Thames Street, London

History

Thames Street is mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys. The first mention of the road, however, is from 1013 when the custom house was founded on the street. During the reign of King Henry VIII, the street contained the London residences of many courtiers, including that of William Compton, where Henry VIII allegedly met his mistresses.

Twentieth century

In the culture of the 20th century, the street is probably best remembered for its place in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land:

:O city city, I can sometimes hear :Beside a public bar in Lower Thames Street, :The pleasant whining of a mandoline :And a clatter and a chatter from within :Where fishmen lounge at noon: where the walls :Of Magnus Martyr hold :Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold.

At 101 Lower Thames Street, remains of a Roman bath were excavated. They are preserved in the cellar of the modern building on the site.

Little evidence of the street's history remains, in a large part due to the Blitz and post-War redevelopment, and it now contains many office buildings, including the headquarters of the Daily Express newspaper. The London Fire Brigade's fire investigation unit is based at Dowgate fire station on Upper Thames Street at the corner of Allhallows Lane; the station is the only one within the City of London. The most notable change is at the western end of the thoroughfare, which dramatically altered its course as part of major works of the 1960s, involving the reclaiming of foreshore of the Thames at Puddle Dock.

Twenty-first century

Lower Thames Street formed part of the marathon course of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's on 12 August. The Paralympic marathons were held on 9 September.

References

References

1. "[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45074 Lower Thames Street]", ''Old and New London: Volume 2'' (1878), pp. 41–60.
2. The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales
3. [https://www.google.com/search?q=history+%22lower+thames+street%22&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=X&tbo=p&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbs=tl:1,tl_num:100&ei=E4AHTI_zCYz0mAPQvq3SCw&oi=timeline_navigation_bar&ct=timeline-navbar&cd=3&ved=0CGYQywEoBA History "Lower Thames Street" - Google Search]
4. Hart, Kelly. (1 June 2009). "The Mistresses of Henry VIII". The History Press.
5. "London 2012 marathon men Results - Olympic athletics".
6. "London 2012 marathon women Results - Olympic athletics".