May is Local and Community History Month, a month-long celebration, created by charity the Historical Association, that aims to get people interested in their area’s past and raise awareness of the stories behind local communities.

Here in Canada Water we certainly don’t need to dig too deep to find the traces of our heritage. The area hums with history, having been a working port from Elizabethan times until the 1970s.

Michael Daniels, president of the Rotherhithe & Bermondsey Local History Society, said:

“Canada Water, and the broader Rotherhithe and Bermondsey area, boast a rich and wide-ranging history including the Mayflower, the docks, the Brunels and even Royalty. We’ve been keeping this history alive for the past 30 years by delivering monthly talks which are open to all, and are as entertaining as they are informative. Last year, British Land helped to fund our very well-attended Mayflower 400 Christopher Jones lecture series, and, as the weather improves, we’re looking forward to enjoying some of the self-guided walks whose pamphlets are also being sponsored by this major Canada Water developer.”

Take a look at a few pieces of local history that have lived on into our own time, and how they continue to be part of the life of the area into the 21st Century.