Poplar was dominated by the London Docks and became the warehouse of the British Empire, an area of shipbuilding and exploration, with links to Sir Walter Raleigh. We will consider the lives of the dockers and seamen who frequented the area – including the hostels which they called home. We will discover how the area was shaped by the influence and money of the East India Company, described as the World’s first multinational corporation which would lead to British rule in India; how Poplar was home to the original Chinatown, infamous for opium dens in Dickensian times; about the radical link between Poplar and ‘poplarism’ and the life and times of George Lansbury; about tragedies that nearly destroyed the heart of the area in World War I, and how Poplar became one of the most heavily bombed areas in the country in World War II; and about the real life home of Trixie, Dr Turner and Sister Monica Jones in Call the Midwife.
Daniella King Tour Guide
Start point: All Saints DLR Station
End point: Westferry DLR Station
This walking tour is provided by
