Wharves, food processing and leather were Bermondsey's most important employers and the Hay's Wharf Company, which occupied the south side of the Thames between London and Tower Bridges, was the biggest wharfinger.

It imported foodstuffs mainly from the Empire, and Tooley Street became known as London's Larder. Many of the goods found their way to processing plants nearby.

This is a scene at Chamberlain's Wharf, now the site of London Bridge Hospital.