Old Poplar : In the footsteps of Call the Midwife and Dickens

It has existed for hundreds of years and for much of this time it was an area of squalor and violence -  But today we will rediscovering the tales involving not only the little known figures of history but the world famous as well.
For this is an area that was dominated by the London Docks. On this walk we shall retrace the steps of the loyal and close knit community that lived here. We will visit the streets, churches, warehouses and schools that they worked in and attended. This was the area that became the Warehouse of the British Empire. It was a place of shipbuilding and exploration and where we shall learn of the links it had to Sir Walter Raleigh.
But it was also a desperately poor area. It was the home of dockworkers and seamen; people who often did not have a fixed abode. So we shall learn of how they lived in the squalor of the hostels of the time and how they spent their lives toiling in terrible conditions.
However, this was also an area that was shaped by the untold wealth of the East India Company which has been described as the World’s first multinational corporation. This was the vehicle that would eventually lead to the British rule in India.
But let’s now move forwards to Dickensian times. Most people will tell you that Chinatown is in Soho. But the first and real Chinatown was here. And this was no place of Chinese restaurants and supermarkets. In the time of Charles Dickens, it was infamous for its opium dens. Fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes could often be found in them.
This area has so much more to offer though. We shall hear of the radical link between Poplar and “poplarism” and the life and times of a certain George Lansbury. Both world wars had tragic effects on the area. The heart of it was ripped out during the First World War and it became one of the most heavily bombed areas in the whole country during the Second World War.
And there is another claim to fame – one that many of you will have watched on TV. On this walk we shall find and hear of the real life home of Jenny, Chummy and Sister Monica from the hit drama “Call the Midwife”.
Finally we shall come right up to date by the gleaming towers of Canary Wharf and hear how this part of the area that was neglected for many years became regenerated and reinvented to become the Chicago of London.

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IMPORTANT: Attendance on any walk can only be guaranteed through pre-booking. If you cannot pre-book here but wish to attend, you are welcome to do so, but you must please give me prior notice of your intention to attend 

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Host or Publisher Daniella King, Footprints of London