A view from the cobbled road of the historical Shad Thames in London. The road seperates to rows of dockland warehouses.

In Victorian times, Shad Thames included the largest warehouse complex in London. Completed in 1873, the warehouses housed huge quantities of tea, coffee, spices and other commodities, which were unloaded and loaded onto river boats. An 1878 book says:

“Shad Thames, and, indeed, the whole river-side, contain extensive granaries and storehouses for the supply of the metropolis. From Morgan’s Lane—a turning about the middle of Tooley Street, on the north side, to St. Saviour’s (once called Savory) Dock, the whole line of street—called in one part Pickle Herring Street, and in another Shad Thames—exhibits an uninterrupted series of wharves, warehouses, mills, and factories, on both sides of the narrow and crowded roadway.”

During the 20th century the area went into decline as congestion forced shipping to unload goods further east, and the last warehouses closed in 1972. However, Shad Thames was regenerated in the 1980s and 1990s, when the disused but picturesque warehouses throughout the area were converted into expensive flats, many with restaurants, bars, shops, etc. on the ground floor.