The Redriff Tunnel The construction of the Redriff tunnel must have been a hellish affair. One contemporary account notes notes that workers entered the tunnel via a lift – an iron cage, tumbling down a dark hole at an ever…
The Eastern Estate
The Docks When the estate was first built, these docks were still in commercial use. Modernisation, and the deeper docks required by container-based shipping, caused their closure in the mid 60s. They lay unused for over a decade, before they…
The Western Estate
Marshalsea Prison In a purely legal sense, Marshalsea Prison – an old Victorian red-brick affair dating from 1892, and the the third gaol to bear the name – is not legally part of the estate. The main body of the…
The High Street
The Watch House Redriff’s 24-hour greasy spoon has an unusual history to match it’s unusual name. The Watch House was originally built as exactly what the name entails, in 1821. It was built specifically to enable a watch to be…
Local Politics
The Association The Redriff Residents Association, or more often just “The Association” (and never “the residents association”, for some reason) is one of two local organisations that exist to help organise and represent residents on the estate. Which group one…
The Red Rose Towers
The Towers The Red Rose towers are the collective name for the three high rise towers in the South East corner of the Estate. Two of them – Red Leaf House and Provence House – stand 23 stories tall, while…
The People
The Thompsons You could not call the Thompsons serious gangsters, at least not in their hearing. The Thompsons are a sprawling family, with aunts, uncles and cousins popping up all over the estate. The undisputed head of the family…
The Redriff Estate
The Redriff Estate lies on the River Thames, between Bermondsey and Deptford. The area had a long history as port, and a key part of London’s docks, up until the Second World War, when it was heavily bombed during the…