A micro attached to a tree.
This path used to connect the old dockyards and wharfs on the Thames to those inland. The name isn’t associated with Horatio Nelson, rather the Nelson Dock and House here in Rotherhithe.
From the 17th century onwards Rotherhithe was at the heart of the Thames shipbuilding tradition, producing warships, grand wooden vessels powered by billowing sails, armed to the hilt. Top-ranked ships were built only in the Royal shipyards but smaller ships were often contracted out to private shipyards. In Rotherhithe a number of shipbuilders specialized in these lucrative and prestigious contracts, the earliest known being HMS Taunton launched in 1654 by William Castle. A boost for all private shipyards was the establishment in 1600 of the Honourable East India Company, which required large armed cargo ships that travelled the enormous distances to India and China.
Nelson House is a unique survivor from the mid 18th century, the only remaining example of the type of house that prosperous owners of shipyards built for themselves in Rotherhithe. It was probably built for the first John Randall but his son, also called John, who followed him into the business, did not wish to live next to the yard and lived in a smart house near to Hyde Park. The house was Grade II listed in 1949 when it was used as offices, in 2013 it was sold for conversion to residential apartments.