Narrow Street - Redevelopment

Redevelopment

The late twentieth century brought much development to the area, with the erection of the Canary Wharf tower close by. Since the 1990s, many new apartment complexes have been built around the Limehouse Basin as well as Victorian warehouse conversions, with Limehouse now being one of the most sought after property sites in London. Its close proximity to the River Thames has made property prices around Limehouse and the Docklands soar over the last decade. However a 2001 Census listed 5.4% of Homes in Poplar and Limehouse as being without central heating and/or private bathroom.

The street is home to a number of good pubs and restaurants, including The Narrow, a gastropub run by Gordon Ramsay, and Booty's Riverside Bar, an independently-owned pub which dates back to the 16th century, with 19th-century frontage. In the 18th century Booty's was an engineering shop for the barge builders, Sparkes. By the 1870s it was a licensed bar called The Waterman's Arms owned by Taylor Walker, before being absorbed by Woodward Fisher, a lighterage firm run by Anne Fisher, popularly known as Tugboat Annie, a local real-life London version of the character in the film of that name. One of the great East End characters, she commanded a fleet of 200 barges.

Famous residents include the actors Sir Ian McKellen and Steven Berkoff, and politicians David Owen, Cleo Rocos and Matthew Parris. It was also the home of the film director Sir David Lean, whose Narrow Street house, regarded as one of the best riverside houses in London, is still owned by his family.