Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for SHADWELL

SHADWELL, a parish and a sub-district in Stepney district, Middlesex. The parish lies on the river Thames, near the Blackwall railway, 2½ miles E S E of St. Paul's, London; took its name from St. Chad's mineral well, in Sun Tavern fields; was part of Stepney till 1669; continued till then to be a hamlet, belonging to the Nealds; is now a compact portion of the metropolis, divided into Lower S. and Upper S.; is inhabited, in its L. part, chiefly by ship-chandlers, provision-merchants, sail-makers, anchor-smiths, coopers, and seamen; contains Lascar barracks and the new works of the London docks; and has a station on the railway, a post-office‡ under London E, and a police station. Acres, 99; of which 31 are water. Real property, £27, 137; of which £96 are in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 11, 702; in 1861, 8, 499. Houses, 1,066. The decrease of pop. was caused partly by demolition of houses for the new works of the Londondock. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London. Value, £452.* Patron, the Bishop of London. The church was rebuilt in 1821, at a cost of £14,000; and is a brick edifice, with a steeple. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, national schools with an endowed income of £220, dissenters' schools with £70, alms-houses for 31 seamen's widows with £38, and other charities £15. A Roman grave was found in 1615. M. Mead, the nonconformist, was rector from 1658 till 1662. The sub-district includes Wapping parish, and comprises 179 acres. Pop. in 1861, 12, 537. Houses, 1, 501.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a parish and a sub-district"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions")
Administrative units: Shadwell ParLib/CP       Shadwell SubD       Stepney RegD/PLU       Middlesex AncC
Place: Shadwell

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