Limehouse Basin is a landscaped marina that occupies a sought after location between the City and Canary Wharf. Being only a 10 minute walk along the Thames pathway to the commercial district at Canary Wharf, Limehouse Basin is regarded as docklands prime residential location. It is home to a stylish collection of modern apartments blocks with balconies and views over the calm tranquil water of the marina. Limehouse Basin has its own locks leading out to the River Thames and from the Limehouse Cut and the Regents Canal. Narrow Street is now a regular jogging route for office workers at Canary Wharf and has limited local traffic helping make Limehouse a convenient place to live.
HISTORY The name relates to the
local lime kilns located by the river and operated by the large potteries that
served shipping in the London docks. The earliest reference to Les Lymhostes
occurs in 1356. It became the first Chinatown of London and in Victorian times
had the colourful reputation as a mass of opium dens and illegal gambling joints.
Limehouse housed docks industries such as ship building, ship chandlering and
rope making. The basin provides a navigable link between the Regent's Canal
and the River Thames. It was built by the Regent's Canal. The history of the
connection of the Basin to the River Thames and the Limehouse Cut is complex,
but in 1968, a short stretch of new canal was constructed to reconnect the Limehouse
Cut to the Basin. Directly to the east is a small park, Ropemaker's Fields.
LIFE IN LIMEHOUSE Hurford Salvi Carr are prominently based
along with an art gallery, holistic and dental surgeries on the Basin. The Mosaic
development has several retail units including ‘La Figa’, an Italian restaurant,
‘Verde’ a delicatessen and cafe, a dry cleaners. Narrow Street offers a number
of pubs including The Narrow (run by the Gordon Ramsay group), The Grapes, a
historic pub with an old-style feel and Bootys. Supermarkets are located just
north of the Basin on Commercial Road.
Limehouse has its own and newly extended DLR (Docklands Light Railway) station and also a C2C station linking Fenchurch Street to Southend and Essex. City Airport, Excel, the O2 Centre are all easily accessible along with the City and West End.
