Docklands

Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf E14. (Map Ref 1.)
Canary Wharf is a great mish-mash of impressive and innovative structures, especially its Tower which rises to 800 feet with 50 floors. This makes it Britain's tallest building. Although it is not open to the public, you can admire the Tower from the Docklands Light Railway. It is a remarkable specimen of modern architecture that is symptomatic of the picturesque, if rather dissonant, view of the buildings and the docks from the Railway.

Canary Wharf s nine office buildings are also a striking example of modern development, even for those of you who believe that any type of architecture these days is ugly and bland. The other place of interest around Canary Wharf is the Cabot Place complex, which you can find immediately outside the Canary Wharf DLR station. Cabot Place is a maze of restaurants, bars and cafes, which includes a formidable shopping mall. However, it is not purely the commercial attractions inside Cabot Place that matter but instead the aesthetic complexity of its architecture. You will find yourself walking around in circles once you are inside. Cabot Hall is certainly worth investigating, although its scope is not quite as imposing. This is used both as a conference hall and a banqueting venue.
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The London Docklands from West India Quay to Island Gardens E 14.
(Map Ref 2.)
Apart from Canary Wharf, it is not worth trying to isolate this area of the Docklands because their main attractions simply all melt into one prodigious whole. As I have already indicated, it is advisable to view the Docklands area from its Light Railway. Such is the height at which you are travelling above the Docklands that you will feel you have embarked on a rollercoaster ride, because the tracks never stop sloping up and down.

The contrast between the new, space age type buildings and the old, antiquated buildings lends the Docklands a rather quirky feel. You get an impression of the docks history, from its heyday in the 18th century, when Britain's Royal Navy was the most powerful in the world. However, many of the old warehouses, docks and buildings have been replaced by marinas, glorious riverside walks, and waterside restaurants and cafes. Most of the buildings were erected in the early 1980s, when the Docklands were a neglected wasteland of crumbling warehouses and deserted docks.

The docks at the Isle of Dogs, the Millwall Dock and the West India Docks are suggestive of the prestige the Docklands once enjoyed when it was the busiest port in the world. Some of the old brick warehouses and wharves are still there and they blend in with an urban landscape which includes multinational corporations such as Texaco and some of the major national newspapers,
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St. Anne's Passage and Church
Newell Street E 14. (Map Ref 4.)
One of the attractions of the Docklands, area is the beauty of its old churches. From Wapping to Shadwell to Limehouse, these 18th century structures, which were principally built by Britain's finest architects, Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, rise majestically into the heavens.

It is certainly worth visiting all of them, but the one that stands out for me is the St. Anne's Church in Westferry. Designed by Hawksmoor in 1714, it boasts the highest church clock in London. In fact, the clock face came from the same workshop that provided Big Ben's faces. This grandiose structure is very tastefully offset by 18th century buildings as well, so that you do feel as though you are turning the clock back and walking into another era. St. Anne's gives the impression that it is one of God's icy mansions in the sky, its forbidding steeple soaring ever higher. The complex arches, pillars and vaults make the church seem somewhat austere, whilst its interior has an eerie, spacious quality.

St. Anne's is the most significant example of the churches round Docklands. The splendour of the St. George's in the East Church in Shadwell, built by Wren, and the 17th century St. Matthias Old Church, the oldest building in the Docklands area, are worth investigating because of the sumptuous beauty of their designs. You can contact St. Anne's Church on 0207 987 1502.
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