Gargoyle Wharf is a London location associated with August Epp’s account of a period when he had lost his home and left university. Near the Thames in Wandsworth, the derelict land around it became the setting for a squat shared by anarchists, artists, and musicians. In his recollection, the place marks not a settled home but a fragile alternative formed on the margins of the city.

Setting and Use

August places the land near Gargoyle Wharf in Wandsworth, beside the Thames. It was derelict ground occupied by a group of anarchists, artists, and musicians who were squatting there. The account identifies the site through its physical and social circumstances: unused land, a riverside urban setting, and a community living outside conventional housing arrangements.

August Epp’s Recollection

August explains that he came to the squat after his father disappeared and his mother died, leaving him with nowhere to live in London. At the time, he was taking history classes at university; after a nervous breakdown, he quit his studies and joined the group near the Wharf. The location is therefore part of a sequence of losses and changes in direction, connecting his interrupted education with an improvised communal life.

Narrative Significance

The recollection gives Gargoyle Wharf a personal significance through one detail August associates with that period: he learned to love Ducks. He also admits that he could not keep this affection to himself, particularly in jail, where he had spoken about it. The contrast between the vulnerable circumstances that brought him to the squat and this small, lasting attachment makes the location a marker of lived experience rather than merely a point on a map.