Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a locality in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It lies on the north 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, s ...

between

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

(to the east), and

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

(to the west). The place name is no longer commonly used.

History

Etymology and origin

The name ''Ratcliffe'' derives from the small sandstone cliff that stood above the surrounding marshes, it had a red appearance, hence ''Red-cliffe''. Ratcliff was historically part of the Manor and Ancient Parish of Stepney. The place name Stepney evolved from ''Stybbanhyð'', first recorded around 1000 AD. ''Stybbanhyð'' probably translates into modern English as "Stybba's hithe (landing place)", with Stybba the individual who owned the Manor (estate). The hithe itself is thought to have been at Ratcliff, just under south of St Dunstan's Church.

Civil and ecclesiastical administration

The hamlet was divided between the parishes of

and

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

until 1866, when it was constituted a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

(as Ratcliffe). From 1855 it was administered by Limehouse District Board of Works, and in 1900 became part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the condition of the area had improved somewhat - the 1868 'National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland' describes Ratcliffe as inhabited by persons connected with shipping and having extensive warehouses, with the area 'well paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with water from the reservoir at Old Ford'. The parish church of Ratcliffe, St. James in Butcher Row, was built in 1838 and served the area until 1951 (it was damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), when the parish was merged with St. Paul, Shadwell. In 1948 the church site became (and remains) the East London home of the

Royal Foundation of St. Katharine The Royal Foundation of St Katharine is a religious charity based in the East End of London. The Foundation traces its origins back to the medieval church and monastic hospital St Katharine's by the Tower (full name ''Royal Hospital and Collegia ...

. The social campaigner Father John Groser became the first Master of the Foundation in its new home. The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets). The role of the ''Tower Division'' ended when Ratcliff became part of the new

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in 1889. The County of London was replaced by Greater London in 1965.

History

Ratcliffe in earlier times was also known as "sailor town". It was originally known for shipbuilding but from the fourteenth century more for fitting and provisioning ships. accessed 20 April 2008 In the sixteenth century various voyages of discovery were supplied and departed from Ratcliffe, including those of Willoughby and Frobisher. By the early seventeenth century it had the largest population of any Hamlet (administrative sub-division) in Stepney, with 3500 residents. It was again a site of shipbuilding in the seventeenth century - a number of sailing warships were built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

here, including one of the earliest frigates, the ''Constant Warwick'' in 1645. Located at the western end of

Narrow Street Narrow Street is a narrow road running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London, England. It used to be much narrower, and is the oldest part of Limehouse, with many buildings originating from the eighteenth centur ...

it was made up of lodging houses, bars,

brothels A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe t ...

, music halls and

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

dens. This overcrowded and squalid district acquired an unsavoury reputation with a large transient population. In 1794 approximately half of the hamlet was destroyed in a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

but, even so, it continued as a notorious

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

well into the nineteenth century. From the late sixteenth century Ratcliffe and surrounding areas were notable areas for Nonconformist (Protestantism), non-conformist Christianity. John Penry preached in the area in 1592/3, until he was spotted by the local vicar at Ratcliffe and subsequently hanged. By 1669 around 200 Presbyterians were worshipping at a warehouse at Ratcliffe Cross and there was a purpose built Quaker meeting house in Schoolhouse Lane, which was demolished by soldiers in 1670. In late 1811 seven Ratcliff Highway murders, murders took place in Ratcliffe Highway (more recently St. George's Street), allegedly committed by a sailor named Williams, who committed suicide after being captured. The murders were later fictionalised in an account by De Quincey, Thomas De Quincey.

The Ratcliffe Fire

The Ratcliffe Fire was the largest fire disaster in London between the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666 and the The Blitz, Blitz in 1940. The fire took place in July 1794 when a smaller fire ignited a barge loaded with Potassium nitrate, saltpetre. The conflagration that followed destroyed over 400 homes and 20 warehouses and left 1000 people homeless. Following the fire tents were set up near to St Dunstan's, Stepney, St. Dunstan's Church whilst the area was rebuilt.F A Youngs, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol.I, London, 1979 Hamlet of Radcliffe

Population and area

The hamlet of Ratcliffe covered and had a Census population of: Hamlet of Ratcliffe 1801-1901

References

External links and information

*Ratcliffe https://web.archive.org/web/20051226015402/http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/parish/ratcliff.htm *Ratcliffe https://web.archive.org/web/20060213214435/http://www.eastlondonhistory.com/ratcliff.htm *The Ratcliffe waterfront http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/upload/img_200/PX9445.jpg *The Museum in Docklands has an area set up to look like 'Sailortown' and information about the Ratcliffe Fire
1903 description of the Parish of St James, Ratcliff
by Walter Besant {{LB Tower Hamlets History of local government in London (pre-1855) History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Parishes united into districts (Metropolis) Port of London Limehouse Stepney Shadwell Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

History

Etymology and origin

Civil and ecclesiastical administration

History

The Ratcliffe Fire

Population and area

See also

References

External links and information