West India Docks

The West India Docks are a group of three docks on the Isle of Dogs in London's East End.

The reason for the construction of port facilities

Robert Milligan (1746-1809) was the main person responsible for the construction of the West India Docks. Milligan was a wealthy West Indies merchant and shipowner, who returned to London, after he had previously directed the sugar plantations of his family in Jamaica. Exasperated by the losses that were incurred due to theft and delays in unloading his ships at anchor on the Thames, he led a group of powerful businessmen, among them George Hibbert, chairman of the West India Merchants of London, on which construction the of port facilities, which were surrounded by high walls, operated. The group designed and built the West India Docks and influenced the Parliament, so that it enabled the establishment of the West India Dock Company. Milligan was vice chairman and chairman of that company.

Parliamentary approval and construction

The construction of the port facilities was legalized by the West India Dock Act 1799 - the first adopted by Parliament and not by the City Council Act for the construction of port facilities.

The port was built in two sections. The two northern basins originated 1800-1802 ( official opening August 27, 1802 ) for the West India Dock Company in accordance with the plans of the senior civil engineer William Jessop ( John Rennie was a consultant and Thomas Morris, the third engineer from Liverpool was also so concerned ). They were the first docks for commercial shipping in London.

British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and Lord Chancellor Lord Loughborough attended the groundbreaking ceremony on July 12, 1800 Milligan and Hibbert should also participated.

The southern basin, which, later called South West India Dock and South Dock was built in the 1860s and replaced the unprofitable channel, the City Canal, which was built in 1805 by the City of London Corporation and in 1829 sold to the Company. In 1909, the West India Docks, were taken over by the Port of London Authority, together with the other docks on the Thames, of St Katharine Docks to the Tilbury Docks

Development of the port facilities

The original docks were the import dock with 120,000 square meters of water, later called North Dock, and the export dock with 97,000 square meters of water, later called Middle Dock. In these two basins were moored over 600 ships. Locks, and exit pool at both ends they connected with the Thames. The entry and exit basins were Blackwall Basin and Limehouse Basin called, not to be confused with the harbor basin of the Regent's Canal, which is also called Limehouse Basin. To avoid jams, drove the ships from the east, from the direction of Blackwall in the port facility, a, Light from the west towards Limehouse. In conjunction with the Blackwall Basin also a dry dock was built. Later, the Poplar Dock of the North London Railway was connected to the Blackwall Basin.

The construction of the harbor basin allowed a ship that came from the West Indies to be discharged in the northern dock to sail to the southern dock and be there again loaded with export goods, and in a fraction of the time taken for this had previously required work on chronically congested and dangerous, the upper part of the River Thames.

To import the dock a continuous row of five-story warehouses were built, which were designed by the architect George Gwilt and his son, also named George, designed. The export dock took less building since the goods were loaded immediately after their arrival at the ships. As a protection against thieves, the whole area was surrounded by a 6.10 m high brick wall.

The harbor and the City Canal made ​​from the Isle of Docks peninsula a proper island.

The three docks were initially separated, the two northern basins were connected to both ends and the southern harbor basin was tied in a series of three basins on the east side. The access for the railroad was difficult. Under the auspices of the Port of London Authority was associated with three docks punctures to a common system and the connections to the Thames on the west side were together with the Limehouse Basin and the Western idea of the North Basin filled. This allowed a better railway connecting the north and west. Also the southern harbor with the Millwall Dock was connected; enlarged its eastern gate was the only entrance from the Thames to the entire system of the West India Docks and Milwall.

Decline

Between 1960 and 1980, the trade went into this port back to nearly zero. There were two main reasons: firstly, the development of container ships made ​​this kind of relatively small harbor basin uneconomic and the owner of the port reacted quite slowly to this development. On the other went exports of manufactured in Greater London craft goods, which had maintained trade in the port back. 1980, the port was closed and the government took over the grounds.

The West India Docks today

After the closure of the docks on the upper Thames, the area was rezoned as part of the London Docklands urban development and now houses the buildings of Canary Wharf. The first part of the building was built over the water, and reduced the width of the northern and middle harbor. The Jubilee Line station was later directly in the middle harbor.

Nevertheless, the port facilities remain open for ships and are now protected from future major modifications by national regulations and those of the Greater London Authority. In South Dock are regular visits instead of medium-sized warships in London, as this is the most Thames upstream point at which they can still apply.

On the north side of the harbor there are many bars and restaurants that are full in the summer months, and several apartment blocks, there were also recently built. The Blackwall Basin with his former dry dock and most of the Poplar docks are still in use as a mooring for small boats.

2005, a floating hotel, was approved in the form of a modern yacht, which should be in the South Dock, but that has yet to be realized.

In a part of the old port building the Museum of London Docklands is now housed.