Editing Rotherhithe (section)

== Ecclesiastical parish ==
[[File:The Angel, Rotherhithe (01).jpg|thumb|right|The Angel, a 19th-century pub in Rotherhithe now Grade II listed]]

The [[St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe|ancient parish]], dedicated to [[St Mary]], was in the [[Diocese of Winchester]] until 1877, then the [[Diocese of Rochester]] until 1905, and then finally in the [[Diocese of Southwark]]. From 1840, as the population of Rotherhithe increased, a number of new parishes were formed:<ref name=" Rotherhithe">{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43036|title=Parishes: Rotherhithe - British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref>

* Christ Church, Rotherhithe in 1840
* All Saints, Rotherhithe in 1842
* [[Holy Trinity Church, Rotherhithe|Holy Trinity, Rotherhithe]] in 1842
* St Barnabas, Rotherhithe in 1873

In addition, as the population of neighbouring Deptford increased, parts of Rotherhithe parish were included in the new parish of:
* '''St Katherine, Rotherhithe''' in 1886 ''with parts of St James, Hatcham''

===Nordic connection===
{{See also|Nordic churches in London}}
[[File:FinnChLondon.JPG|right|thumb|The Finnish Church, Albion Street]]
[[File:West Face of St Olav's Church, Rotherhithe (I).jpg|left|thumb|upright|St Olav's, Rotherhithe's Norwegian church]]

Because much of the former [[Surrey Docks]] had strong trade links to [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Balts|Baltic]] region, the area is still home to a thriving Scandinavian community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/48-hours-in-scandinavian-london-5365972.html|title=48 hours in Scandinavian London|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=24 February 2001}}</ref> During World War II, in fact, it housed the Norwegian Government-in-Exile. Originally established as seafarers' missions, Rotherhithe is home to a [[Church of Norway|Norwegian]],<ref>[http://www.norway.org.uk/norwayuk/norwegianseamenschurch/church.htm Norwegian Church and Seamen's Mission, St Olav's Church] accessed 4 July 2007</ref> a [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|Finnish]]<ref>[http://www.finnishchurch.org.uk/ The Finnish Church in London] accessed 4 July 2007</ref> and a [[Church of Sweden|Swedish]]<ref>[http://www.swedish-church.org.uk/ The Swedish Church in London] accessed 4 July 2007</ref> church. The [[Finnish Seamen's Mission#The Finnish Church, London|Finnish Church]] and the [[The Norwegian Church in London|Norwegian Church]] are both in Albion Street; they were built in 1958 and 1927 respectively (Rotherhithe Library is between them). There are also a number of "community centres" for the Nordic community in London, including hostels, shops and cafés and even a [[sauna]], mostly linked closely to the churches.

Some of the redeveloped areas were built by [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] architects, such as the Greenland Passage development<ref name=passage>[http://www.greenlandpassage.co.uk/development.html Greenland Passage development] accessed 4 July 2007</ref> by Danish Company [[Kjær & Richter]]. This gives some areas a distinctly "Nordic" feel in terms of house and street design.

The relationship with Scandinavia and the Baltic is also reflected in the names of some of the buildings (such as the [[Frederik IX of Denmark|King Frederik IX]] Tower),<ref name=passage/> the street names (e.g. Finland Street, Sweden Gate, [[Baltic Quay]], Norway Gate, Helsinki Square) or other place names (e.g. Greenland Dock). Another major influence factor was trade with [[Russia]] and [[Canada]] (mainly timber), reflected in names such as Canada Water<ref>[http://www.canadawater.org Canada Water Campaign and Canada Water Consultative Forum] accessed 4 July 2007</ref> and the [[Russia Dock]] Woodland.

===Other connections===
Rotherhithe is also a popular place to live with South Africans, according to the UK census of 2011,<ref>{{cite web|title = DataShine: Census|url = http://datashine.org.uk/#table=QS203EW&col=QS203EW0041&ramp=YlGnBu&layers=BTTT&zoom=11&lon=-0.1070&lat=51.4449|access-date = 2015-09-04}}</ref> and there was a South African themed pub at 351 Rotherhithe Street.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Orange Bull, Rotherhithe |url = http://whatpub.com/pubs/SEL/10719/orange-bull-rotherhithe}}</ref>

===The ''Mayflower''===
In July 1620, the ''[[Mayflower]]'' sailed from Rotherhithe and picked up 65 passengers, probably from [[Blackwall, London|Blackwall]], then proceeded to [[Southampton]] on the south coast of England to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage to [[Americas|America]]. At that time, the [[Puritan|English Separatists]], who later became known as the "[[Pilgrim Fathers]]", were mostly still living in the city of [[Leiden]], in the [[Netherlands]]. There they hired a ship called the ''[[Speedwell (1577 ship)|Speedwell]]'' to take them from [[Delfshaven]] in the Netherlands to Southampton to join the ''Mayflower''.<ref>[http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/voyage3.php Archived copy] www.mayflower.com {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229100950/http://mayflowerhistory.com/History/voyage3.php |date=29 December 2010 }} Route and Maps of the Voyage</ref>

The ship's master, [[Christopher Jones (Mayflower captain)|Christopher Jones]], died shortly after his return in 1621 and is buried in an unmarked grave at St Mary's Church. No one can be sure where on the Rotherhithe peninsula the ''Mayflower'' was berthed, but the ''Mayflower'' pub near St Mary's Church claims the honour, and lists the names of the ''Mayflower'' passengers on their wall. The building itself, despite external and interior appearances, dates only from the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufSsUlkWKaYC&q=Mayflower|title=London 2: South|last1=Cherry|first1=Bridget|last2=Pevsner|first2=Nikolaus|date=March 1983|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0300096518}}</ref> The extent to which the pub was damaged during the [[Second World War]], and was rebuilt or simply restored, is uncertain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hidden-london.com/nuggets/mayflower/|title=Mayflower - Hidden London|website=hidden-london.com}}</ref>

===China Hall===
[[File:Surrey Lock, Rotherhithe.jpg|thumb|right|The 19th-century Surrey Lock in Rotherhithe, now a Grade II listed structure]]

On Lower Road, about halfway between Surrey Quays and Canada Water stations, there was a public house called the China Hall; at one time it was the entrance to a [[riparian]] playhouse visited by [[Samuel Pepys]] and mentioned in his diary. It is not known how long the theatre remained on the site, but it was reinvigorated in 1777 and [[George Frederick Cooke]] acted there the following year. In the winter of 1779, it was destroyed in fire. The site of the theatre became a well-known tea-gardens, with the "usual arbours and 'boxes'" during the Victorian period, but by the 1920s, most of the gardens had been absorbed into the Surrey Commercial Docks as part of a timber yard.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wagner |first=Leopold |year=1921 |title=A new book about London: a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore|location=London |publisher= Allen & Unwin|pages=[https://archive.org/stream/newbookaboutlond00wagnrich#page/189/mode/1up 190,191]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Edward Josselyn |last1=Beck |first2= Thomas George |last2=Bonney |year=1907 |title=Memorials to serve for a history of the parish of St. Mary, Rotherhithe in the county of Surrey and in the administrative county of London|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/stream/memorialstoserv00bonngoog#page/n374/mode/1up Appendix 259,260]}}</ref>

===Second World War===
Like the rest of the London Docks, the Surrey Commercial Docks were targeted by the [[Luftwaffe]]. On 7 September 1940, on the first day of the [[London Blitz#First phase|London Blitz]], the [[Scots Pine#Names|deal]] yards of Surrey Docks were set ablaze. The raid ignited over a million tonnes of timber in Quebec Yard, causing the most intense single fire ever seen in Britain.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter |last=Stansky|year=2007|title=The first day of the blitz: September 7, 1940| edition=illustrated |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-12556-6|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=t5inp5IAhksC&pg=PA81 81]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Harris |first1=Clive |last2=Bright |first2=Neil |year=2010 |title=A Guide to Wartime London: Six Walks Revisiting the Blitz |edition=illustrated |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=9781848841727 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wrItyApr7bUC&pg=PA69 69]–70}}</ref>

The bombing of the old Rotherhithe Town Hall during the Second World War gives an indication of how heavy the bombing in Rotherhithe was. The first damage to the building occurred when Luftwaffe bombs landed nearby in April 1941, and there was more bomb damage in February and June 1944. Later the same month (June 1944) the Town Hall was severely damaged by a direct hit from a V1 [[doodlebug (flying bomb)|doodlebug]]. In November 1944 it was further damaged by near misses, and was finally destroyed by one of the last V1s to land on London.{{sfn|Blackman|2009}}

[[Haakon VII of Norway|King Haakon VII]] made many of his famous radio broadcasts to [[occupation of Norway|occupied Norway]] from [[The Norwegian Church in London|Saint Olav's Norwegian Church]] in Rotherhithe, where the Norwegian royal family were regular worshippers during their exile.<ref>[http://www.southwark.anglican.org/thebridge/0912/0912p8.pdf The Diocese of Southwark, ''The Bridge'', December 2009 - January 2010: Scandinavia in Rotherhithe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928095639/http://www.southwark.anglican.org/thebridge/0912/0912p8.pdf |date=28 September 2013 }}</ref>