The London Docks History

Terça, 05 Janeiro 2010 13:48

London guide - London attractions

The London Docklands, although this is not an official name, it is used quite commonly, is a part of London Port. Docklands are now used for commercial and residental purposes. They hold a great history starting from Roman times.
In Roman and medieval times, the ships were docking in the area called Pool of London or the  Souhtwark. But there were problems about the space, security and protection. So new docks were built and opened constantly from 1802 to 1829, during the Georgian era, named West India, London, East India, the Survey, St. Katharine and the West India South. More were built and opened during Victorian era, from 1855 to 1880, on the east side. (Royal Victoria, Millwall and Royal Albert). There were 3 kinds of docks wet docks where ships were loaded and unloaded, dry docks where ships were repaired and dockyards in which new ships were built.
In the 20th century, the hardest times were during the 2nd World War without a doubt for this part of the city. Germans bombed the docks and to imagine the harm they caused it is enough to know that 380,000 tons of timber were destroyed at one night. After all the rennovation and effort, the next crisis appeared for London Docks in 1960s because of the new container system in cargo transportation. The Docks went back to the old problems, lack of space because of those new containers and also the London Docks were not deep enough to handle the ships. So it was closed from 1960s to 1980s.
The development program which was ran by London Docklands Development Corporation turned the  area into a watersports centers, marinas and flats, a modern, living area in other words.The public transportaion improved to the London Docks with new tube and the areas Greenwhich and Deptford.
Currently, the Docklands is very popular area even with its own newspaper and its own symphony.

If you would like to experince the London Docklands, check our London apartments.