Comments on: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies At Butler’s Wharf

By: Colin Oakley

Colin Oakley — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 10:08:51 +0000

Bloody marvellous. Thank you for sharing and by way of reply to some of those who have left less than generous comments about the area now, please be aware that there is still a strong sense of community here. Some of us have lived here 35 years plus and raised families in the neighbourhood. There are still houses, not just flats, as there have been for many centuries and for much longer than the Victorian warehouse facades that you see today.

By: Pamela Traves

Pamela Traves — Mon, 11 May 2020 23:22:10 +0000

The Pictures are Sad, but I do Enjoy them. Thank You.?????

By: Clive Jennings

Clive Jennings — Sun, 10 May 2020 14:42:44 +0000

I used to have a studio there in 1975, and remember it well. Derek Jarman making films and Andrew Logan’s “Alternative Miss World” – it was all happening there!

By: Flo

Flo — Sun, 10 May 2020 11:57:18 +0000

What a fabulous coincidence. When my two favourite internet pages pass by the same place on the same day. The BBC Archive Twitter feed today features a small film of Bob Hoskins taking Barry Norman along a riverside walk in 1982:

https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/1259166241698111490

By: Mathilde Grange

Mathilde Grange — Sun, 10 May 2020 10:43:41 +0000

Magnificent photographs. I didn’t know Butler’s Wharf nor do I know it now, but I’ve looked for pictures to see what it has become. Strangely, although in Ms. Glass’ pictures the warehouses were empty and no longer in use, the same street had more life then that it has now with its “quaint” shop signs and neat look. Sad.

By: Pauline Taylor

Pauline Taylor — Sun, 10 May 2020 10:40:55 +0000

I like Penny ‘s description of this as clinging to the edge of the Thames and her mention of the history as that is how I see it. All my ancestors from the 16th century until the late 19th century lived and worked either on or beside the Thames from Hampton to Greenwich and everywhere in between so, despite never having lived in London myself, I still feel that the history is in my blood and particularly that of the river. This area must have been so busy and so active for so long and it is so sad if all that atmosphere has been lost but it is good to hear that the smell of the spices still lingers. Thank you GA and Lucinda for a good start to a lovely warm and sunny Sunday morning, you have made me think of all those long ago members of my family who must have been so familiar with these wharves and all the activity that took place there. Much to think about !

By: Penny Gardner

Penny Gardner — Sun, 10 May 2020 10:00:10 +0000

Good it was to be a painter working in the space there for a few years. So very interesting . Clinging to the edge of the Thames . I wish .somehow that it could have remained in the hands of people who didn’t have so much and yet held the history and life in their hands. Its now so dead and unimaginative. Not a change for the best,but more of a cartoon to deceive.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 10 May 2020 09:28:48 +0000

Brilliant to see these atmospheric photos, thankyou. Parts of Shad Thames and Butler’s Wharf were not that different even ten years later when we had our first shop, down there, thanks to Sir Terence Conran .
He had smartened up the river front with the Pont de La Tour and at the the the other end of Shad Thames, punctuated by the Design Museum. There were still large parts beyond that were undeveloped and the tumbleweed was still rolling, the smell of spices still pervading.

By: Bailey Jones

Bailey Jones — Sun, 10 May 2020 09:25:42 +0000

If you are walking around this area, once the pubs open again, I recommend the Anchor Tap on the corner of Horselydown Lane and Cooper Row.

By: Bailey Jones

Bailey Jones — Sun, 10 May 2020 09:17:44 +0000

When you compare these photos with what Butler’s Wharf is like 40 years on it’s quite incredible. It’s a little sterile now but good that the warehouses have survived.