Granaries, Shipyards and Wharves - Cycling from Guildford

� WALK ALONG GULLIVER STREET AND TURN RIGHT INTO ELGAR STREET
GULLIVER STREET is a reminder that Dean
Swift placed his hero’s home in “Redriffe”, although
as one unkind commentator has said, whether
that was because it was a fitting home for a
ship’s surgeon, or because the inhabitants were
notorious for telling whopping great lies is
not known.
THE REDRIFF ESTATE was begun in 1931,
but not completed until 1940. The cost of re-housing
the new residents was £183 per head. Surprisingly
for this date, the flats were gas lit and had
solid fuel cooking ranges. This was probably due to
the Bermondsey Borough Council electricity works at
Spa Road being already working at full capacity.
The estate was badly damaged right at the outset
of the blitz, with 126 flats being destroyed
or gutted by fire. Despite post war repairs, many
flats became empty, squatted and vandalised as
people moved away after the docks closed.
Under LDDC auspices, the estate was completely
refurbished with a mixture of privately owned
and social flats.
THE SAME VIEW IN 2004.
SHIPYARDS, GRANARIES AND WHARVES 19