London’s Royal Docks History
The building of London’s Royal Docks introduced a new world of commerce to the capital. The docks drew produce and people from all over the world; they survived the bombings of World War II and the economic downturn of the 1970s and 80s to become a hive of industry and activity once again.
1800-1856
Chaos on the river
The British Empire was expanding. Steam power had arrived. All this meant more trade. It also meant pandemonium on the river. Collisions were frequent and plundering was rife. The Port of London was in chaos and there was a desperate need for more docks with wider and deeper shores. First to be built were the East and West India Docks which helped relieve for a while the pressure on cargo berths for London. But it was not enough. The growing city needed a radical solution.
It was then that a group of entrepreneurs, spearheaded by George Parker Bidder, hatched an incredibly ambitious plan – to build docks that were bigger and deeper than anything that had gone before that could ensure London could be supplied for a century or more. What’s more their plan was to dig these docks out of the marshland, known as ‘Lands End’, further east than the other docks in what was to become an incredible feat of engineering.
Its hard to imagine, in Royal Docks history quite how many men and machines were required in the early part of the 19th century to undertake such a task. But the project was delivered on time and in 1855 Victoria Dock was opened. Some 13 metres deep and serviced by a giant ship lock the dock featured the latest technology in dockside cranes and services and more importantly could handle multiple numbers of the new large ironclad steamships that were servicing the empire.
At the same time, the demand for land for factories had also exploded, the first of which arrived in 1852 – Samuel Silver’s waterproof clothing works, which gave it’s name to the Silvertown district. By the 1880’s, the docks were one of London’s biggest bases for the cargo industry.
1880
Growth and Innovation
No sooner was Victoria Dock opened that it became clear that more wharf space was required and plans for another dock were developed. Longer than Victoria dock, these new docks would feature some unique innovations – railway lines that went straight to the dock edge, refrigerated warehousing to store perishable goods – even electric lighting would follow. Named Albert Dock this new addition was opened in 1880.
1880-1920
A thriving hub for trade
Now linked to the new and expanding railway network and capable of accommodating the largest iron and steam ships Victoria and Albert Docks became London’s main docks. Hundreds of thousands of cargoes of grain, tobacco, meat, fruit, vegetables were unloaded onto the quayside and stored in the giant granaries and refrigerated warehouses. Passenger ships arrived in their hundreds. As a result, employment opportunities increased, creating a huge demand for accommodation for workers; thus new settlements were originated, known as Hallsville, Canning Town, and North Woolwich. There was also expansion of housing in area’s later known as Custom House, Silvertown and West Silvertown.
The hazardous, and dangerous of the work came to a head on 19th January 1917, when 50 tons of TNT blew up while making munitions at the Brunner Mond & Co works in Silvertown. 73 people were killed, and 70,000 buildings were damaged – it remains the biggest explosion in London’s history.
Image © PLA collection/Museum of London
1921
King George V and the “Royal” docks
The final dock to be constructed was opened by King George V in 1921 with the group of docks being assigned the “Royal” name. King George V Dock featured a new 225 metre long lock with an entrance big enough to accommodate the 35,655 ton ocean liner the SS Mauretania in 1939.
Image © PLA collection/Museum of London
1926
The effect of the General Strike
The poor working and living conditions of dock workers came to a head when a strike was called by the TUC for one minute to midnight on 3 May 1926. It may have been short-lived, but it hit the Royal Docks hard. With 750,000 frozen carcasses stored in the warehouse fridges and no electricity supply, the threatened losses were phenomenal. In the nick of time, the Royal Navy came to the rescue with two submarine generators. Although on this occasion this dispute was resolved continued poor working conditions for dock workers dogged the Royal Docks and industrial disputes became a feature throughout the remainder of their operation.
Image © PLA collection/Museum of London
1939-1945
World War 2, The Blitz and Normandy
The Royal Docks suffered severe damage during World War II. German leaders believed that destroying the port with its warehouses, transit sheds, factories and utilities would disrupt Britain’s war effort. It is estimated that some 25,000 tons of ordinance fell on the docklands with much of that on the Royal Docks and surrounding area. Human losses were extremely high but in spite of the sustained bombardment, London’s Royal Docks remained open. They handled less shipping due to attacks by German submarines on British merchant ships, which led to food shortages and rationing but many did get through and the docks helped keep Britain supplied with food.
Towards the end of the war the Royal Docks played a vital role when the mulberry harbours that helped establish the beach head for the Normandy landings were constructed in secret within the docks themselves. Once completed they were towed towards Folkestone and put in place to support the landings and the allied forces push across north France. Despite the damage the Royal Docks enjoyed a brief boom in trade post war and for a while it looked as though the docks would continue to thrive through to the end of the twentieth century. But it was not to be.
1981-2020
London Docklands Development Corporation and a new beginning
In mid 1981 the London Docklands Development Corporation was formed with the objective of regenerating and finding new uses for the former docks of London. The DLR was built and Canary Wharf born whilst for the Royal Docks plans were made to create an inner city Airport utilising the former central wharf as the Airport Runway.
London City Airport opened in 1987 and has been a thriving and more convenient departure and arrival point for passengers ever since.
Shortly after a major exhibition centre was opened – ExCel with a further phase added in early 2000 whilst a new campus was built on Royal Albert Dock and opened as the new University of East London.
Today, thousands of people arrive into London’s Royal Docks by air, tube, DLR, boat, road and even cable car. Residential, commercial and retail developments are springing up right the way along the 4 kilometres of London’s Royal Docks, from Gallion’s Reach to the planned floating village. The University of East London continues to thrive whilst ExCel now offers London’s only international conference centre . A mass of hotels, restaurants and bars have opened to service the people who live, work and study here, as well as its increasing numbers of visitors. By 2020 all of what was formerly dock buildings and land will have been regenerated. The growth story of London’s Royal Docks continues…
