East London . ing to observe in every one, either ashop full of queer things or a public house full of strangemen, or a house that speaks of other days—of crimps, forinstance, and of press gangs, and of encounters in the streets;there are ancient docks used for the repair of wooden sailingships; there are places where they build barges; a little in-land you may see the famous church of Limehouse, with itslofty steeple; it was only built in 1730. Before that timethere was no church at Limehouse; since that time nobodyhas gone to church at Limehouse, speaking of the true na-tives, the riverside
East London . ing to observe in every one, either ashop full of queer things or a public house full of strangemen, or a house that speaks of other days—of crimps, forinstance, and of press gangs, and of encounters in the streets;there are ancient docks used for the repair of wooden sailingships; there are places where they build barges; a little in-land you may see the famous church of Limehouse, with itslofty steeple; it was only built in 1730. Before that timethere was no church at Limehouse; since that time nobodyhas gone to church at Limehouse, speaking of the true na-tives, the riverside folk, not of those who dwell respectably inthe West India Dock Road. It is, however, doubtless agreat advantage and benefit to a sea-going population to havea churchyard to be buried in. At Limehouse the river suddenly bends to the south, andthen again to the north, making a loop within which liesa peninsula. This is a very curious place. It occupiesan area of a mile and a half from north to south, and about. Limehouse Basin and Church. THE POOL AND THE RIVERSIDE 91 a mile from east to west. The place was formerly a deadlevel, lower than the river at high tide, and therefore a broadtidal marsh; it was, in fact, part of the vast marsh of whichI have already spoken, now reclaimed, lying along the northbank of the river. This marsh was dotted over with littleeyots or islets, sometimes swept away by the tide, then form-ing again, composed of rushes, living and dead, the rankgrasses of the marsh, and sticks and string and leaves carriedamong the reeds to form a convenient and secure place wherethe wild birds could make their nests. When the river wallwas built the marsh became a broad field of rich pasture, inwhich sheep were believed to fatten better than in any otherpart of England. Until recently it had no inhabitants; prob-ably the air at night was malarious, and the sheep wantedno one to look after them; the river wall was adorned withhalf a dozen windmills; dead men, hanging
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbesantwa, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1901
