The Cruise Route: Section 12-29

Please note: Attractions in blue type are not visable from the River.

From Westminster Bridge:

12. Royal National Theatre
Opened in 1976, this building contains three theatres: Olivier, Lyttleton and the Cottesloe, as well as restaurants and a bookshop. Visitors can join tours of the building.

13. Somerset House
This Palladian building was erected in 1786 when the river still reached its walls. It takes its name from the Duke of Somerset who started a palace on this site in 1547. This building now houses the Courtauld Gallery.

14. Coin Street Development

15. The Temple
This includes two of the four Inns of Court - the Middle Temple (in whose Elizabethan Hall Shakespeares Twelfth Night was performed in 1601) and the Inner Temple. Their name comes from the Knights Templar, founded in 1100 for the protection of pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. The Inns of Court (Grays Inn and Lincolns Inn are the others), have housed barristers chambers for over 500 years. The Temple Bar Memorial to the north of the site marks the traditional boundary between the Cities of London and Westminster.

16. HMS President

17. Sion College and Library
Founded in 1624 as a meeting house for the Anglican Church Clergy. The present red-brick Gothic style building was completed in 1886 and houses 100,000 books. Blackfriars Bridge Opened in 1869 by Queen Victoria. Its stone pillars shaped like the pulpits of a church echo the 12th century Benedictine monastery whose monks black habits gave the area its name.

18. St Pauls Cathedral
Wrens masterpiece took 35 years to build. Work started in 1675 during the reign of Charles ll to replace the old St Pauls destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Its 365ft (110m) high dome is slightly smaller than St Peters in Rome.

19. Tate Modern
Site of the new Tate Gallery extension.

20. Cardinals Wharf
A small group of 17th century houses. The cream coloured one with the red front door is said to have been where Wren lived whilst St Pauls was being built.

21. Shakespeares Globe
Guided tours give an opportunity of witnessing this great Elizabethan theatre in its inaugural season following its reconstruction exactly as it would have been over 400 years ago. The tours paint a vivid picture of the surrounding area and of the theatre itself in which Shakespeare was not only a shareholder but also an actor and where most of his plays were first performed.

22. Museum of London

23. Vintners (Wine Merchants) Hall
Built in 1671 following the Great Fire as a Livery Hall for the Vintners Company. Two swans decorate the entrance marking an ancient privilege granted by Edward lV in 1473 to the Vintners Company of owning swans on the river. William Chaucers father was a vintner and he himself appointed Richard IIIs Clerk of Works responsible for maintaining both Palaces at the Tower and Westminster as well as repairing the banks of the Thames between Woolwich and Greenwich, where at one time he had a house.

Southwark Bridge
The present bridge dating from 1921 replaced the original toll bridge opened in 1819. It was never very popular as Londoners preferred to use the toll-free London Bridge.

24. Anchor Tavern
One of Londons best known taverns. Dating back to Tudor times it has associations with both William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson. The present building was completed in 1750.

25. Guildhall (DLR Bank)
The seat of Londons municipal government since the 12th century. It has twice survived great fires and has witnessed the trials of traitors, the welcoming of heroes and glittering state occasions.

26. Clink Museum and Winchester Square
The Bishops of Winchester ran this private prison for heretics and debtors. The Clink which burnt down in 1780 gave its name to mean any prison. In the 16th and 17th centuries the area was Londons red light district and the Bishops regulated both the prostitutes and the brothels that operated there.

27. Southwark Cathedral
Some parts date back to the 12th century when it was attached to a priory, it was here that John Harvard, who founded Harvard University, was christened in 1607 and where Shakespeares brother Edmond lies buried.

28. Fishmongers Hall (DLR Bank)
Livery Hall of the Company founded in 1272. All fish sold in the City must still pass inspection by one of its officials.

29. Bank of England (DLR Bank)
Founded in 1694 to finance a costly war against France, the bank today is the UKs central bank. A free museum tells the story of its history in the world of finance.