Coldharbour, Havering


Coldharbour is an area of the London Borough of Havering by the River Thames and southwest of the Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve. It is the location of Coldharbour Point, where there has been a lighthouse since 1885. This point is adjacent to the town of Erith in Bexley, across the Thames. The nearest accessible settlement on land is the town of Rainham, which is connected by Coldharbour Lane; the village of Wennington is also nearby but not accessible by road. The area around the point is mainly industrial land known as the Freightmaster Estate depot. The London Loop passes through Coldharbour on its way east to Purfleet in Thurrock.

History

Coldharbour was an estate primarily in the ancient parish of Wennington. It included Little Coldharbour, Coldharbour Point and Great Coldharbour. It was originally a marsh island.
A ferry operating from Coldharbour Point to Erith on the southern bank of the Thames existed from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. Plaques entitled 'Pilgrim Ferry' commemorate this in Coldharbour and Erith.

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