A Visit to the Museum in Docklands
Providing a fascinating
insight into the events that
have created this part of
London and, in more recent
times, the regeneration of
the area that now includes
the headquarters of some of
the most significant
financial and business
organisations, 1982 saw
publication of the first
formal proposals for a
museum to present the littleknown
story of London's
river and port and the
people living and working
there. The area had been
extensively damaged
during the Second World War and,
together with the last of the upriver docks
and many of the wharves and factories
facing closure, the 1980s was an
appropriate time to envisage a major
cultural focus for the East London region.
The Museum is housed in a very fine but previously run-down warehouse on West India Quay. The West India Docks opened in 1802 and were London's first purpose-built cargo handling docks. The building survived a fire in 1901 and enemy action during World War II. The warehouses closed in 1968 and are the sole surviving major Georgian dock warehouses in any British seaport.
Three Floors and a Learning Centre
The story begins with an introductory film about the various galleries and may be said to begin about AD50 with the Roman settlement in what is now the city of London. After the Romans the Anglo- Saxons founded the settlement of 'Lundenwic' around AD886. On this floor are galleries showing the Thames Highway and how London's earliest ports moved from Roman to Tudor. Also, the coming of the docks 1790-1828, a recreation of the Legal Quay from the 1790s and Trade Expansion from 1600-1800 and the rise of the port during the colonial period. Important events on the Thames Highway included the building between 1176 and 1209 of a massive new stone London Bridge, replacing the wooden structure, and the waterfront being successively embanked between 1200 and 1500. There is a model of the medieval London Bridge. In 1358 there were 128 shops with living accommodation on the bridge.
Trade Expansion protected by an increasingly powerful navy, challenged European rivals, dominating trade with North America, East and West Indies, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Between 1600 and 1798, the number of ships using London rose from 3000 to 14,600. As port trade increased in the 18th century, the HM Customs allowed 'Sufferance Wharves' on the Bermondsey and St Katherine's waterfront and only the smaller ships could discharge directly at these wharves. A fine carved figure of Pocahontas (about 1750) is displayed in the Museum, with links to the Virginia Settlers who sailed from Blackwall in 1606, to become the first permanent British settlers in North America.
Also on this floor is the Rhinebeck Panorama recreation which provides a birds-eye view of the metropolis seen from the east. Although dated to between 1806 and 1811, the crowded shipping scene in the Upper Pool of London is essentially that of late 1790s, before the opening of the enclosed docks. Shown as well are the historic Legal Quays which were established in 1559 for the handling of all dutiable cargoes. London's coastal and overseas trade trebled during the 18th century. Although trade had grown port facilities had not and from 1800 to 1820 the West India and London Docks were built. From 1820 to 1840 was a watershed with changes including the opening of the new London Bridge in 1831 and demolition of the old medieval one. St Katharine Docks was opened in 1828 which was the first of London's free trade docks.
City, River and People
On the 2nd floor Sailor Town is
explored with St Katharine, Wapping,
Shadwell, as well as Ratcliffe, Limehouse,
Poplar, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe,
Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich and
Gravesend all catering for sailors.
A maze
of streets, lanes and alleys backed the
riverside wharves and docks. London
became the First Port of Empire which
benefited enormously from its position as
the trading heart. Large-scale industry was
attracted including iron shipbuilding and
engine making as well as many other
trades. The era from 1840 to 1939 is shown
with competition between the dock
companies and riverside wharves
becoming intense, to the detriment of the
casual workforce.
The port and its communities bore the brunt of enemy attack during 1939-45. Dockyards and riverside factories supported the war effort and together with residential properties, suffered extensive damage. Other galleries show the new port after 1945. The opening of container berths at Tilbury sealed the fate of the old up-river docks and closures began in 1967. The reshaping of Docklands only began with the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation in 198l and since then, new transport networks, housing, businesses and leisure spaces have transformed the area. Canary Wharf with its landmark towers, is now London's second business district.
The ground floor of the Museum contains various facilities that include a cloakroom, function room, coffee shop and 'Mudlarks' for the under-12s.
The Museum, in West India Quay, has many events organised during the year. Please ring for details. Tel: 0870 444 3856
Terry Ford