[Introduction] [Bromley Hall] [Mills] [Gasworks] [Sewer System] [Match Factory] [Resources]

INTRODUCTION
Acts were passed in 1424 and 1571 to improve navigation on the River Lea, which was a major trading route.
In 1832 214,542 tons of goods were carried including coal, malt & other cereals and products from the mills.
The chemical industry developed around West Ham, which was outside the area protected by legislation and between 1860 & 1900 there were 200 chemical works along with factories processing animal refuse. Following years of neglect and decay the Lower Lea Project has, with regeneration funding, worked to improve the environment for all.

BROMLEY HALL
The building on the corner of Gillender Street is a Tudor lodging tower built between 1482 & 1495 on land adjoining the River Lea owned by Holy Trinity Priory. It was built on the site of the late 12th century Manor of Lower Bramberley parts of which were discovered by MOLAS and have been conserved below a glass floor. In 1509 a thirty year lease was granted to John Blount, a bodyguard to Henry VIII. His wife was lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon and their daughter Elizabeth was one of Henry VIII's mistresses. The property was seized by the crown in 1531-2 and major alterations were made. The Hall was leased to George Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell, Sir Radulph Sadler and William Cecil among others. It was sold to Sir Arthur Ingram of the London Customs in 1606 and William Ferrers in 1615. During the 17th and early 18th centuries its owners included John Samyne (a gunpowder manufacturer), William Ferrers (a mercer) and Adam Woolley & Richard Nicholls (goldsmiths). In the 18th and early 19th centuries it became a centre for calico bleaching and printing when owned by Joseph Foster. In 1823 he sold Bromley Hall to Hugh McIntosh, builder of the East India and London Docks.

During the 1880's it was used by the Regions Beyond Missionary Union to house nurses and in 1914 it became a paediatric training hospital. In 1924 it was sold to the Royal College of St Katherine as an infant welfare centre. They built the annexe with rooflights for sunlight treatment in 1926. Following some reconstruction after WWII bomb damage it was used as a home and office for an adjacent garage and later a carpet warehouse. During this time it fell into disrepair and was placed on the 'Buildings at Risk' register by English Heritage. The hall was purchased in 2001 by Leaside Regeneration who have restored it, along with neighbouring Poplar Library, as serviced office units for small businesses. It also provides a meeting room and access to elements of the internal structure. These consist of a staircase, an original Tudor-arched oak doorframe, a rare renaissance style wall painting and remains of the cellars of the previous building on the site. If you are interested the project or could make use of the facilities contact Leaside Regeneration on 0845 262 0846.

MILLS
The Domesday Book records 8 tidal watermills on the river Lea and in the 14th century numerous industries developed based on the mills. Around 1588, at present Three Mills, were a corn mill and a gunpowder mill. In the 18th century these switched to gin distilling and in 1872 the property was transferred to Nicholsons Gin. The timber-framed House Mill of 1776 with a brick facade is Grade I listed and is open to the public on summer Sundays. Some of the milling machinery remains including 4 undershot wheels which last worked in 1941. The Clock Mill (pictured in header) was built in 1817 to replace a weatherboarded building. The clocktower of 1753 was part of the previous mill and the drying kilns pre-date the 1817 building. The Grade II listed mill was last used in 1952. The former distillery building between House and Clock Mills is now used as film studios. The third mill was a windmill, first mentioned in 1734 which lasted until about 1840.
More on Three Mills [click here]

GASWORKS
Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks was built in 1870-3 by the Imperial Gas Company on land previously occupied by Congreve's 14 acre rocket factory of 1820. The gas company amalgamated with the larger Gas, Light & Coke Company at Beckton on 1875. Gas production ceased in the 1960s but the gasholders remain and are Grade II listed.

SEWER SYSTEM
The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, formed in 1847, abolished the use of cesspits so that the sewage of 3 million people discharged into the Thames, a system responsible for outbreaks of water-bourne diseases such as cholera. It became so bad in the hot summer of 1858 it was known as the 'Great Stink'. The following year Joseph Bazalgette, as engineer-in-chief of the Metropolitan Board of Works, began on his scheme for a planned drainage system, finally completed in 1875. There was a network of sewers at 3 levels on both sides of the river flowing to Beckton on the north and Crossness on the south side. The high and middle levels discharge by gravity but the lower ones are aided by pumps. One of the buildings erected to house these was Abbey Mills Pumping Station, designed by Bazalgette and Edmund Cooper in 1865-8. It was cruciform in plan and in an elaborate Byzantine style that earnt it the nickname of the 'Cathedral of Sewage'. The 8 coal-fired steam-powered beam engines were replaced by electricity in 1933 and two Moorish chimneys were destroyed in WWII. The Northern Outfall Sewer Embankment which runs 4½ miles from Wick Lane, Bow to Beckton has been landscaped to form a footpath/cycleway called the Greenway with access points along its length. The signage is made from old sewerage pipes.

RESOURCES
Walk the Bid - A Guide to the London 2012 Olympic Games Sites
Stratford's Hidden Heritage - A Riverside Walk from Three Mills produced by Lee Valley Park [website]
Heron Walk - a Lea Rivers Trust leaflet [website]
Lee Valley Walks [website]
British Waterways [website]
House Mill: Tel 01992 702200 [website]

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