London Guide
Wapping
Once famous for its boatyards and its 36 riverside pubs (a handful of which remain), Wapping changed forever with the construction of the enclosed docks in the early nineteenth century. Cut off from the rest of the East End by the high walls of the docks, its inhabitants crowded into insanitary housing, the area became notorious for its thieves, attracted by the opportunities of rolling-drunk sailors and poorly guarded warehouses.
With the demise of the docks, Wapping became an early victim of gentrification, though restoration and renovation of existing property rather than demolition and redevelopment has been the rule. Thus something of Wapping's Victorian atmosphere has been preserved, and as it lies just a short walk east of the Tower, this is easily the most satisfying part of Docklands to explore.