Ratcliff

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Ratcliff or Ratcliffe is a former hamlet lying by the north bank of the River Thames. It is now a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets,, and is located in Stepney.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Origins 2 Population and area 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

History

Etymology

The name Ratcliffe derives from the small sandstone cliff that stood above the surrounding marshes, it had a red appearance, hence Red-cliffe.

Origins

Ratcliffe in earlier times was also known as "sailor town". Located on the edge of Narrow Street on the Wapping waterfront it was made up of lodging houses, bars, brothels, music halls and opium dens. This overcrowded and squalid district acquired an unsavoury reputation with a large transient population. In 1794 approximately half of the hamlet was destroyed in a fire but, even so, it continued as a notorious slum well into the nineteenth century. The hamlet was divided between the parishes of Limehouse and Stepney until 1866, when it was constituted a separate civil parish (as Ratcliffe). From 1855 it was administered by Limehouse District Board of Works, and in 1900 became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.^[1]

Population and area

The hamlet of Ratcliff covered 111 acres and had a Census population of:

Hamlet of Ratcliff 1801-1901

Year[2]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891	1901
Population	5,666	6,998	6,973	9,741	11,874	15,212	16,874	16,131	16,107	14,928	14,810

See also

• Ratcliff Highway murders
• St Dunstan's, Stepney

References

Wikipedia information about Ratcliff This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ratcliff". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.