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The Railways of London Docklands
Their History and Development
Jonathan Willis
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eBook - ePub
The Railways of London Docklands
Their History and Development
Jonathan Willis
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About This Book
This book provides a comprehensive study of the planning and building of railways in London's Docklands, reflecting on the past 180 years of railway development. It describes the creation of the enclosed working docks at the start of the 19th Century and the introduction of railways in the middle of the century. By the 1970's the decline of the working docks led to a plethora of plans to regenerate the area, but with little agreement on what should be done. The setting up of the London Docklands Development Corporation by the former Secretary of State for the Environment Lord Heseltine was a significant landmark, expediting the Canary Wharf development. The book describes in detail the modern railway projects, created to support the subsequent growing employment and population of the area, including the Docklands Light Railway with its multiple extensions, the Jubilee Line extension and Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. The book will appeal to a wide audience. To railway enthusiasts who wish to learn more about the why and the how such projects are approved and built and to transport and planning professionals who wish to understand more about the ups and downs of the relationship between transport and development and the decision making processes. within changing political, economic and employment scenarios. The end result has provided Docklands with a comprehensive hierarchy of quality transport services, to match anyway in the world.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RISE AND FALL OF LONDONâS ENCLOSED DOCKS
Being given the task to âlook at possible transport options for London Docklandsâ, my first impression was gained by a 1950s 6-inch to a mile Ordnance Survey map of the area. The extent of the docks was impressive but it was the miles and miles of former railway lines which caught my attention. Perhaps we could somehow make use of these existing rights of way?
My first visit to Docklands was to the Isle of Dogs around 1970. The number 277 bus served the perimeter of the Isle, giving a glimpse over the wall to another world but a better view was obtained by climbing up the stairs to cross the âglass bridgeâ. Built in 1965 to replace a low-level pedestrian right of way, it linked the two sides of the Isle across the Millwall Dock. When I walked across it, the bridge was in a sorry state with the lifts out of order and much of the glass walls shattered. It closed in 1975.
My second visit was into the West India Docks, led by a Port of London official who unlocked a gate in the perimeter wall, where ramshackle warehouses, rusting cranes, stagnant water and the odd vessel created a desolate scene. No one could possibly have imagined what this could become.
The role of the enclosed London Docks in the development of London and the rest of the UK should not be underestimated. From the early eighteenth century onwards, international trade focused on our capital city, growing in line with our influence abroad and our desire to explore the world and seek out new products and markets. At the start of the nineteenth century, shortage of space on the riverside wharves led to a period of major construction of the enclosed docks employing some of the finest engineers of the day, including John Rennie and Thomas Telford.
With the development of the largest port in the world, trade increased dramatically, providing the backbone to the UK economy for about 150 years. Built for sailing ships, many of the smaller docks struggled to survive with the advent of steam and diesel. Closures started in 1967. Even the Royal docks, built to accommodate up to 35,000 ton vessels, could not keep pace with the larger container ships and finally closed in 1981.
Pressure on the Port of London
1.1: The Pool of London, c. 1800.
By the end of the eighteenth century trade to and from London had expanded considerably and the quays and wharves in the Pool of London below London Bridge were becoming increasingly congested. The unloading and loading of ships was often delayed and the highly organised âriver piratesâ and ânight plunderersâ took their advantage of cargoes waiting their turn.
Following pressure from the ship owners, the Prime Minister, William Pitt, set up a Select Committee to âEnquire into the best mode of providing sufficient accommodation for the increased trade and shipping of the Port of Londonâ. The report, published in 1796, favoured enclosed docks at Wapping and Blackwall but it was undecided if they should be run by the City Corporation or by private enterprise such as the powerful West and East India Companies. After much prevarication, the Government gave in to the pressure from the major players and allowed enclosed docks to be built and operated by the private companies.
The West India Company
In 1799 the Dutch West India Dock Company was created, dominating trade with the West Indies, being heavily involved in the slave trade and bringing exotic goods to London. Along with the East India Company these giants developed and supported the UKâs growing empire and influence, dramatically improving the prosperity of the country throughout the period.
The West India Company commissioned William Jessop, the canal engineer, to design a new dock at the northern end of the Isle of Dogs. The other great canal engineer John Rennie was called in as a special consultant. The dock system comprised thirty acres of import dock linked by connecting basins at either end to twenty-four acres of export dock, allowing ships to transfer from one to another at all states of the tide.
1.2: West India Docks.
The West India Docks opened in 1802 with a monopoly on trade from the West Indies for twenty-one years. Vast five-storey high warehouses surrounded the docks where goods were taken by crane and stored. High security walls surrounded the whole site. Goods were then either distributed by road â the new Commercial Road was constructed at the same time â or by water in lighters to other quays further upstream.
The City of London saw the development of the West India Docks as a serious threat to trade through the Port of London. In an attempt to make it easier for ships to access the area, avoiding the tricky sailing conditions around the Isle of Dogs, they built what was termed the âCity Canalâ across the Isle of Dogs, to the south of the West India Dock complex. This was opened in 1806 but proved to be a white elephant as the time saving to ships was minimal. They were required to lock in and out of the canal at either end and then be hauled through by teams of horses. It became a mooring point for waiting ships and was eventually sold to the West India Dock Company which widened it for use as a timber pond.
1.3: West India Docks, c. 1960.
1.4: Goods distribution from West India Dock.
The London Docks
1.5: London Docks.
After initial opposition from residents, as the construction required demolition of around 2,000 homes, the City had more success with the setting up of the London Dock Company. The City built in Wapping three main interconnected docks termed the Eastern, Western and Tobacco docks, specialising in the import of tobacco, brandy, rice and wine for which they had been granted a twenty-year monopoly. The London Docks opened in 1805.
The East India Company
The East India Company formed in 1600 to exploit trade in spices, particularly with Indonesia and India, became involved in the slave trade and became part of the political regime in India until the British Empire took over in the mid-nineteenth century. Cotton, tea and opium were staple commodities and its large sailing ships contributed to the congestion in the Pool of London, downstream from London Bridge.
The Company was not to be outdone by its rival the West India Company and using engineers John Rennie and Ralph Walker, who had both worked on the West India Docks, the Company opened two docks and a holding basin in the Blackwall area in 1806. Like its rivals, the Company was granted a twenty-one year monopoly of trade with the East Indies. The complex could handle around 250 ships with large quays but there were few warehouses as the Company preferred to transfer its high value goods to its own secure warehouses in the City. The large increase in traffic required the construction of a better road between the docks and the City. The East India Dock Road opened in 1827.
However, not long into the nineteenth century, competition between the individual dock companies and wharves started to reduce the business of the East India Dock Company. In 1833 the Government removed the East India Dock Companyâs monopoly on trade with India and later with China in the same year. The opportunity was quickly taken by the West India Company to offer to purchase the East India Company and the two were amalgamated in 1838 by an Act of Parliament, allowing trade from any source to use both dock systems.
Surrey Docks
1.6: East India Docks.
South of the river the Commercial Dock Company commenced development around the old seventeenth-century Howland dock, later named Greenland, on the Surrey peninsula, initially for 350 ships mainly importing timber and grain and later whale meat and oil. North of the peninsula the separate Surrey Dock Company built docks to accommodate a further 300 ships. The Surrey docks eventually grew in a fairly haphazard way to cover the major part of the peninsula by the end of the century. These had been created by a number of independent companies which gradually merged and in 1864 the Surrey Commercial Dock Company was formed. It embarked on a programme of linking the various basins, including opening a further basin in 1876 named Canada Dock.
1.7: Surrey Docks.
St Katharineâs Dock
The last dock to be constructed at the western end of the area was St Katharineâs Dock, opened in 1828. Thomas Telford was the chief engineer, designing the dock to accommodate around 130 ships, surrounded by impressive warehouses into which goods could be directly loaded by crane. As the dock was built in an already developed part of the city, a large number of homes had to be demolished along with a church and a hospital. The relatively small St Katharineâs Dock chiefly handled tea and wool but its success was short lived. Ships were getting larger and started to be powered by steam rather than wind and in view of their increasing size could no longer be accommodated.
Regentâs Canal Basin
Further to the east, opened by the Regentâs Canal Company in 1820, the basin was used by smaller seagoing vessels to offload goods onto canal barges for distribution across London and beyond via the nationâs extensive canal network. The Regentâs Canal running across North London was effectively a bypass to the crowded River Thames as well as serving numerous wharves along its length. The canal and basin were as important for goods in the opposite direction from the rest of the country, particularly coal from the Midlands for Londonâs power stations. It was very successful until the railways took most of...