London's docklands: a history of the lost quarter

297 Pages·2009·3.628 MB·English

by  Rule, Fiona

L o n d o n s
’
D o c k l a n d s
A History of the Lost Quarter

L o n d o n s
’
D o c k l a n d s
A History of the Lost Quarter
Fi o n a R u l e
Firstpublished2009
ISBN9780711033863
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedor
transmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,
includingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformationstorageand
retrievalsystem,withoutpermissionfromthePublisherinwriting.
©FionaRule2009
PublishedbyIanAllanPublishing
AnimprintofIanAllanPublishingLtd,Hersham,SurreyKT124RG.
PrintedbyIanAllanPrintingLtd,Hersham,SurreyKT124RG.
Code:0909/C
VisittheIanAllanPublishingwebsiteatwww.ianallanpublishing.com
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ForHarryMann–Thankyouforinspiringme.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to the helpful staff at the National Maritime Museum, the
MuseuminDocklands,theNationalArchivesinKew,theBritishLibrary
and the Metropolitan Archives for their assistance with my research.
ThanksarealsoduetoBruceWatsonandLynnBlackmoreattheMuseum
of London for their help in uncovering the lost world of the Hanseatic
League.
SpecialthankstoDickdeKerbrech,AlanRichardson,BrianMetherell,
Brian Powell and, of course, Harry Mann for sharing their personal
reminiscencesofdocklifewithme.
Finally, I would like to thank my agent, Sheila Ableman, for her wise
adviceandsupport,CatharineandAdrianEdwardsfortheirhelpwithmy
talksandpresentations,JaySlater,NickGrantandSueFrostfortheirfaith
in me as a writer and last but by no means least, my husband Robert, for
puttingupwithme.
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CONTENTS
Introduction ...........................................8
1 AdInitium ...........................................11
2 ANewEra ...........................................37
3 TheRebirthofLondon .................................49
4 MerchantsandMonopolies ..............................57
5 PlagueandPolitics .....................................75
6 VoyagesofDiscovery ...................................83
7 BlackGold ..........................................111
8 Fire ................................................122
9 MrLloyd’sCoffeeHouse ..............................137
10 Fur,WhalesandNewDevelopments .....................143
11 TheProsandConsofProsperity ........................150
12 TheCanalBoom .....................................161
13 TheGreat19thCenturyDocks .........................169
14 TheAgeofSteam ....................................180
15 TheRiseoftheWharves ...............................194
16 LifeintheVictorianDocks .............................202
17 BoilingPoint ........................................218
18 TheBeginningoftheEnd ..............................231
19 Crash,DepressionandConflict .........................243
20 TheDemiseoftheDocks ..............................257
SelectBibliography ...................................281
Index ...............................................285
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INTRODUCTION
3 May 1993 brought torrential rain to London and its surrounds. By the
time I drove down the industrial lane that led to the front gate of Wood
Bros.’furniturefactory,theroadwasalmosttotallysubmergedunderlarge
poolsofwater,inplacesoverafootdeep.ImanoeuvredmycartowhereI
thoughtthekerblay,slowlygroundtoahaltandopenedthedoortofind
waterlappingatthesill.
“The Lea’s burst its banks again.” A tall man with grey hair, whom I
wouldlaterdiscoverwasGeorgethegateman,calledacrosstome.Thepath
tothefactorygateswasentirelysubmerged;aninauspiciouswelcometothe
premisesofmynewemployer.
“Do you want a piggyback, love?” shouted one of a group of men
congregated next to George, watching my reaction to my dilemma with
machorelish.CursingthefactthatIwaswearinganewpairofsuedeheels
butdeterminednottoconformtothefemalestereotypesohopedforbymy
masculine audience, I rolled up my trouser legs and waded through the
murkywater.
IttranspiredthatmywaterywelcomewasnottheonlysurpriseIreceived
thatday.Aftersquelchingintoreceptionandbeingshownmydeskbythe
sympathetic but amused office manager, I was given a tour of my new
workplacebyacheerfulchapnamedPeter,withwhomIwouldbeworking
onmarketingcampaigns.Wetouredalineofoffices,meetingandshaking
handswithpeoplewhosenamesIalmostinstantlyforgot,despitemakinga
concertedeffortnotto.Finally,PeterledmetoadoorbehindwhichIcould
hearanalmightycacophonyofmachinerywhirring,clunkingandclacking.
Inthevastroomthatlaybeyondstoodahugeprintingpress,spewingsheets
of paper from its bowels in a steady, rhythmic stream, diligently watched
overbyagrey-hairedmandressedingreenoverallswhodistractedlywaved
atusasweapproached.“ThisisHarry,”saidPeter.“You’llbeworkingwith
himontheprint.”
BeforewalkingintoWoodBros.’printshop,Iknewabsolutelynothing
about the art of printing and was horrified to learn that I would be
responsible for overseeing the production of the multitude of brochures,
pricelists,postersandadvertisingflyersthatthecompanydispatchedtoits
retailers.However,Harryprovedtobeapatientandhugelyknowledgeable
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Introduction
teacher.AsIembarkedonmycrashcourse,hetaughtmemuchaboutthe
complexfacetsoftheprocess,fromselectingpapertohowplatesweremade
forthepress.However,itwasourchatsaboutanentirelydifferentsubject
thatwouldultimatelyleadmeonanadventureofdiscoveryintoapartof
Londonthathasnowalmosttotallyvanished.
Duringourteabreaks,Harrywouldtellmeabouthislife,whichbegan
inSeptember1934inWestHam,EastLondon.Whenhewasveryyoung
the family moved to Canning Town, an area dominated geographically,
economicallyandsociallybythreevastexpansesofwateroccupyingnearly
250acresofwhathadoncebeenPlaistowMarsh.
Known collectively as the Royal Docks, the Victoria, Albert and King
GeorgeVDocksformedthemostvisuallyimpressivesectionofthePortof
London; a sprawling network of quays, ancient wharves, deep canals and
high-walledbasinsthatstretchedalongtheRiverThamesfromtheCityto
Tilbury.WalkingthelengthoftheVictoriaandAlbertDocksalonewould
takeuptoanhour,thetotallengthofthesemassivebodiesofwaterbeing
over three miles. When constructed in 1880, the Royal Albert was the
largest dock in the world, running one and three quarter miles along the
northbankofthemightyThames.Atthewesternedge,alockconnected
itwiththeRoyalVictoriaDock,adeepwatermonster-structuremeasuring
3,000feetlongbyover1,000feetwide–enoughtofitsevenfootballpitches
withroomtospare.Alongitswarehouse-linedquayside,enormousjetties,
complete with their own railway sidings, stretched out into the centre of
thebasin,allowingmyriadgoodsfromthefourcornersoftheglobetobe
unloaded onto trucks and conveyed to an increasingly prosperous and
consumeristnation.
The London docks provided employment for over 100,000 men and
Harry’s father and numerous neighbours and friends all worked at the
waterside.Workwasphysicallydemandingbutplentifulanddockworkers’
pay,whilenotaking’sransom,wassufficienttoraiseafamily,(albeitinless
than idyllic surroundings), and keep a bit back for beer money. Naturally
enough,Harryalwaysassumedthatthedockswouldeventuallyprovidehim
withhisownlivinguntilaconversationoccurredthathadaprofoundeffect
ontherestofhislife.Ashorttimebeforehisfourteenthbirthday,theboy’s
father announced that he had secured him an apprenticeship with a local
printer.Harrywasbewilderedbythisresolution;whywouldhisDadeschew
Canning Town’s major employer in favour of a trade he knew nothing
about?Hisfather’sresponsewasremarkablyprescient:“There’snofuture
intheDocks,”hetoldhisson.
UntilHarrytoldmehisstoryofalostLondoncommunity,Iknewlittle
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