Genealogy Chat

Can anyone tell me if Rotherhite used to be called something else probably before the early 1800s. Can't seem to find much on IGI.

It's a typo for Rotherhithe (in the London area). http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/REG/districts/rotherhithe.html

Early 1800s, Rotherhithe would have been in Surrey. Now its in the Greater London Borough of Southwark. nell

Sorry Mary, That's what I meant to type. Hugh Wallis IGI doesn't seem to go back very far either in London or Surrey for Rotherhithe, so thought it may have been called something else once.

Have a look at the Southwark Council website: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/DiscoverSouthwark/LocalStudiesLibrary/SourcesFamilyHistory.html Think the main churches for Rotherhithe were St Marys and St Olave but other members may know better. Selena

Bermondsey and Rotherhithe were, up until the Second World War, great centres of trade and industry. The wharfs along the River Thames and Surrey Docks on the Rotherhithe peninsula handled a range of goods. Tooley Street was known as 'London's larder', there were huge cold stores between Jamaica Road and the river, and Surrey Docks were the centre of the timber trade. Rotherhithe was significant for ship repair and barge building, and maritime-related industries like rope-making flourished. A roll-call of food processing industries grew in Bermondsey: Courage Brewery next to Tower Bridge, Cross and Blackwell in Crimscott Street, Pearce Duffs in Spa Road, Liptons on Rouel Road, and Peek Freans (first by St Saviour's Dock, then on Drummond Road). Engineering and the leather trade were also important. This was an area of considerable poverty and deprivation. Much of the work available was casual and wages were often low. Housing conditions were appalling with overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and absentee landlords. In addition all the industrial activity made for poor air quality. Philanthropists and social commentators were attracted to the area. It became a centre for social settlements and university and other missions. A range of innovatory and influential work emerged. The settlements in particular looked to social action. Local people also organized themselves through unions, political parties, and a range of local groups. Later, Bermondsey in particular was the focus of innovatory local government activity and there was a transformation of housing and environmental conditions.

http://www.kingstairs.com/rotherhithe/ see this site as I believe the area of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey are very close linked. Carol

I was born in Rotherhithe. Long ago it was called Redriffe but I have only seen this on a very few 17th Century Watermens apprentice records. Bermondsey and Rotherhithe blend into each other. Just out of interest, Rotherhithe is where the Guy Fawkes conspirators went to pick up their gunpowder! And St Marys (where my parents married) was where the Mayflower first set off from. If you google Dockland Ancestors there is a facility to search St Mary's Rotherhithe for baptisms - just put in a surname and you can bring up all matches for £1.95 at the moment. Not sure of the dates covered.

Just checked, these are the dates for churches south of the river on Dockland Ancestors: Camden Church, Camberwell 1845 to 1885 Entries: 8,000 Completion: 10% St Mary, Newington, Southwark 1829 to 1837 NEW!! NOW COMPLETE!! Entries: 7,018 Completion: 100% St Mary, Newington, Southwark 1837 to 1842 Entries: TBC Completion: COMING SOON St Mary, Newington, Southwark 1902 to 1922 Entries:5,556 Completion:100% St Mary, Rotherhithe 1834 to 1870 NEW!! NOW COMPLETE!! Entries:10,502 Completion:100% St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey 1782 to 1812 Entries: 11,312 Completion: 57%