- London Docks
The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic
Port of London . They were constructed inWapping just downstream from theCity of London in1805 . Traditionally ships had docked at wharves on theRiver Thames , but by this time, more capacity was needed. They were the closest docks to the City of London, untilSt Katharine Docks were built two decades later.The London Docks occupied a total area of about 30 acres (120,000 m²), consisting of Western and Eastern docks linked by the short
Tobacco Dock . The Western Dock was connected to the Thames by Hermitage Basin to the south west and Wapping Basin to the south. The Eastern Dock connected to the Thames via theShadwell Basin to the east. The principal designers were the architects and engineersDaniel Asher Alexander and John Rennie. The docks specialised in high-value luxury commodities such as ivory, spices, coffee and cocoa as well as wine and wool, for which elegant warehouses and wine cellars were constructed. In1864 they were amalgamated with St Katharine Docks. The system was never connected to the railway network. Together with the rest of the enclosed docks, the London Docks were taken over by thePort of London Authority in 1909.The docks were finally closed to shipping in
1969 and sold to the borough of Tower Hamlets, which filled in the western portion of the London Docks with the (unrealised) intention of turning them into public housing estates. The land was still largely derelict when it was acquired in1981 by theLondon Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC). It was subsequently redeveloped with over 1,000 individual properties centred around the old Tobacco Dock and Shadwell Basin. The controversial "Fortress Wapping " printing works ofRupert Murdoch 'sNews International corporation was constructed on the northern half of the infilled Western Dock. Hermitage Basin and Shadwell Basin survive, but Wapping Basin is now a sports pitch and some of the Eastern Dock site is open space. A small canal runs across the southern part of the Western Dock site from Hermitage Basin to Tobacco Dock.ee also
*
Tobacco Dock
*Shadwell Basin References
*cite book |title=The London Encyclopaedia|author=Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert|publisher= Macmillan|year= 1995|isbn =0-333-57688-8|pages=486
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