| Royal Victoria Dock | |
|---|---|
 The building of Victoria Dock | |
| Location | London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′21″N0°01′47″E / 51.505823°N 0.029714°E Coordinates: 51°30′21″N0°01′47″E / 51.505823°N 0.029714°E |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architect | George Parker Bidder |
  Location of Royal Victoria Dock in London Borough of Newham | |
The Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.
Although, the structure was in place in the year 1850, it was opened in 1855, on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaistow Marshes. It was the first of the Royal Docks and the first London dock to be designed specifically to accommodate large steam ships. It was also the first to use hydraulic power to operate its machinery and the first to be connected to the national railway network, via the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway section of what is now the North London line. [1] It was initially known as "Victoria Dock"; the prefix "Royal" was granted in 1880. [2]
The dock was connected to the national rail network via a line which ran between Canning Town and North Woolwich. [3] [4] When the Royal Dock was first built, the railway cut along the docks; to correct this, a swing bridge over the entrance to the dock was built. This however, slowed journey time, and so a new line was built in 1855, to take the route around the north side of the dock to Silvertown, and a station at Custom House opened where it re-connected with the original line. The older southern line was kept to serve local factories, where it was known as the Silvertown Tramway. [1] [3]
The Royal Victoria Dock consisted of a main dock and a basin to the west, providing an entrance to the Thames on the western side of the complex. The dock was deeply indented with four solid piers, each 152 m long by 43 m wide, on which were constructed two-storey warehouses. Other warehouses, granaries, shed and storage buildings surrounded the dock, which had a total of 3.6 km of quays. [5] : 17
The dock was an immediate commercial success, as it could easily accommodate all but the very largest steamships. By 1860, it was already taking over 850,000 tons of shipping a year – double that of the London Docks, four times that of St Katharine Docks and 70% more than the West India Docks and East India Docks combined. It was badly damaged by German bombing in the Second World War, but experienced a resurgence in trade following the war. From the 1960s onwards, the Royal Victoria experienced a steady decline – as did all of London's other docks – as the shipping industry adopted containerisation, which effectively moved traffic downstream to Tilbury. It finally closed to commercial traffic along with the other Royal Docks in 1981. [6]
In 1988, the then-dilapidated site was chosen by French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre as the site for one of his signature large-scale concerts, eventually titled Destination Docklands. The area also inspired him to write the album Revolutions specifically for the event. [7]
The Royal Victoria Dock experienced major redevelopment initiated by the London Docklands Development Corporation in the 1990s. Developments included Britannia Village, which was carried out by Wimpey Homes, the Peabody Trust and the East Thames Housing Group in the mid-1990s. [8]
Most of the original buildings were demolished but a few historic warehouses survived. [9] More recent development has included the Royal Victoria Dock Bridge completed in 1998, [10] and the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, constructed on the north quayside, which opened in November 2000. [11]
On 15 August, 2009, the dock hosted the inaugural Great London Swim, a mass participation open water swim over a one-mile distance. The event has been held annually since then but on the first weekend in July. On 16 to 17 June, 2018, the dock hosted the F1H2O Grand Prix of London won by Erik Stark. [12] Britannia Village has its own Community Foundation. [13]
Royal Victoria Dock is the starting location for the annual Docklands Head, a rowing head race hosted by Poplar Blackwall and District Rowing Club. The race starts under the Royal Victoria Dock Bridge and proceeds eastwards underneath Connaught Footbridge and Connaught Road Bridge, finishing at the eastern end of the Royal Albert Dock. [14]
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of London. First opened on 31 August 1987, the DLR has been extended multiple times, giving a total route length of 38 km (24 mi). Lines now reach north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. Further extensions are being considered.
London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port of London, at one time the world's largest port. After the docks closed, the area had become derelict and poverty-ridden by the 1980s. The Docklands' regeneration began later that decade; it has been redeveloped principally for commercial and residential use. The name "London Docklands" was used for the first time in a government report on redevelopment plans in 1971 and has since been almost universally adopted. The redevelopment created wealth, but also led to some conflict between the new and old communities in the area. Case Study - Inner City Redevelopment - London's Docklands - Internet Geography
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Hamlet, Parish and, for a time, the wider borough of Poplar. The name had no official status until the 1987 creation of the Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. It has been known locally as simply "the Island" since the 19th century.
Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishs of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county of Essex. Since 1965, Silvertown has been part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London. It forms part of the London E16 postcode district along with Canning Town and Custom House.
The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary with the North Sea and including any associated docks. Once the largest port in the world, it was the United Kingdom's largest port as of 2020. Usage is largely governed by the Port of London Authority ("PLA"), a public trust established in 1908; while mainly responsible for coordination and enforcement of activities it also has some minor operations of its own.
North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel.
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 on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which 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.
Custom House is a railway station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – on which it is branded Custom House for ExCeL – and on the Elizabeth line, by the Royal Docks, in Custom House in the London Borough of Newham, London, England. It is situated in Travelcard Zone 3. It takes its name from the old Custom House, which formerly stood nearby, and ExCeL London which it serves.
Blackwall is an area of Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London. The neighbourhood includes Leamouth and the Coldharbour conservation area.
Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England.
North Greenwich is a formal 19th century name for an area now in Millwall situated at the very southern tip of the Isle of Dogs, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the south of the commercial estates of West India Docks including Canary Wharf and has a short shoreline along London's Tideway part of the River Thames.
The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disuse but were later revived as part of the Docklands Light Railway, and London Overground's East London Line. The company was originally called the East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway (E&WID&BJR) from its start in 1850, until 1853. in 1909 it entered into an agreement with the London and North Western Railway which introduced common management, and the NLR was taken over completely by the LNWR in 1922. The LNWR itself became part of the LMS from the start of 1923. The railways were nationalised in 1948 and most LMS lines, including the North London route, then came under the control of the London Midland Region of British Railways.
East London refers to the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames. It consists of areas in the historic counties of Essex and Middlesex.
Pontoon Dock is a station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in Silvertown in east London, which is on the Woolwich Arsenal branch, opened on 2 December 2005. It is located in the east of Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham, in the redevelopment zone known as Silvertown Quays, and is in Travelcard Zone 3.
West Silvertown is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Silvertown which opened in December 2005. It is located on the Woolwich Arsenal branch. Trains run Westbound to Bank in the City of London and Eastbound to Woolwich Arsenal, passing through London City Airport station.
The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in east London connected the Royal Docks with the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). Authorised in 1844, it opened in 1846, and was absorbed by the ECR in 1847. The ECR amalgamated with other railways to form the Great Eastern Railway in 1862.
Silvertown Quays is a redevelopment scheme of 50 acres (20 ha) of former London docklands warehousing in the East London district of Silvertown. It is situated on the northside of the River Thames, the southside of the Royal Victoria Dock on the opposite quay to ExCeL exhibition centre, and immediately west of London City Airport.
Thames Wharf is a planned Docklands Light Railway station in the Royal Docks, East London. The station name was previously proposed for another station in the area.
