Limehouse is the name of a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east, on the northern bank of the River Thames across from Rotherhithe.

St Anne's LimehouseSt Anne's Limehouse
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Anne_Limehouse.jpg
Author: Steve Cadman
photo licensing

Limehouse is said to have gotten its name from the lime kilns that were in the area in the 14th century. From the early days of its founding, the Limehouse area has a close association with the River Thames. As England became a major maritime power, Limehouse became a place for shipyards, where ships were build or repaired. It also has a rope making industry that supports the docks.

The role of Limehouse as a dockland went into decline in the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War. Its docks began to close in the late 1960s, and by the 1980s, the area was a derelict.

The Mission, formerly British Sailor's Society, now a luxury apartment block in LimehouseThe Mission, formerly British Sailor's Society, now a luxury apartment block in Limehouse
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limehouse_mission_1.jpg
Author: Fin Fahey
photo licensing

Redevelopment of the Limehouse area took place in the mid 1980s, spurred in part by the Canary Wharf project.

Places of Interest in Limehouse


  1. Limehouse Basin
    Basin in the north of Mile End, providing navigable link between Regent's Canal and the River Thames.

  2. Regent's Canal
    Canal connecting the Limehouse Basin with the River Thames.

  3. St Anne's Limehouse
    A Hawksmoor Anglican Church consecrated in 1730.

How to reach Limehouse

Take the Docklands Light Railway to the Limehouse DLR Station or the Westferry DLR Station. There aren't any tube station of the London Underground in the immediate vicinity.

List of Places in London

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website



Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

Copyright © 2003-2025 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.