but few shops, and ''The Crown'', a public house, opened about 1840. By the late 19th century the vicinity of Orchard Place had become a deprived and overcrowded area. In the late 1930s, all homes and shops were demolished in a slum clearing project with residents were moved out of the area.

Industry

The Thames Plate Glass Works was a major employer until its closure 1874; many of the hands – who had migrated to the area from

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

and St Helens in the 1840s – followed the glassworks to New Albany,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. The site of the glass works was subsequently occupied by Pura Foods Pura Foods vegetable oil refinery until its closure in 2006. For many years the sugar firm Fowler's, a significant maker of

treacle Treacle () is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.Oxford Dictionary The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and a darker variety known as black treacle, similar to molasses. Black treacle has ...

, was in Leamouth. There were iron and engineering works, and shipping interests such as

Samuda Brothers Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate. Samuda Brothers initially leased a premise ...

, Castle Shipping Line,

Orchard House Yard Orchard House Yard (known as Orchard Yard and Hercules Wharf) was an English shipbuilding yard located at Leamouth, on the River Lea at Bow Creek . Forming part of the Orchard House estate, a number of shipbuilders occupied the site over time: ...

and the

Thames Iron Works The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...

. The Thames Ironworks was based at the mouth of Bow Creek at the confluence of the Lea and Thames. The yard started at Leamouth Wharf, on the Blackwall side of the Lea, and subsequently extended to include a much larger site at Canning Town, in the parish and borough or

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

, on the eastern side. These two parts of the shipyard were linked by a chain ferry capable of carrying 200 workers at a time. The yard was responsible for many shipbuilding and other engineering projects including the revolutionary HMS Warrior and the dreadnought

HMS Thunderer Five major warships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Thunderer :'' * was a 74-gun third-rate launched in 1760. Battle honour: Achille'' 1761'. She was wrecked in 1780. * was a 74-gun third-rate launched in 178 ...

Sporting legacy

The Thames Ironworks Yard shut in 1912, but its work team

Thames Ironworks F.C. Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle ...

, founded in 1895, continues to the current day as

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. Another Leamouth shipyard was the repair yard of the Castle Shipping Line, their works team Castle Swifts would indirectly merge with the Thames Ironworks football team in 1895.

Contemporary Leamouth

Trinity Buoy Wharf Trinity Buoy Wharf is the site of a lighthouse, by the confluence of the River Thames and Bow Creek on the Leamouth Peninsula, Poplar. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The lighthouse no longer functions, but is the home of ...

contains London's only lighthouse. There are also live-work units, many in the form of the Container Cities.

Redevelopments projects

The London City Island is a major redevelopment project by architects

Glenn Howells Glenn Paul Howells (born 15 July 1961) is a British architect and a director and founder of Glenn Howells Architects. Early life Howells was born in Stourbridge, England and educated in Plymouth. Practice His practice, Glenn Howells Archite ...

that will provide 1,706 homes, stores, shops, restaurants, cafés, and arts facilities including the

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scot ...

and

London Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

Roads

The Leamouth Peninsula has historically had poor transport links compared to the rest of Poplar, today it is connected to it by a main road splitting its halves: the A1020 Lower Lea Crossing which is a local by-pass of the A13.

Public transport

The "Jubilee" pedestrian bridge across the Lea links the area to the east bank of the Lea, and

Canning Town station Canning Town is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses station in Canning Town in London, England. It is designed as an intermodal metro and bus station, fully opening in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extensio ...

. Leamouth has been served by the

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

network for the first time by the D3 to

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

which starts and ends on Orchard Place since 2017. The N550 between Canning Town station and Blackwall was rerouted via Leamouth to provide night links whenever access to Canning Town station is restricted; implemented in September 2018.

References

External links

''Leamouth Road and Orchard Place: Historical development'', Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (1994), pp. 646-655A pedestrian and cycle bridge
connecting Leamouth to Canning Town tube station, opened in 2006. {{authority control Geography of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets River Lea