From the earliest days until the mid-18th century the Thames was the preferred route for travelling east-west across London, and a barrier which had to be crossed by boat to travel north-south. By boat, because the roads were very poor and there was only one bridge. In 1510 Henry VIII set up a licencing system for watermen, or wherrymen, and in 1555 the watermen were incorporated to control tariffs and impose safety regulations. In 1700 the watermen joined forces with the lightermen (who carried cargo rather than passengers) to form the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. See also Doggett's Coat and Badge.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Thames watermen
Commemorated ati
wherrymen seat
{On the modern plaque above:} The Ferryman's seat located on previous buildin...
Other Subjects
Nina Bawden
Writer of novels for adults and children, and late in life, campaigner for railway safety. Born Nina Mary Mabey in Ilford, Essex. As a child she was evacuated during the blitz, giving her memories...
1 memorial
Hammersmith Bridge
The original bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark, and was the first suspension bridge over the River Thames. By the 1870s, it became evident that it was not strong enough to support the vo...
4 memorials
Stanley Arthur Heaps
Architect. He designed a number of stations on the London Underground system, including the stations on the Edgware extension of the Northern Line, as well as train depots and bus and trolleybus ga...
5 memorials
Greenwich Meridian
A prime meridian. Established by Sir George Airy. By 1884, over two-thirds of all ships and tonnage used it as the reference meridian on their charts and maps. In October of that year, 41 delegates...
1 memorial
Stratford Depot
A Motive Power Depot (MPD) used for the storage of train engines when not in use.
1 memorial
Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them