Boddy's Bridge

Does anyone remember the street called Boddy's Bridge. It was located off Old Barge St not far from the OXO factory. I believe that an office block was built there some years ago. I was born at 26 Hatfields in 1950 but we moved around the corner to Boddys not long after. Anyone know about the area or lived there would be great to hear about it.

Barry Mapes

My Mum was born in Boddys Bridge in 1922, it was a cull de sac which backed onto Stamford Street, they lived in two rooms, eleven of them, my Grandad worked on the barges. It was opposite Bull stairs where my uncle fell in the Thames, he will be 80 next month and remember Boddys Brige well. The local bookie used to stand by the Angel Pub on the corner , and when the police came he would run down the cull de sac and over the wall to Stamford Street, my Aunts Dad was one of his runners and ended up in court (he got off!).I remember visiting Upper Ground with my family on a pub crawl, but the Angel was only open certain times and we could'nt get in.

My granmother and her family lived in Boddy's Bridge in the early part of the last century.The family name was Poole and several of the other families there were related to them The Wakelings and Chamberlains. 2 of my grans brothers were drown in the Thames when just small boys. I believe they were swimming off Bulls Stairs which are nearby. Another boy fell off the window sill and died as well so it wasn't a happy place for them.

When I was 13 (back in 1959) I went to The London Nautical School in Stamford street, I hated it so much that I took every opportunity to "bunk off" and often would sit on the steps on Boddy's Bridge with my fellow miscreants to smoke an illicit cigarette. As it was out of bounds the prefects didn't go there and we never caught. Ah happy days.

I have just read your comments on boddys bridge my grandmother also lived there and her surname was chamberlain who you said were related to your family i think she lived at number 1 i can remember going there but was only about 3 up those stairs. They lived there until about 1948 when she died. I wonder how we are related. Nice to read about it.