London has many streets and roads, but which is the longest?
There are a few contenders, depending on what criteria you are assessing it against.
- A1 road, which passes through London, has a length of 410 miles (659 kms) and extends to Edinburgh, though it changes names multiple times.
- Garratt Lane, Wandsworth, is also noted for its significant length at roughly 2.5 miles (4 kms).
- Green Lanes, the longest thoroughfare, is sometimes cited as the longest, as this road runs for roughly 7.45 miles (12 kms) from Newington Green to Winchmore Hill, though it is not a 'street' in the same localised sense.
- Streatham High Road is a major, very long, linear road stretching for 1.8 miles (2.9 kms) as part of the A23.
However, Rotherhithe Street, Southwark, is generally recognised as the longest continuously-named street in London. It stretches for approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kms), following the River Thames in a meandering semi-circle along a historical route.
So, let's explore London's longest street.
Starting at Rotherhithe Street's western end you enter a narrow pedestrianised path, sandwiched between the converted warehouses of Bombay Wharf and Hope Wharf, before you arrive at the historic St Mary's Church.
There has been a church on this site since Saxon times, but this current building dates from 1715, with the stone spire being added in 1739. In 1876 restoration work was undertaken, where the north and south galleries were removed, the pulpit was lowered and new seating arrangements were made. The altar, in the Lady Chapel, and the two bishop's chairs, in the north aisle, were constructed from timber from the 'Fighting Temeraire'. Plaques inform you that Captain Christopher Jones, along with three of the part-owners of the 'Mayflower', were buried in the churchyard, in 1622.
