Wapping, Middlesex

Historical Description

Wapping, a parish in Stepney union, Middlesex, on the Thames, at the London Docks, 2 miles ESE of St Paul's, London. It has a station on the East London railway, situated at one end of the Thames Tunnel. It forms a low strip along the river's bank; was overflowed or marshy till the time of Elizabeth; was then reclaimed, embanked, and converted into meadow and building site; had only one street in the time of Charles II., and was the scene of Judge Jeffreys' capture in a sailor's disguise in 1688. It formed part of Whitechapel parish till 1695; became all occupied with streets or with appurtenances of London Harbour; is now occupied over considerable space by part of the London Docks; suffered demolition of many houses for dock extension prior to 1861, and presents the appearances characteristic of the port of London. Acreage, 42; population, 2123. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London; net value, £284 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of London.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Wapping from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Wapping (St. John the Evangelist))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Middlesex is online.

Maps

Online maps of Wapping are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)