Jacob's Island - Mill Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.102 W 000° 04.252
30U E 703291 N 5709686
Jacob's Island as a geographical feature no longer exists. The ditch, that formed the island, has long been filled in but the name is included in the literary works of Charles Dickens.
Waymark Code: WMHPQK
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/01/2013
Views: 2
This Southwark Council plaque is on the wall of a
warehouse named New Concordia Wharf. It tells us:
Jacob's Island
Folly Ditch, a loop in the River Neckinger, encircled this
area, which was originally called Jacob's Island. Described by
Charles Dickens as "surrounded by a muddy ditch, six to eight
feet deep"; the "Island" contained many mills, warehouses and
wharves. Most of the early buildings were demolished by 1860
and replaced by Victorian buildings, many of which have
now also gone, New Concordia Wharf is one survivor.
In the early nineteenth century this area was a notorious
rookery or slum. Dickens used it in his novel "Oliver Twist".
He set Fagin's den in one of the warehouses and the evil
Bill Sykes met his grisly end in the ooze bed of Folly Ditch.
Southwark Council