Cuckold's Point is part of a sharp bend on the River Thames on the Rotherhithe peninsula, south-east London, opposite the West India Docks and to the north of Columbia Wharf. The name comes from a post surmounted by a pair of horns that used to stand at the location, a symbol commemorating the starting point of the riotous Horn Fair, which can also symbolise a cuckold, a man whose wife had openly cheated on him.
The Horn Fair was a procession which led to Charlton. [1] It is said that King John, or another English monarch, gave the fair as a concession, along with all the land from the point to Charlton, to a miller whose wife he had seduced after a hunting trip, [2] [3] though this story is disputed. [4]
Cuckold's Point was also the location of a riverside gibbet, where the bodies of executed criminals (usually river pirates) were displayed as a deterrent to others, while it also gave its name to an adjacent shipyard during the 18th century.
Cuckold's Point is near to Pageant Crescent, Rotherhithe and to Nelson's Pier, from which the Docklands Hilton has a ferry connection to Canary Wharf.
Cuckold's Point is mentioned in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. On Friday 20 February 1662/63, Pepys described a river journey from Woolwich back to The Temple:
It is also mentioned by Daniel Defoe in his description of London (Letter V) and in A Journal of the Plague Year (part XX).
The location is the subject of a painting, A Morning, with a View of Cuckold's Point (c. 1750–1760), by Samuel Scott, currently in the collection of the Tate Gallery.
Samuel Pepys was an English writer and Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament, but is most remembered today for the diary he kept for almost a decade. Though he had no maritime experience, Pepys rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both Charles II and James II through patronage, diligence, and his talent for administration. His influence and reforms at the English Admiralty were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is a London borough in southeast Greater London, England. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich and most of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to the east. The local council is Greenwich London Borough Council which meets in Woolwich Town Hall.
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Hamlet, Parish and, for a time, the wider borough of Poplar. The name had no official status until the 1987 creation of the Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. It has been known locally as simply "the Island" since the 19th century.
Rotherhithe is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the east. It borders Bermondsey to the west and Deptford to the south-east. The district is a part of the Docklands area.
Woolwich is a town in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Greenwich is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east-south-east of Charing Cross.
The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary with the North Sea and including any associated docks. Once the largest port in the world, it was the United Kingdom's largest port as of 2020. Usage is largely governed by the Port of London Authority ("PLA"), a public trust established in 1908; while mainly responsible for coordination and enforcement of activities it also has some minor operations of its own.
Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - where many ships were built from the early 16th century until the late 19th century. William Camden called it 'the Mother Dock of all England'. By virtue of the size and quantity of vessels built there, Woolwich Dockyard is described as having been 'among the most important shipyards of seventeenth-century Europe'. During the Age of Sail, the yard continued to be used for shipbuilding and repair work more or less consistently; in the 1830s a specialist factory within the dockyard oversaw the introduction of steam power for ships of the Royal Navy. At its largest extent it filled a 56-acre site north of Woolwich Church Street, between Warspite Road and New Ferry Approach; 19th-century naval vessels were fast outgrowing the yard, however, and it eventually closed in 1869. The former dockyard area is now partly residential, partly industrial, with remnants of its historic past having been restored.
Charlton is an area of southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east of Greenwich and west of Woolwich, on the south bank of the River Thames, 7.2 miles (11.6 km) southeast of Charing Cross. An ancient parish in the county of Kent, it became part of the metropolitan area of London in 1855 and is home to Charlton Athletic F.C. and Charlton House.
London River Services Limited is a division of Transport for London (TfL), which manages passenger transport—leisure-oriented tourist services and commuter services—on the River Thames in London. It does not own or operate any boats itself, except those of the Woolwich Ferry, but licenses the services of operators.
The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse.
Narrow Street is a narrow road running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London, England. It used to be much narrower, and is the oldest part of Limehouse, with many buildings originating from the eighteenth century.
Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in. Greenland Dock is now used purely for recreational purposes; it is one of only two functioning enclosed docks on the south bank of the River Thames, along with the smaller South Dock, to which it is connected by a channel now known as Greenland Cut.
The Croydon Canal ran 9+1⁄4 miles (15 km) from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1836, the first canal to be abandoned by an act of Parliament.
Canary Wharf is a pier on the River Thames in Canary Wharf, London. It is located next to Westferry Circus.
The Mulberry-Garden is a comedy by Restoration poet and playwright Sir Charles Sedley (1639–1701) and was published in 1668
Odessa Wharf is an early 19th-century warehouse located on the south bank of the River Thames at Rotherhithe, London. The warehouse has been converted into apartments and townhouses, some of which are operated as holiday lets by Odessa Club Management with the remainder as private residences. It is situated directly on the Thames Path national trail, north of Greenland Dock, with distinctive timber box "lanterns" on its roof.
The Rotherhithe crossing is a proposed route for pedestrians and cyclists across the River Thames in London, England between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf.
Columbia Wharf, on the south bank of the River Thames in London, was the first grain silo in a British port. Built in 1864, it was designed by architect and hymnwriter James Edmeston for G & I L Green's Patent Ventilating Grain Company. It is in Rotherhithe, south of Cuckold's Point and north of Nelson Dock Pier. Canada Wharf was added to the complex in 1870–1. Used for storage of foodstuffs until 1976, the complex, including a former engine house and boiler to the south, was listed as a Grade II building in 1983, and is now used for accommodation.
51°30′17″N0°01′58″W / 51.5046°N 0.0329°W
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