Elephant Stairs

Above: Part of the OS map for 1895, showing Elephant Stairs.

From at least Tudor times until the 19th century, one way for a pedestrian in London to travel was to be rowed on the Thames. River stairs were once to found every few hundred yards along both sides of the Thames. A pedestrian simply walked to the stairs where there were watermen waiting with their small rowing boats – called wherries – to ferry passengers across the Thames or to some other river stairs up- or down-river. Samuel Pepys often mentioned being rowed on the Thames in his diary entries of the 1660s. To Londoners at the time, river stairs were rather like bus-stops are to those who live in the capital today.

Most river stairs were at the end of a lane or alley so they were easy to access. Because the tide in London rises and falls about 18 feet twice each day, provision had to be made for different river levels. The stone stairs led down to the beach. If the tide was in, the pedestrian could step into the wherry from the stairs to gain access to a wherry. If the tide was low, a paved walkway was provided on the beach – known as a causeway – which allowed the pedestrian to walk from the foot of the stairs across the usually muddy beach without getting their shoes dirty before boarding the wherry.

All the stairs had a name. Sometimes the name was just that of the alleyway or lane that led to them. Sometimes there was a pub beside the stairs which the stairs were named after it (like St George’s Stairs, in Deptford, named after the pub called the George and Dragon). Sometimes they just had a name related to a building nearby or even to the name of the area (like Horselydown Stairs, which are near Tower Bridge, an area once known as Horselydown).

The particular stairs being considered here are Elephant Stairs. Sadly they are no more but they are named after a most unusual animal for London. According to Lillywhite [London Signs – n13626, p509], the stairs were first mentioned in 1659 as ‘Spread Eagle at Olivant (Elephant) Staires in Rederef’. The Spread Eagle is just a short distance east of where the stairs were – now called the Mayflower PH. Elephant Stairs stairs led to the Thames from the north end of Elephant Lane, which is still in existence.

As far as the name is concerned, elephants must have been extremely rare in England in the 17th century. The name may have been associated with a company that had an elephant on their coat of arms. The company may have had property nearby and defined their land by placing a coat of arms at each corner of it. There is no record of this being the case so we just do not know.

On very unusual fact related to the stairs is that in 1727 a piece of music, in the form of dance was published by a John Walsh. The year 1727 happens to be when George I died and his son George II became King of Britain. Whether the music was related to the new monarch is not known. One thing is for sure – it is most unusual to name a piece of music after river stairs. The fact that they were in Rotherhithe means that they must have had some distinction to be honoured in this way.

Above: Modern OS map.

If you are unfamiliar with Rotherhithe, the modern map may help. It shows Elephant Lane leading to the River. The stairs were at the end of that lane but they no longer remain. They may have been removed when the river wall was renewed in the 1980s.

The map at the top, of 1895, shows the location of Elephant Stairs which are also named. Another set of river stairs to the west, called Prince’s Stairs, are shown and named on both maps. They were rebuilt in concrete by the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) in the 1980s.

Look carefully again at the map for 1895 and you will see a large warehouse as East India Wharf (to the east of the stairs). The wharf was once owned by the East India Company, who were founded in 1599 and, of course, traded with the East Indies where elephants are to be found. That warehouse is still in existence, now in use as apartments. Whether that company influenced the name of Elephant Stairs is unknown but it is also a possibility.

-ENDS-