london's docks_ past and present - london's docks and shipping - port cities

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London's docks: past and present

Today, Docklands is a very different place in which to work andlive. New people have moved into the area as new businesseshave been established. The old world of ships, wharves, cranesand warehouses has been replaced by shops, leisure facilities,offices, wine bars and expensive apartments. This galleryillustrates these huge changes by contrasting photographs of thedocks during the heyday of the working port with images of today's redeveloped Docklands.

The West India Docks andBlackwall Basin, c. 1956.

An aerial view across the WestIndia Docks towards BlackwallBasin, the original non-tidalentrance to the docks. To theright of the picture, theentrance lock from Blackwall

Reach to the South Dock isclearly visible. In 1926, thisdock (formerly the City Canal)was connected to the twonorthern import and exportdocks and to the adjacentMillwall Docks. Finally, in thefar distance beyond BlackwallPoint, lies the Victoria Dock,first of the mighty Royal Dockscomplex.

The West India Docks in2001

The docks are now dominatedby the Canary Wharf estatewhich extends over 86 acres of what was formerly the WestIndia Docks. Until the closureof the docks in 1980, hundredsof dockers would have workedthere. Now, thousands of officestaff are employed on theestate. Although most of the

GlossaryPort

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The changing fortunes of Docklands and the port

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20th-centuryport video galleryFrom 1914 to the presentday

West India Docksfamily trail

Explore the remains of theWest India Docks.

The 19th-centuryport

Docks and industrytransform the Thames

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dock area has been filled in,the Blackwall Basin remains, asdoes the entrance to the oldSouth Dock and much of thedock water itself.

The Royal Group of Docks,c. 1930.

Located in the bend of the riverbetween Bugsby's Reach andGallions Reach, the RoyalDocks group formed the largestarea of continuous dock waterin the world. A vessel travellingfrom east to west across thesedocks would have passedthrough three miles of watercrowded with ships, tugs andlighters. This aerial view of thedocks clearly shows the extentof the complex, including thehuge entrance locks at GallionsReach.

STOLport. Short take off and landing airport.

The huge expanse of water atthe Royal Docks stands empty.The Royals closed in 1981 andwork on the 30m airportproject began in 1983. The firstcommercial service lifted off from the STOLport (now knownas London City Airport) in1987. Located just six milesfrom the City of London andthree miles from Canary Wharf,the airport has been a vitalfactor in the regeneration of Docklands.

Surrey Commercial Docks.

During the 1920s and 1930s,the Surrey Commercial Dockswere mainly engaged in thesoftwood trade and asignificant portion of theAmerican trade, particularlywheat and dairy produce. Animmense number of lightersoperated there, mainly

Water sports centre atGreenland Dock.

New housing, offices, shopsand leisure facilities, such asthe water sports centre at theold Greenland Dock, havecompletely changed the face of docklands in recent years.Greenland Dock was one of thefew expanses of water at theSurrey Docks that was notcompletely filled in during


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handling timber, the sorting,piling, marking and storage of which was the responsibilty of Port of London Authority staff.

regeneration.

Union-Castle liners in theEast India Import Dock,1902.

Opened in 1806, the docksoriginally served the East IndiaCompany's ships. The docks

consisted of parallel import andexport docks with a basin andlocks connecting to the river.The 31 acres of water at thedocks were later used by shipsfrom the Union Castle Line,Ellerman Line, Blue Star Lineand Ben Line. In the 1920s,new facilities were built for thehandling of frozen meat. Theexport dock was badly bombedduring the Second World Warand filled-in. The docks closed

in 1967.

The East India ImportDock, 2003.

Wildfowl have now replacedsteamships on the water. Mostof the import dock was filled inwhen the East India Docksclosed in 1967, but a smallpart of the dock was retainedas an attractive water feature.The entrance basin is the onlycompletely intact part of theformer East India Dockscomplex. It has survivedrelatively unscathed, and hasbeen transformed into arecreational space.

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london's docks_ past and present - london's docks and shipping - port cities

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