A celebration of the folk history of the Olympic boroughs, in story and song.
Songwriter Ruairidh Anderson continues to chronicle the history of the Olympic borough of Newham in song. This week, he explores the underbelly of the Royal Docks.
“Employment was largely concentrated on the docks, the largest of which was Newham's Royal Docks. Not just the greatest in Britain but the largest enclosed docks in the world. And of the employees that worked on the docks an estimated 30% were criminals...”
Lyrics can be found here.
For more free London-inspired songs visit www.
Previously in Newham
Previously in Waltham Forest
- Pestilence, Plague and the Pits of Waltham Forest
- Motors and Muddy Marshes in Walthamstow
- The Cursed pool of Epping Forest.
- World Sports, Wastage & Walthamstow Ave FC
Previously in Hackney
- William Lyttle: Mole Man of Hackney
- Mrs Basil Holmes: saviour of London’s graveyards
- Horatio Bottomley: Hackney MP and scoundrel
- Deerfoot: the native American who ran in Hackney
Previously in Greenwich
- Joseph Druce: mudlark and Maori Chief
- Anne Boleyn: Marriage and May Madness
- General James Wolfe: Battles, Brothels and Broken Hearts
- Martial Bourdin, The Exploding Anarchist Of Greenwich
Previously in Tower Hamlets
- Charlie Brown: Uncrowned King of Limehouse
- Angela Burdett-Coutts, Queen Of The East End Poor
- Jamrach’s Menagerie, Rhinos & the Ratcliffe Highway
- Moris ‘Two-guns’ Cohen
- Emmanuel Swedenborg, Veruca Socks and Heavenly Secrets
- John Newton, Goebbels, Star Trek & The Slave Trade
- Eliza Marchpane, Mozart, Vol Au Vents And The Wapping Streets
- Isambard Kingdon Brunel, Ships, Bones And Bad Breath
