Patron: Sir Tommy Steele O.B.E.
Keeping History Alive in London's Secret Riverside Villages
In 1350, the small royal residence of King Edward III’s Manor House was constructed upon a small island during the time when the hamlet of Rotherhithe was surrounded by marshland. The building was bordered by a moat on three sides, leaving the north side completely open for access to the river.
It is thought that the residence was created for the King to use whilst participating in falconry, due to its favourably flat surrounding terrain and of course, the River Thames. By the end of the 1500s, the estate was sold as it was no longer used by the royal family.
King Edward III's
Manor House
In the 1700s, the land became the site of a pottery, and in the ensuing years, warehouses were built here which remained in place until the 1970s. Whilst the area was being redeveloped in 1980s, the Museum of London excavated the remains of the Manor House to record and preserve them, and to build upon the history of the area.
