Queenhithe is a small and ancient
ward of the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, situated by 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, s ...
and to the south of
St. Paul's Cathedral. The
Millennium Bridge crosses into the City at Queenhithe.
Queenhithe is also the name of the ancient, but now disused,
dock and a minor street, which runs along that dock, both of which are within the ward.
The ward is served by
London Buses route 4, which runs along
Queen Victoria Street and stops by the Millennium footbridge, and the nearest
London Underground station is
Mansion House, on Queen Victoria Street.
History
The ward's name derives from the "Queen's Dock", or "Queen's Quay", which was probably a
Roman dock (or small harbour), but known in Saxon times as "Aeðereshyð", later "Ethelred's Hythe". The dock existed during the period when the
Wessex king,
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
, re-established the City of London, circa 886 AD. It only became "Queenhithe" (spelt archaically as "Queenhythe") when
Matilda, wife of
King Henry I, was granted duties on goods landed there. The Queenhithe dock remains today, but has long fallen out of use and is heavily silted up (being
tidal). Queenhithe harbour was used for importing corn into London and continued to be in use into the 20th century, by the
fur and
tanning trades. Being upstream of
London Bridge, however, meant that large sea-going
sailing ships could no longer safely reach the dock from the sea.
King Charles II landed at Queenhithe during the
Great Fire of London in September 1666 to view the extent of the destruction and assist in the firefighting.
The dock, including the wharf walls and adjacent street, was designated a
Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1973; it is the only surviving inlet on the modern City's waterfront. Its walls have been re-strengthened, as part of London's flood defences.
Bombing in
the Blitz destroyed approximately three-quarters of the ward's buildings: the only
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s are
St Benet Paul's Wharf Church, and the tower of the former
St Mary Somerset Church.
A key sequence of the 1951 comedy ''
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...
'' used Queenhithe as a location for filming: Mr. Holland, played by
Alec Guinness, can be seen falling from a wharf into the Thames and being rescued by two actors dressed as police officers.
Construction of the
Millennium Bridge began in 1998 before its opening in 2000. The construction of this
footbridge, which created a direct pedestrian route from
Bankside (at the
Tate Modern) to the
St Paul's area, has contributed to a dramatic increase in tourists and commuters transitting the ward of Queenhithe.
Notable sites

Queenhithe includes a number of notable buildings and sites, including:
*The
Aviation Environment Federation's headquarters, at No. 2, Broken Wharf;
*The
City of London School, at No. 107,
Queen Victoria Street;
*The
Salvation Army's international headquarters, at No. 101, Queen Victoria Street, on the corner of Peter's Hill; and
*The
Painter Stainers' Hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...
, at No. 9, Little Trinity Lane.
*The Queenhithe Mosaic, at 1 Queenhithe.
Also within the ward are the London offices of the international law firm
Salans and the Japanese bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
The ward has a complex urban
topography, largely due to post-World War II development, with
Upper Thames Street running beneath Peter's Hill and a number of large post-War buildings, such as Millennium Bridge House and Queensbridge House. A number of old lanes and alleys remain, some of which cross the thoroughfare by footbridge.
The Welsh church of
St Benet Paul's Wharf, on Bennet's Hill, is in the northwest corner of the ward. Two former churches were situated within the ward, very near to one another:
St Michael Queenhithe and
St Mary Somerset, of which only the tower of St Mary's remains.
The Queenhithe Mosaic is a 30-metre-long timeline on the wall of Queenhithe Dock. The mosaic was completed in 2014 and features key figures from history who built and used the dock and lived nearby.
Queenhithe is one of the smaller residential centres in the otherwise business-dominated City; with a population of 319 as of 2011, it mostly comprises the residents of the three riverside residential developments: Sir John Lyon House, Globe View and Queen's Quay. A small number of bars and restaurants have been established along the riverside, with views across to the
Globe theatre and
Tate Modern.
Boundary
In 2003 the ward boundaries of the City of London were altered quite considerably, including those of Queenhithe, in what was the first comprehensive review of
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
boundaries. Queenhithe lost some ground to the north and east to
Vintry, but gained (including the City of London School) to the west from
Castle Baynard. A further review of ward boundaries, effective in 2013, recommended no further changes to Queenhithe's boundaries. The ward is recognised as one of the four residential wards of the City (with a population of 319 (2011), the smallest of those wards)
[www.statistics.gov.uk]
/ref> and policy is to retain a predominantly residential vote (as opposed to the business vote being predominant) in these wards.
The present-day boundary of the ward, starting from the Thames in the west, runs north along White Lion Hill (to the west of the City School) then east along Queen Victoria Street then down Lambeth Hill. The boundary then runs for a short distance along Upper Thames Street before heading north up Huggin Hill to include Painters' Hall, after which the boundary turns south towards the river again; the ward includes all of Queensbridge House. Leading to the river, the boundary crosses Upper Thames Street and then runs along Queenhithe (the street), including the whole of the old Queenhithe dock.
Included within the ward boundary is the part of the Thames, adjacent to the Queenhithe shore, which is in the City (i.e. to a line midway across the width of the river). Indeed, approximately half of the ward's area is the River Thames and shore; with this part excluded the ward is the smallest (by area) in the City. The ward (and City) boundary is crossed halfway over the Millennium Bridge.
The ward is bounded by the wards of Castle Baynard to the west, Bread Street to the north, Vintry to the east, and the London Borough of Southwark to the south (across the river). Prior to the 2003 changes it also bounded Cordwainer ward.
Politics
Queenhithe is one of 25 wards in the City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, each electing an alderman to the Court of Aldermen, and commoners (the City equivalent of a Councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
) to the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation. Only Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand for election.
Queenhithe returns an Alderman and two Common Councilmen to the Corporation of London.Alderman Gordon Haines
/ref>
Queenhythe, Jamaica
A rural community called Queenhythe (or Queen Hythe) exists in the Saint Ann parish of Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. As with many place names in that country, it is named after a locality in England.
References
External links
City of London Corporation
Queenhithe Ward
Queenhithe Ward Club
Queenhithe Plaque
- as displayed on the Queenhithe dock wall, on Queenhithe (street)
Worshipful Company of Curriers
City of London Corporation
- map of Queenhithe ward boundaries (2013)
City of London: Ward Boundary Review 2013
- Historical Map and Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)
{{City of London wards
Wards of the City of London
London docks
Streets in the City of London
Scheduled monuments in London
Districts of London on the River Thames
Port of London