LIMEHOUSE

Limehouse gets its name from the lime oasts or kilns which existed in the area from at least the 14th century and processed the supplies of chalk brought from Kent. It owes its importance however to the links with the sea and growth of London as a commercial centre. In Elizabethan times many famous seaman lived in Limehouse including Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the explorer, and William Borough and Sir Henry Palmer, both Controllers of the Navy. In the early 17th century about half the population of over 2,000 were mariners and a hundred years later when the population had increased to 7,000 Limehouse was considered to be the easternmost part of London. By the 19th century the growth in housing and population and the diminishing importance of the riverside had caused the independent maritime character of Limehouse to disappear. A colony of between 300 and 400 Chinese settled around Pennyfields and Limehouse Causeway about 1890. They were originally seamen from the Blue Funnel Line and the activities of a few opium dealers and gamblers brought some notoriety to the area, although it was much exaggerated.

Greenwood's Maps 1827:

Limehouse and surrounding area

Church Records:

• St. Anne, Commercial Rd
  Baptisms 1730-1955,
  Marriages 1730-1968,
  Burials 1730-1897 : LMA
  Baptisms 1955- date,
  Marriages 1968- date : Not deposited
• St. Andrew's Mission
  Baptisms 1864-1876
• St. Peter, Garford St
  Baptisms 1866-1968,
  Marriages 1888-1967 : LMA
• Our Lady Immaculate (Roman Catholic),
  Commercial Rd
  Formed 1881
• Brunswick Chapel (Wesleyan Methodist),
  Three Colt St
  Baptisms & Burials 1831-1837 : PRO
  Baptisms 1909-1963,
  Marriages 1900-1954,
  Burials 1831-1853 : LMA

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