Limehouse
| Limehouse | |
|---|---|
 Limehouse Town Hall on Commercial Road, built in 1878 for the Limehouse District |
|
 Limehouse
|
|
| Limehouse shown within Greater London | |
| Population | 15,986 (2011 Census.Ward) |
| OS grid reference | TQ365815 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E14 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
Limehouse is a district in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) east of Charing Cross, It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east.
Limehouse stretches from Limehouse Basin in the west to the edge of the former Chinatown in Pennyfields in the east; and from the Thames in the south to the Victory Bridge at the junction of Ben Jonson Road and Rhodeswell Road in the north.
The area gives its name to Limehouse Reach, a section of the Thames which runs south to Millwall after making a right-angled bend at Cuckold's Point, Rotherhithe. The west-to-east section upstream of Cuckold's Point is properly called the Lower Pool.
The name relates to the local lime kilns or, more precisely, lime oasts, by the river and operated by the large potteries that served shipping in the London Docks. The name is from Old English līm-āst "lime-oast". The earliest reference is to Les Lymhostes, in 1356.
The name 'Limehouse' is sometimes mistakenly thought to be derived from the nickname for the seamen that disembarked there, who had earned the name Lime-juicers or limeys after the obligatory ration of lime juice the Royal Navy gave their sailors to ward off scurvy.
The name is found used in 1417:
Inquisicio capta sup' litus Thomisie apud Lymhosteys pro morte Thome Frank.
("Inquest held on the shore of the Thames by Lymhosteys for the death of Thomas Frank")
From its foundation, Limehouse, like neighbouring Wapping, has enjoyed better links with the river than the land, the land route being across a marsh. Limehouse became a significant port in late medieval times, with extensive docks and wharves. Although most cargoes were discharged in the Pool of London before the establishment of the docks, industries such as shipbuilding, ship chandlering and rope making were established in Limehouse.
...
Wikipedia