Cuckold's Haven or Cuckold's point was located on the Surrey side of the Thames approximately one mile below London Bridge between the Deptford and Rotherhithe districts. It was marked with large set of horns mounted on a tall pole, supposedly in memory of the Miller of Charlton who lived in the village east of Greenwich, whose wife, it is said, had provided sexual favours for the king. King John gave the miller all the land that he could see provided he walk annually over the land wearing buck horns on his head. Rotherhithe to Charlton covers a three-mile area and crosses two rivers. This story is probably an urban legend that attempted to explain the long-forgotten origins of the name of Cuckold's Haven (Ehrlich 382). The east end of Greenwich was made up of gravel and chalk pits. In Greenwich, Henry VIII built a castle surrounded by shipyards. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were both born at Greenwich and their brother Edward VI died there. Greenwich was an important communication place and throughway for the Thames. The east end was part of a Roman highway running to Canterbury. In 1613, King James rebuilt the palace in Greenwich for his wife Anne (Millward 69). The castle was eventually turned into a royal navel college due to its strategic value. The east end of London does not seem to draw the same amount of attention as the west end of London draws. One reason for this could be the attention given to the city that existed inside the walls of London. The east end of London may not have received the same amount of attention as the west end because the west end contained Westminster Abbey, the home of the reigning monarch. Another possibility for the greater attention given to the west end of the city is the relationship of the west end to the Lord Mayor's procession and the coronation of a new monarch. During the procession of the new monarch, their journey would begin in the Tower of London and they would eventually make the journey all the way to Westminster Abbey. There is little focus given to the east end of the city, which was more of an industrial district rather than a residential or commercial district. The east end of London was not a place solely of attraction. In the 1600s, the east end was made up of lower income families and lower income housing. The east end was not under the laws of London since it was located outside of the city walls. Located in the east end were brothels, dicing houses, taverns, and many back-streets where prostitution and gambling occurred. Some of the members of the city believed that only the scum of society would travel to the east end (Merritt 230). The east end was considered by most to be a place of London temptations. The east end was responsible for shipping docks since the easiest way to travel to the western world was to travel east through the Thames, head south around the base of England, and begin making the passage west. The Thames was congested during the summer months as cargo ships attempted to bring their products into London. Oftentimes there would be a heavy demand in getting products into storage before the summer heat began to create havoc on the food or the rats that infested the city could begin spoiling a product. Companies like the East India Company built warehouses farther east down the Thames to help with the shipping route and making it easier for their ships to bring their goods into London without having to deal with the heavy traffic and extra journey. The main shipping docks in the east end of London were a place of murder and crime as well. Christopher Marlowe, a famous playwright was said to be slain in a brawl in Deptford in 1593 and was later buried in the Deptford churchyard (Banks 467). Cuckold's Haven is the location where Security, the usurer, washes up in Act III scene iii of Eastward Ho. What is particularly ironic about this scene is how Security's wife Winifred is dressed up in disguise in the tavern with her husband who cannot recognize that his wife is with him in the bar. This case of mistaken identity shows how poorly lit the bars and taverns in the east end were. The virtue of Winifred is in jeopardy at this location of prostitution, alcoholism, and gambling. Eastward Ho is only one of Ben Jonson's works that focuses on the rarely written about east end. Jonson co-wrote a play called The Isle of Dogs, about a secluded island that was home to criminals. Cuckold's Point is omitted from the majority of the modern London maps due to its relative obscurity. -- Kevin Scott, 2002