Posted on 03/05/2015 5:38:08 PM PST by Lee'sGhost
Doing research for a novel. Can anybody tell me, what section of London would the families of merchantmen sailors have lived in during the late 17th century? All I can find on-line is "London." But I've got to believe that they lived relatively close to the docks in areas with specific names. And I suppose officers would live in a different section than that of common sailors.
/johnny
West India Dock Road, Pennyfields , or Limehouse Causeway?
I don’t know if it’s right, and I’ve only ever flown into Heathrow to take the M4 to Wales, but maybe Southwark? I don’t know if Southwark is right, but it definitely is a section of London.
This is killing me!
I’m a English History major from way back and know I could find this out for you but am watching House of Cards so can’t look it up right now. I even have a book that is specifically about the history of London....
May I get back to you tomorrow AM?
Would you like the info in private mail?
Happy to help if I can....
Before or after the Great Fire of 1666 and reconstruction of London?
Try the “Pool of London”.
See the Wikipedia entry for it (not sure if I’m allowed to post the URL here) but here’s an extract:
“Originally, the Pool was the stretch of the River Thames along Billingsgate on the south side of the City of London where all imported cargoes had to be delivered for inspection and assessment by Customs Officers, giving the area the name of “Legal Quays”.[3] Smuggling, theft and pilferage of cargoes were rife on both the busy open wharves and in the crowded warehouses. The term was later used more generally to refer to the stretch of the river from Rotherhithe upriver to London Bridge, with the venerable bridge being the farthest reach that could be navigated by a tall-masted vessel.
“The Pool was of vital importance to London for centuries - as early as the 7th century Bede wrote that the Pool was the reason for London’s existence - but it reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries. By this time the river was lined with nearly continuous walls of wharves running for miles along both banks, and hundreds of ships moored in the river or alongside the quays.”
I would guess that sailors would find accomodations nearby (?)
My guess would be Wapping, Ratcliffe, and Limehouse.
You’re talking about sailors who have been out to sea for a while, so also look for wherever the prostitutes were.
I would start by looking where all the port authority buildings were. They usually are at the center of the port. Just find which building was being used at the time and what the neighborhood is was in.
The port today is very similar to Savannah Georgia, where as the whole river is used. They now have separate docks for ro-ro, containers, grains, oil, and cruise ships.
” the late 17th century” before or after the great fire of 1666?
There’s really a place called the Isle of Dogs in London? The muzzies aren’t going to like that.
This is a link to the center that was once the East India Company’s Chapel, St. Matthias, Poplar. You may find it useful.
http://www.stmatthiascommunitycentre.com/history.jsp
You might look around Blackwall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwall,_London or near the mouth of the River Lea. Between there and the City is Limehouse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse
Both areas would have survived the Great Fire.
I think upthread someone has already mentioned the areas across the river.
Wapping would be a good bet.
See:
A Plan Of The City’s Of London,
Westminster And Borough Of Southwark;
With The New Additional Buildings.
Anno, 1720.
http://mapco.net/senex/senex.htm
Plan des Villes de Londres et de Westminster et de leurs Faubourgs avec le Bourg de Southwark.
Par de Fer Avec Priv du Roy 1700
http://mapco.net/london/1700london.htm
Sir Christopher Wren’s Plan For Rebuilding The City Of London After The Dreadfull Conflagration In 1666.
http://mapco.net/london/1666wren.htm
A Plan Of The City And Environs Of London As Fortified By Order Of Parliament In The Years 1642 & 1643.
http://mapco.net/london/1642london.htm
London and Environs Maps and Views
http://mapco.net/london.htm
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