A Fine Pair # 1353 ~ Wapping, London Multi-Cache

Number 1353 in a series of caches where a red telephone box is in close proximity to a post box.

The only rules are that they have to be able to be photographed together, be not more than 100’ apart and the phone boxes have to be red.

I love this area of London.

History: St Katharine Docks took their name from the former hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower, built in the 12th century, which stood on the site. An intensely built-up 23 acre (9.5 hectares) site was earmarked for redevelopment by an Act of Parliament in 1825, with construction commencing in May 1827. Some 1250 houses were demolished, together with the medieval hospital of St. Katharine. Around 11,300 inhabitants, mostly port workers crammed into unsanitary slums, lost their homes; only the property owners received compensation. The scheme was designed by engineer Thomas Telford and was his only major project in London. To create as much quayside as possible, the docks were designed in the form of two linked basins (East and West), both accessed via an entrance lock from the Thames. Steam engines designed by James Watt and Matthew Boulton kept the water level in the basins about four feet above that of the tidal river. By 1830, the docks had cost over £2 million to build. Telford aimed to minimise the amount of quayside activity and specified that the docks' warehouses (designed by the architect Philip Hardwick) be built right on the quayside so that goods could be unloaded directly into them. The docks were officially opened on 25 October 1828. Although well used, they were not a great commercial success and were unable to accommodate large ships. They were amalgamated in 1864 with the neighbouring London Docks. In 1909, the Port of London Authority took over the management of almost all of the Thames docks, including the St Katharine. The St Katharine Docks were badly damaged by German bombing during the Second World War. All the warehouses around the eastern basin were destroyed, and the site they had occupied remained derelict until the 1990s

Now for the cache. The cache is NOT at the given coordinates, but you’ll need to visit to gain some information for the final. At GZ you’ll see ‘A Fine Pair’ what are the last two numbers of this post box number? AB Look inside the phone box and tell me when was this particular type of kiosk designed? CDEF, whilst you’re inside you’ll need the last two digits of the phone number...GH

The cache can be found at N51° 30.(F-E)(D-C-H)A W000° 04.(A+C-G)(B+E)(D-F)