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
Canal & River Trust
From their website: "We're the charity who look after and bring to life 2,000 miles of waterways, because we believe that life is better by water." Canal & River Trust took over the guardiansh...
1 memorial
London Bridge
Four stone bridges have spanned the Thames at this point. The first was built in about 1210 and lasted right through the medieval period. This was the one that had the spikes and is shown in some d...
25 memorials
Lord Hore-Belisha
Born Isaac Leslie Belisha in London. Politician. His widowed mother married Sir Adair Hore in 1912, and the surnames were merged. Entered parliament as a Liberal in 1923, and became minister of tra...
1 memorial
DLR extension to Lewisham
The Docklands Light Railway was originally opened in 1987 and ran from Tower Gateway to Island Gardens and Stratford. As passenger numbers increased, the decision was taken to extend the line south...
2 memorials
first gas-lit street in the world
The first public street lighting with gas was demonstrated in Pall Mall by Frederick Winsor in 1807. In January he lit the street and in June he put on a special gas-lit exhibition here, celebrati...
2 memorials
Previously viewed
Great Exhibition
From the V&A website: "The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. It was the first international exhibition of manufacture...
13 memorials
City of London School
Endowed by John Carpenter Town Clerk in 1442. The Corporation of London by an Act of Parliament in 1834 established the School at Honey Lane market in Milk Street. In 1883 the School moved to the V...
3 memorials
World War 2
Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do visit the picture source web site - it has a fascinating collection of maps. And we enjoyed these photos of current WW2 ev...
378 memorials
St George's Circus - clock tower
SE1, St George's Circus
Our image comes from Historic England where we found the designer, Groll, but don't trust the dates given there.
2 subjects commemorated,
1 creator
United Friendly Insurance Company
The Picture source has: "United Friendly Life Insurance was founded back in 1908, with their Head Offices based in London 42, Southwark Bridge Road, SE1."
1 memorial
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