Once the largest enclosed docks in the world, the London Docks were constructed in Wapping in the early 19th century.
London Docks
London Explained – The Pool of London…
A stretch of the River Thames which spans the area from London Bridge to below Limehouse, the Pool of London was the highest part of the river navigable by tall-masted ships (thanks to the them not being able to pass under London Bridge).
The term originally referred to the stretch of the river at Billingsgate in the City of London which was where all imports had to be delivered for inspection by customs officers (hence these wharves were given the name ‘legal quays’).
But as trade expanded and reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the stretch referred to as the “Pool of London”. It came to be divided into two sections – the Upper Pool, which stretches from London Bridge to Cherry Garden Pier in Bermondsey (and is bisected by Tower Bridge), and the Lower Pool, which stretched from the latter pier to Limekiln Creek.
The Upper Pool’s north bank includes the Tower of London, the old Billingsgate Market and the entrance to St Katharine’s Dock while the south bank features Hay’s Wharf and the HMS Belfast. The Lower Pool’s north bank includes the entrance to Limehouse Cut as well as Regent’s Canal and Execution Docks while below it runs the Thames and Rotherhithe Tunnels.
LondonLife – Shad Thames walkways…
In Bermondsey. PICTURE: Nicolas Lysandrou/Unsplash
Special – On the VE Day’s 75th, remembering the ‘Docklands at War’…
The Museum of London Docklands has released a number of images from its ‘Docklands at War’ collection – including some rarely on display – to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe. These images of the East End show the scale of the damage and destruction caused to London’s docks during World War II when more than 25,000 German bombs were dropped on it in an attempt to impact the national economy and war production, making tens of thousands of home uninhabitable, damaging businesses and destroying docks with the West India Docks and St Katherine Docks suffering the most damage. The pictures also reveal the remarkable contribution to the war effort by the people who lived and worked in the densely populated area. For more on how the museum is marking the day online, head to www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/ve-day.
St Katharine Dock after an air raid on 7th September, 1940, the first attack on Docklands. PICTURE: John H Avery & Co (© PLA Collection / Museum of London)
Bomb damage to a shed, formerly Guiness’s on west side of eastern dock, looking north from the southend taken on 19th December, 1940, following an air raid on 8th December that year. PICTURE: John H Avery & Co (© PLA Collection / Museum of London)
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill, with the Flag Officer, London, and J Douglas Ritchie (on left), touring London’s dock in September, 1940, seen with a group of auxiliary firemen. PICTURE: © PLA Collection / Museum of London
Damage caused by a V1 rocket which hit Royal Victoria Dock in 1944. PICTURE: © PLA Collection / Museum of London
The Docklands ablaze during the Blitz on 7th September, 1940. The rising palls of smoke mark out the London Docks beyond the Tower of London, the Surrey Docks to the right of the bridge and the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in the distance. PICTURE: © PLA Collection / Museum of London
Tanks arriving in the London Docks prior to embarkation for the D Day beaches in 1944. PICTURE: © PLA Collection / Museum of London
A Moment in London’s History – The ‘Great Tea Race’ crosses the finish line…
It’s 150 years ago this month that the ‘Great Tea Race’ of 1866 ended in London with the clipper ship Taeping taking the honours followed just 28 minutes later by the Ariel.
The race, which had started in China, was part of a tradition for ships carrying cargoes of tea from the east to engage in a race to be the first to dock in London – and quite a lucrative one, for it was common for the first ship to arrive to receive a premium of at least 10 per cent (although 1866 was apparently the last time this was offered).
At least 57 ships apparently sailed in the 1866-67 ‘tea season’, departing for Britain from a range of ports including Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong. But it was the fastest which gathered the most attention – these chosen clippers set sail for Britain from the Min River, downriver from Foochow (now Fuzhou), in late May, 1866.
As well as the Taeping, launched in 1863 and captained by Donald MacKinnon, and the Ariel, launched only the previous year and captained by John Keay, other favourites in the 1866 race included Fiery Cross, Serica and Taitsing.
The race was followed breathlessly in the London press although details were limited – largely due to the time it took for the news to reach London – as the ships set a course which took them through Indonesia via the Sunda Strait and around the southern tip of Africa and up via the Atlantic to the UK.
The Taeping, the race winner, reached London Docks at 9.47pm on 6th September while Ariel arrived at the East India Dock at 10.15pm. The Serica, meanwhile, reached West India Docks at 11.30pm. (It wasn’t to be too unfortunate for the runner-up – Captains McKinnon and Keay had apparently agreed to split the premium of 10 shillings a ton).
Amazingly, this means the three ships – which had all left China on the same tide – had sailed more than 14,000 miles in a race of 99 days yet had managed to dock with just two hours between them.
PICTURE: The Ariel and Taeping, by Jack Spurling (1926)/Wikimedia Commons
Exploring London 