Book Review: The History of the Port of London by Peter Stone

This book describes itself as "The History of the Port of London" and it does just what it says on the tin. I was a bit worried it might be dry but was pleasantly surprised as it's both informative and well written. As someone with living in London and by the Thames it was a subject I was really interested in and I learnt a lot.

From the very early days of the Romans the port of London grew slowly at first and then faster in medieval times, exporting first wool then cloth to the low countries. Very early on, London became a place where boats would arrive with sailors from countries far away, a mix of cultures and ideas that continues to this day.

It was then to explode with the Empire, docks dedicated to destinations such as far off India (for the East India Company) and more and more docks built, mile after mile, along with warehouses for storage.

The port of London became a city within a city, where thousands worked behind tall walls that protect the valuable wares within, sometimes in import duty limbo. But in the 20th Century competition drove some docks to bankruptcy and they merged together to form the Port of London Authority (PLA) in December 1908.

The PLA "inherited almost 3,000 acres of estate" with 32 miles of quays as well as 17 London County Council passenger piers and the Thames from Teddington to the estuary.

It reached its peak in the 1930s where around 100,000 men either worked there or were dependent upon its operations which accounted for 38% of the UK's trade. In a typical year there'd be:

• 50,000 ocean going ships arriving
• 15,000 round trips in coasters
• 250 tugs working
• 10,000 lighters
• 1,000 sailing barges.

The port survived the blitz, just, but was to be swept away by the container revolution. A theme through-out the final century was continual battles between dock owners and works, between starvation wages (literally) and insolvency.

Now the docks have gone - or at least from London, though not the Thames, for there are still the docks down Tilbury way. It's hard to imagine how it would have been in its peak, though this photo (from here) gives an idea:

You'd need a good imagination to visualise this now as these docks were Canary Wharf, so this area is now all banks and beyond there is the O2 Arena.

An invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the subject.