Wilton's Music Hall

Last of the Grand Music Halls.

Saturday September 10, 2016.

It was a damp afternoon as I wandered around the Tower Hamlets area of the Unfinished City, looking for interesting architecture and hidden gems, and boy did I find one. It was just as the rain started to pour, that I stumbled upon this true piece of East End history. And, to my great relief, it was open. So, inside I went. 

A multi-million renovation had just been completed on the building, which had been suffering from damp, rot, a leaky roof, subsidence and more irksome things.

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Tobacco Dock

Land-locked Dock.

Saturday September 10, 2016.

Tobacco Dock was another one of those places that I heard lots about, but had never visited. It was by pure chance that, as I wandered along the Ornamental Canal, I noticed the masts of two ships. As I climbed the stairs I realised where I was, so set about taking some photos.

Tobacco Dock.

Although, on my visit, the docks were closed, it was good to finally see the ships and gates, before I continued walking eastwards.

'The Prospect of Whitby'

London's oldest riverside inn.

Saturday September 10, 2016.

The Prospect of Whitby is one of the pubs, in the Unfinished City, that I had wanted to visit for many years. So, as I began a walk from St Katharine Docks, I knew where I would be ending up, which made the walk even more exciting. 

What's in a name?

The exterior is amazing, but I much preferred the view from the foreshore. Inside there is a pewter-topped bar, which compliments the 400 year old stone floor, the only original piece of the building. 

The front of The Prospect of Whitby.

On the foreshore, in front of the window overlooking the River Thames, is a replica gallows and noose, which commemorates one of the pubs frequent clients: 'Hanging' Judge Jeffreys.

'Rope Circle' by Wendy Ann Taylor

I Spy... A Heron.

Saturday September 10, 2016.

For a change I decided to take a walk through an area of the Unfinished City that I was unfamiliar with. So, I started at St Katharine Docks and headed towards Wapping. 

Before I reached the Ornamental Canal, I noticed this sculpture beside Hermitage Basin. 

The circle makes for a great photo framing device, too.

I spy... The Shard.

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Foreshore: South

What we leave behind...

It was a gloriously warm Friday morning, in the Unfinished City, as I made my way down on to the foreshore of the River Thames, just west of the MillenniuM Bridge. The tide was still receding, which allowed me to walk along the shore, below Blackfriars Bridge, to the steps in front of the OXO Restaurant Bar & Brasserie.

The foreshore, itself, was remarkably clean with little in the way of litter, making the task of finding those little pieces of history that much simpler. Within minutes I had found some smashed clay pipes, dating from between the 16-18th centuries. This was my first ever find on the foreshore, although I had looked for them on numerous occasions. There were scores of Thames Spuds (old London bricks that have been eroded and rounded by the tide), countless Iron Nails (possibly from where ships had been broken up on the foreshore), pieces of timber (possibly from the broken up ships) and an old wheel that looked as it had come from a horse-drawn carriage.