West India Docks
{{short description|Historic dock site, now part of Canary Wharf area.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox historic site
|name=West India Docks
|native_name=
|native_language=
|image=WestindiaviewofproposalWDaniell1802.jpg
|caption=An 1802 painting of the completed docks. The canal to the left of the painting was later closed and became a third dock. The view is looking west towards the City of London.
|coordinates={{coord|51.50347|N|0.01722|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|gbgridref=
|location=London
|built=1802
|built_for=West India Dock Company
|demolished=
|locmapin=United Kingdom London Tower Hamlets
|architect=Robert Milligan
}}
The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to, the British West Indies. Located on the Isle of Dogs in London, the first dock opened in 1802. Following their commercial closure in 1980, the Canary Wharf development was built around the wet docks by narrowing some of their broadest tracts.{{cite web|title=History of the Port of London pre 1908|url=http://www.pla.co.uk/display_fixedpage.cfm/id/238/site/port%20of%20london|publisher=Port of London Authority|access-date=17 July 2011|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004201150/http://www.pla.co.uk/display_fixedpage.cfm/id/238/site/port%20of%20london|url-status=live}}
History
Image:Microcosm of London Plate 092 - West India Docks Microcosm edited.jpg and Thomas Rowlandson (figures) from Rudolph Ackermann's Microcosm of London, or, London in Miniature (1808–11).]]
=Early history=
Robert Milligan ({{circa|1746}}–1809) of a Scottish family, was largely responsible for the construction of the West India Docks. He was a wealthy West Indies merchant, slave trader and ship owner, who returned to London having managed his family's Jamaica sugar plantations.{{Cite news|date=2020-06-09|title=London slavery statue removed from outside museum|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-52977088|access-date=2020-06-16|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609135511/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-52977088|url-status=live}} Outraged at losses due to theft and delay at the extensive (continuously along the Thames for {{convert|11|miles}}) riverside wharves comprising the Port of London, Milligan headed a group of powerful businessmen{{snd}}including George Hibbert, the chairman of the London Society of West India Planters and Merchants who was a merchant, politician, and ship-owner{{snd}}who promoted the creation of a wet dock circled by a high wall. The group planned and built West India Docks, lobbying Parliament to allow the creation of a West India Dock Company. Milligan served as both deputy chairman and chairman of the West India Dock Company. The docks were authorised by the Port of London Improvement and City Canal Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. lxix).({{Abbreviation|39 Geo. 3, ch. lxix|39th year of the reign of George III, chapter (consecutively numbered statute) 69}})
The docks were constructed in two phases. The two northern docks were constructed between 1800 and 1802 for the West India Dock Company to a design by leading civil engineer William Jessop (with consultant John Rennie, appointed resident engineer Ralph Walker, and with input from Thomas Morris, Liverpool's third dock engineer),Skempton, A. W. (2002) A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, pp. 757–758 and were the first commercial wet docks in London. British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and Lord Chancellor Lord Loughborough were assisted in the foundation stone ceremony on 12 July 1800 by Milligan and Hibbert.West India Docks, The Times 14 July 1800, p. 3. The docks were formally opened on 27 August 1802 when the unladen {{ship||Henry Addington|1800 EIC ship|2}} was hauled in by ropes. Echo, a ship laden with cargo from the West Indies, followed.The Morning Chronicle 28 August 1802 For the following 21 years all vessels in the West India trade using the Port of London were compelled to use the West India docks by a clause in the Act of Parliament that had enabled their construction.West India Company Notice, The Morning Post and Gazetteer 31 Dec 1802
The southern dock, the South West India Dock, later known as South Dock, was constructed in the 1860s, replacing the unprofitable City Canal, built in 1805.The City Canal had been constructed across the Isle of Dogs just to the south of West India Docks. The aim had been to provide a short cut for sailing ships, to save them travelling around the bottom of the Isle of Dogs to access the wharves in the upper reaches of the Thames; if winds were unfavourable, this journey could take some time. However, access to the canal was determined by the state of the tide, fees were expensive, and the transit slow. In 1909 the Port of London Authority (PLA) took over the West India Docks, along with the other enclosed docks from St Katharines to Tilbury.{{cite news |url=http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/BTWr3X |title=The Port of London |work=The Times |date=31 March 1909 |issue=38921 |page=10 |access-date=3 August 2019}}
From 1960 to 1980, trade in the docks declined to almost nothing. There were two main reasons. First, the development of the shipping container made this type of relatively small dock inefficient, and the dock-owners were slow to embrace change. Second, the manufacturing exports which had maintained the trade through the docks dwindled and moved away from the local area. The docks were closed in 1981.{{cite web|url=https://www.londonsroyaldocks.com/londons-royal-docks-history/|title=History|publisher=London's Royal Docks|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907082326/https://www.londonsroyaldocks.com/londons-royal-docks-history/|url-status=live}}
=Re-development=
After the closure of the upstream enclosed docks, the area was regenerated as part of the Docklands scheme, and is now home to the developments of Canary Wharf. The early phase one buildings of Canary Wharf were built out over the water, reducing the width of the north dock and middle dock. Canary Wharf tube station was constructed within the middle dock in the 1990s.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vCPGrWeK04gC&q=scissors+crossover+canary+wharf&pg=PT164|page=145|title=Jubilee Line Extension: From Concept to Completion|first= Bob |last=Mitchell|publisher=ICE Publishing|year=2003|isbn=978-0727730282}} Part of the original dock building was converted for use as the Museum of London Docklands in 2003.{{cite web |author=Wajid |first=Sara |author-link=Sara Wajid |date=9 November 2007 |title=London, Sugar & Slavery Opens At Museum In Docklands |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art51852 |access-date=4 August 2016 |website=Culture24.org |archive-date=10 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910120107/http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art51852 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art16871 |title=MGM 2003 - A Capital Addition, Museum In Docklands Now Open |website=Culture24.org |date=23 May 2003 |author=Emma Midgley |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-date=10 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910120040/http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art16871 |url-status=live }}
The Crossrail Place development was completed in May 2015{{cite news | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/design/norman-conquest-lord-fosters-crossrail-place-garden-10247656.html | title=Norman conquest: Lord Foster's Crossrail Place garden | newspaper=London Evening Standard | location=UK | first=Nick | last=Curtis | date=14 May 2015 | access-date=26 July 2015 | archive-date=15 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615033833/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/design/norman-conquest-lord-fosters-crossrail-place-garden-10247656.html | url-status=live }} and the Canary Wharf Crossrail station below it was completed in September 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/design/norman-conquest-lord-fosters-crossrail-place-garden-10247656.html|title=Norman conquest: Lord Foster's Crossrail Place garden|date=14 May 2015|publisher=The Standard|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=15 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615033833/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/design/norman-conquest-lord-fosters-crossrail-place-garden-10247656.html|url-status=live}}
File:Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez in London.jpg moored at South Dock in 2015]]
File:Canary wharf 2012.jpg, viewed from the southeastern corner of the Canary Wharf estate.]]
Layout
The original docks consisted of an Import Dock of {{convert|30|acre|m2}} of water, later named North Dock, and an Export Dock of {{convert|24|acre|m2}}, later named Middle Dock. Between them, the docks had a combined capability to berth over 600 vessels. Locks and basins at either end of the Docks connected them to the river Thames. These were known as Blackwall Basin and Limehouse Basin, not to be confused with the Regent's Canal Dock also known as Limehouse Basin. To avoid congestion, ships entered from the (eastern) Blackwall end; lighters entered from the Limehouse end to the west. A dry dock for ship repairs was constructed connecting to Blackwall Basin. Subsequently, the North London Railway's Poplar Dock was also connected to Blackwall Basin.'Poplar Dock: Historical development', Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (1994), pp. 336-341. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46502 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829172403/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46502 |date=29 August 2014 }}. Date accessed: 22 October 2007.
The Docks' design allowed a ship arriving from the West Indies to unload in the northern dock, sail round to the southern dock and load up with export cargo in a fraction of the time it had previously taken in the heavily congested and dangerous upper reaches of the Thames. Around the Import Dock a continuous line of five-storey warehouses was constructed, designed by architect George Gwilt and his son, also named George.[http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/No+1+Warehouse.htm Gwilt design] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119163621/http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Permanent/No+1+Warehouse.htm |date=19 November 2007 }} accessed 8 February 2007 The Export Dock needed fewer buildings as cargo was loaded upon arrival. To protect against theft, the whole complex was surrounded by a brick wall {{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=on}} high.{{cite web|title='The West India Docks: Security', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|first=Hermione|last=Hobhouse|location=London|year=1994|pages=310–313|publisher=British History Online|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp310-313|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614195955/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp310-313|url-status=live}}
The three docks were initially separate, with the two northern docks interconnected only via the basin at each end, and South Dock connected via a series of three basins at the eastern end. Railway access was very difficult. Under PLA control, cuts were made to connect the three docks into a single system, and the connections to the Thames at the western end were filled, along with the Limehouse basin and with it the western connection between the two northern docks. This allowed improved road and rail access from the north and west. South Dock was also connected to the north end of Millwall Dock, its enlarged eastern lock becoming the only entrance from the Thames to the whole West India and Millwall system.{{cite web|title='The West India Docks: Historical development', Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|first= Hermione |last=Hobhouse|location=London |year=1994|pages= 248–268|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46494.|access-date= 22 October 2007}}
Gallery: West India Dock (North Dock)
File:West India Dock - geograph.org.uk - 2210703.jpg|West India Docks, October 1998
File:West India dock - SS Robin - geograph.org.uk - 2210716.jpg|West India Docks, October 1998
File:West India Dock North footbridge - geograph.org.uk - 2130453.jpg|West India Dock North footbridge
File:West India Dock - geograph.org.uk - 2574753.jpg|West India Docks, August 2011
File:Cannon Workshops near West India Dock - geograph.org.uk - 2570555.jpg| Cannon Workshops near West India Dock, August 2011
File:West India Dock North - geograph.org.uk - 2636676.jpg|West India Dock North, October 2011
File:West India Dock North Quay - geograph.org.uk - 2636707.jpg|West India Dock North Quay, October 2011
File:North Quay, West India Dock.jpg|North Quay, West India Dock, March 2014
File:West India Dock (North Dock) - geograph.org.uk - 3998790.jpg|West India Dock (North Dock), April 2014
File:North Dock, West India Docks - geograph.org.uk - 3987419.jpg|West India Dock (North Dock), April 2014
File:West India Dock footbridge - geograph.org.uk - 5267333.jpg|West India Dock footbridge, January 2017
Gallery: West India Dock (South Dock)
File:Canary Wharf, London (Ank Kumar, Infosys) 03.jpg|View of the West India Docks, July 2012
File:HMS Northumberland (F238) at West India South Dock 01.jpg|HMS Northumberland (F238) docked at West India South Dock, September 2013
File:HMS Northumberland (F238) at West India South Dock 05.JPG|HMS Northumberland (F238) docked at West India South Dock, September 2013
File:HMS Northumberland (F238) at West India South Dock 10.JPG|HMS Northumberland (F238) docked at West India South Dock, September 2013
File:Londres West India Docks.jpg|West view from South Quay Walk, March 2017.
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7136.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7138.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7139.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7157.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7159.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
File:West India Docks-South Dock 7083.JPG|West India Docks, South Dock by South Quays, September 2017
See also
Notes and references
=Notes=
{{reflist|group=Note}}
=References=
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|West India Docks}}
Category:History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets