The Best View Of Tower Bridge And How We Nearly Lost It

Tower Bridge, a magnificent feat of Victorian engineering, was completed in 1894. Along with Big Ben it is probably the most recognisable symbol of London and is almost certainly one of the most photographed.

But, where can you get the best view of it? Now, you may disagree, but I think you can get the best view of Tower Bridge from the South bank of the river in the Shad Thames area. You get a nice clear view of the bridge with the Tower of London and City in the background. It is also slightly more off the tourist trail than other spots!

This view was however, very nearly lost to the public. The story of it being saved involves a local hero called Maggie Blake, who has been immortalised in the name of a short passageway nearby called Maggie Blake’s cause. Here’s the story…

Shad Thames- The Larder of London

The name Shad Thames is thought to come from a corruption of- ‘St John at Thames’ from when the area was under the ownership of the Knights of St John or the ‘Knights Hospitaller’- the crusading monastic order. Another theory is that it is from the fish ‘shad’ that could be found in the Thames.

Shad Thames used to have the largest warehouse complex in London. It was known as Butler’s wharf and was completed in 1873, when Britain was at the height of its imperial power. The area was known as the ‘Larder of London’ due to all the tea, spices and dried fruit that was stored here after being off loaded in the Port of London.

You can see from the maps just how much development took place in the 19th century. The first is John Roque’s map from 1746 and the second is an ordnance survey map from 1893. You can see Tower Bridge for reference in the top left of the 2nd photo. Both from the brilliant Layers of London website. Courage’s Brewery, which you can see on the 1893 map, opened in 1787.

Decline and Redevelopment

In the 1960s, central London’s docks started to close. The container ships were now too large to make it up the river and they caused huge congestion issues. All sea trade activity moved further East, down-river, to newer, larger docks such as Tilbury. The final warehouse in the Shad Thames area shut in 1972.

At first it took on a new life as an artistic hub, with many artists attracted by the cheap rents. From 1975-1978, 2B Butler’s Wharf was a key venue for early UK video and performance art with artists such as Derek Jarman and, apparently, David Hockney both operating from here.

In the 1980s the area was redeveloped. Designer and restauranteur Terence Conran opened 3 restaurants here and the warehouses were developed into flats, offices, shops and bars. Some old features of the warehouses were retained that give the area a unique feel, such as the walkways you can see above.

Maggie Blake’s Cause

During the redevelopment, the designers wanted to restrict access to the waterfront along this stretch to just the owners of the apartments and customers at the restaurants.

A local, Maggie Blake, was having none of it. She campaigned with a group of supporters for the stretch to remain open to the public. They were thankfully successful and this small passageway leading from the winding cobbled street of Shad Thames, to the river was named ‘Maggie Blake’s Cause’ after the lady herself and her noble cause.

Thank goodness for Maggie Blake and her gang of local activists! It leads to a wonderful long walkway with fantastic views of the river, the city and, of course, Tower Bridge.

See below for more of London’s living history…