St Katherines Dock |
Plan to catch Thames Clipper from Canary Wharf to St Katherines Dock which is alongside the Tower of London. on 1500 boat from Westferry Pier Canary Wharf |
St.Katherine's Dock Web site: www.stkaths.co.uk, As a centre for commerce and trade since Roman times, St Katharine Docks has a rich and turbulent history, having endured the tragedy of the Great Plague, survived the Great Fire of London and suffered heavy bomb damage during the Blitz of World War II. The establishment of the dock can be traced back to the time of King Edgar (959-975), who had originally sanctioned the use of land here for trade. However, it was only with the expansion of the Empire in the late 18th-century that plans were drawn up to expand London's existing "legal quays" in the Pool of London. Overburdened by unprecedented trade in sugar, tea, coffee and spices, Parliament passed The West India Dock Act of 1799 which paved the way for London's first ever enclosed docks. Followed by a dock at Wapping, the St Katharine Docks Bill was passed in 1825. Funded to the tune of nearly £1.5 million, the plan to develop the site involved uprooting over 11,000 people as well as acquiring (and leveling) the ancient site of St. Katherine's hospital and church. Under the guidance of respected engineer Thomas Telford, construction of the site took more than 2 years to complete and employed over 2000 men. The docks' design, with warehouses sited directly along the quayside, meant it was possible for ships to offload their cargos directly, without the need for additional handling or transport. By 1852, the sheer volumes of wool, tobacco, carpets, sugar and tea arriving at the Port of London meant that capacity was being exceeding again. Moreover, as new buildings were required to handle ivory imports, two new warehouses (now known as the Ivory House) were constructed. It was only following the terrible Blitz bombings of World War II that St Katharine's was put on the back foot. Suffering appalling damage, warehouse capacity was cut dramatically when stored oils, matches, rubber, waxes and cloths all went up in smoke. And, although it continued to operate after the war, increased competition from the railways (combined with the use of larger cargo ships) meant that trade began to dry up. In particular, the opening of the huge container port at Tilbury in the 1960s secured the docks' fate, with the area falling into heavy decline. Eventually, redevelopment proposals for the dock were submitted, with developers Taylor Woodrow Property given the task of creating an attractive waterside environment that would include shops, restaurants and tourist accommodation. Some 25 years later, the project has been highly successful. Among the highlights of a trip to St Katherine's is the famous Dickens Inn, the oldest (and prettiest) building here, along with a fine assortment of swanky boats moored along the dock-side. What's more, the process is continuing with the creation of residential buildings on the North and East Quays, along with Richard Rogers' typically modern re-design of Europe House. |
