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Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest, Poplar c.1905 |
| The Seamen’s Mission of the Methodist Church began
its work in Cable Street, near the infamous Ratcliffe Highway in 1843. The primary
objective of the Mission was to care for "the spiritual wants of the seamen and their
families" in the London Docks and the Pool of London. In 1848, the Mission moved from
Cable Street to Commercial Road where a Seamen’s Chapel was opened. As the size of ships and trade increased at the end of the nineteenth century, the bulk of the shipping industry moved further east to Poplar and Silvertown. To meet these changes, the Methodist Church purchased the notorious "Magnet" Public House, in Jeremiah Street, Poplar and converted it into a meeting room for seafarers and their families. At the turn of the nineteenth century plans had already been drawn up and sufficient funds raised to build a seamen’s home on the site of the "Magnet". The Royal family gave permission for the Seamen’s Mission to be named after Queen Victoria. The Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest opened its door to seafarers in October 1902 During the Blitz of the Second World War, the Mission, being near the West India Docks, found itself in the Front Line. It was extensively damaged by enemy bombing and had to close for a brief period. After the war, much of the building had to be rebuilt. An extension to the Mission had been planned before the Second World War and was carried out at the same time as the Festival of Britain Architectural site at Poplar was being constructed. The Mission’s 1950s extension fronts the East India Dock Road today. The Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest is now the oldest and largest seamen’s mission in Great Britain. For over a hundred years the "Queen Vic", as its affectionately known to seafarers around the World, has served seamen from virtually every country on the globe. Although the British Merchant fleet has declined to be but a shadow of its former self and London has lost its shipping industry, the "Queen Vic" still provides accommodation for active seamen as well as being a residential home for retired seafarers. see our features page for further pictures of the mission here |
