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Because much of Rotherhithe was covered by the now-defunct Surrey Commercial Docks, the district is often referred to as Surrey Docks or (since the late 1980s) Surrey QuaysSurrey Quays is a name given to a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. The precise boundaries of the area are somewhat amorphous, but it is generally reckoned to comprise the sou. In the past Rotherhithe has also been known as the cognate Redriff. It is part of the SE16 postal district. Electorally, the western half is Rotherhithe ward and the eastern half Surrey Docks ward.
Redriff was the fictional birthplace of Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift ( November 30, 1667 October 19, 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer and satirist. Jonathan Swift was born, after his father had been dead for seven months, to an English mother, and educated by his Uncle Godwin. After a not very successful care's character Lemuel Gulliver, of Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's Travels ( 1726/ 1735) is a work of fiction pseudonymously authored by the British satirist Jonathan Swift. The first edition was published in 1726 with major changes by the publisher, since he was afraid the book in its original version would o fame, and where his family waited for him.
Rotherhithe is joined to the north bank of the Thames by three tunnels. The Thames Tunnel to Wapping was the first underwater tunnel in the world. It was built by the BrunelBrunel can mean: Isambard Kingdom Brunel Marc Isambard Brunel Brunel Bridge Brunel University.s as a pedestrian tunnel and is now occupied by the East London LineThe East London Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured orange on the Tube map. It runs north to south in the East End and Docklands areas of London. History The section beneath the Thames was originally a foot tunnel built by Marc Isambard Bru of the London UndergroundThe London Underground is a public transport network, composed of electrified railways (that is, a metro system) that run underground in tunnels in central London and above ground in the city's suburbs. The oldest metropolitan underground network in the w. The later Rotherhithe TunnelThe Rotherhithe tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in east London. The tunnel connects Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the river. It was (opened 1908) carries a road to Limehouse. The Jubilee Line extension (opened 1999) has a railway tunnel to Canary Wharf in the Isle of Dogs.
Although the docks were closed and largely filled in during the 1980s, and have now been replaced by modern housing and commercial facilities, Rotherhithe is still dominated by its former maritime heritage. The largest surviving dock on the south bank, Greenland Dock, is the focal point for the southern part of the district, while preserved wharves dominate the riverside at the north end of Rotherhithe. St Mary's Church dominates the old town centre, a short distance from the historic Brunel Engine House at the south end of the Thames Tunnel.
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