London's River
By E. W. KING THE first London Bridge acted at the beginning of the thirteenth century as a barrier to inward bound shipping and, in consequence, the focal point of the Port moved eastwards from ancient Queenhithe, the first known wharf to be specially constructed, to the stretch of the river between the bridge and the Tower. During the next four hundred years the courage and enterprise of the merchant adventurers brought the shipping and trade of the Port, indeed of all the ports of the country, to the point of cOngestion, with the result that the Crown had the utmost difficulty in collecting revenue. Then occurred the first governmental intervention in port administration by the issue of a decree which enacted that ships should discharge and load during daylight hours at specified or ' legal ' quays, In London these were on the north bank of the river between London Bridge and the Tower, but wart from augmenting these facilities by grant- ing temporary licences to a few other wharves to deal with goods 'on sulTerance ' no further attempt to improve the Port's facilities occurred for over a hundred years.
13y this time the Pool had become undesirably crowded. The congestion led not only to serious delays but also gave rise to a considerable amount of pilfering. Merchants, who suffered both from the delays and the pilferage, began an agitation, and Parliament eventually sanctioned the provision of docks for the handling and warehousing of goods, as distinct from the refitting decks of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The various docks which are now within the jurisdiCtion of the Port of London Authority were established by private companies during the nineteenth century.
There are today five distinct and recognisable dock systems. Twenty-six miles down-river from London Bridge are Tilbury Docks; the Royal Docks, comprising the Royal Victoria, Royal Albert and King George V Docks, extend the three miles from Silvertown to North Woolwich; in the Isle of Dogs are situated the India and Millwall Docks, including the adjacent East India Dock at Blackwall; across the river lie the Surrey Com- mercial Docks; and just below Tower Bridge in the Borough of Stepney are the London and St. Katharine Docks. The various docks comprising these systems, except King George V Dock „which wps built by the PLA and opened in 1921, were in private hands at the turn of the century, when there came an agitation for better co-ordination, the elimination of waste- ful competition and greater efficiency in the conduct of the docks. A Royal Commission was set up in 1900, and a few , years later a Bill was put through Parliament by the Govern- ment of the day and became law in 1908. This measure. known as the Port of London Act, provided for the conservancy of the tidal Thames, i.e. the 69 miles from Teadington to -the Nore; the ownership of the five dock systems was to pass into the control of a new type of administration—a Corporation established by statute and practically independent of Govern- ment, authorised to borrow from the public on the security of a rate-charging power given by Parliament and, broadly speaking, conducting its own affairs without interference.
At the outset of its career the Authority embarked on a vigorous policy of improvement and expansion; the whole of the dock estate and its plant and facilities were reviewed and far-reaching plans were made. The major works undertaken included the building of the King George V Dock; the enlarg- ing of Tilbury Docks and the provision of a new lock entrance, dry dock, riverside cargo jetty and passenger landing stage there; the complete re-organisation of the India and Millwall Docks into one system by the construction of cuttings inter- connecting the several basins; the building of new sheds and warehouses at Surrey Commercial Docks and the addition of a new dock to the system by the amalgamation of several timber ponds. A new navigable channel was dredged, 1,000 ft. wide and 30 feet deep at low water of ordinary spring tides, from the Nore to Coldharbour Point, a distance of some 33 miles. From there upstream the channel gradually diminishes in width and depth but it provides ample water for ships navigating the middle and upper reaches. The tidal range of the Thames is approximately 20 feet and a ship of 10,000 g.r.t. has successful navigated up to London Bridge.
The development of the Port has been halted by two major wars, during the second of which it was the centre of the enemy's aerial attack on London. The damage , suffered was heavy and its extent can Ile gauged from the fact that the Authority's war damage claim was settled at £131 million sterling.. In spite of this the Port remained open and fulfilled a vital war-time function in preparation for the invasion of Europe and the subsequent build-up. Little development work could be undertaken during the war years, but in 1944 the Authority did complete a scheme which changed the Royal Victoria Dock into a moderp shipping terminal. Since the end of the war, reconstruction with niodernisation proceeded as fast as the supply of materials and other restrictions would allow. Some significant new work has already been completed, while several new schemes are nearing completion and others have been recently started.
Surrey Commercial Docks, largely used for timber storage, were severely damaged during the air raids of September 8/9, 1940, over 230 sheds being destroyed or so damaged as to need demolition. Accommodation sufficient to house 25,000 stan- dards of timber has, however, been provided since the end of the war and more sheds are in course of erection, together with modern style warehouses. In addition to this a new scheme to enlarge the cutting between the Canada and Green- land docks has just been sanctioned, which will enable deep- drafted vessels to use the Canada and Quebec Docks. The Qatlions ship lock of the Royal Docks system is being recon- structed, and at Tilbury Docks new deep water berths are being prepared for the new 29,000 ton P. & 0. and Orient liners.
Since modernisation not only concerns design of premises but also cargo handling methods, much research has gone into the provision of mechanical equipment which will lighten labour and speed-up the 'turn-round' of ships on an economical basis. Merchandise of all kinds, sizes and weights passes through the docks and the problem is a complex one; moreover certain prejudices, although showing signs of weaken- ing, still resist the use of mechanical contrivances, but good headway is being made here.
It has been said that the trade of the Port of London is a barometer of the economic health of the country as a whole. If this be true, then there is reason for some satisfaction, for in the last financial year the net register tonnage of shipping using the Port rose to 68,550,000 and that of goods to nearIY 511 million, a record in the history of the Port.
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