London Docks - London's docks and shipping

London Docks (1805-1971)

Main trade

Types of vessel used

Interesting Facts

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'London's Tobacco Docks'

Main trade

The London Docks, located at Wapping, were the second dock system to be built in London. A large range of items were traded at the London Docks, including:

Tobacco	Marble	Wool	Sausage skins
Indian chutney	Brandy	Wine	Rum
Marble	Sherry	Rice	Dried and fresh fruit
Olive oil	Spices	Bark	India rubber
Whalebones	Mercury	Skins	Rattans
Fish oil	Nuts	Sugar	Coffee
Cocoa	Paper	Hemp	Coir yarn
Jute	Coconuts	Iodine	Wax

Bird's eye view of London Docks. © NMM

A monopoly granted to the London Dock Company meant that for 21 years, all vessels entering the Port of London with cargoes of tobacco, rice, wine and brandy (except vessels from the East and West Indies) had to unload at London Docks. The London Docks stored liquor, tobacco and other precious goods in bond in the vaults. The merchandise was guarded by the police and opened for inspection, sampling and trading by Customs and Excise and merchants holding 'tasting permits'.

Two of the most important commodities for the London Docks were tobacco and wool. The 'Tobacco Warehouse', covered five acres of land and was rented by the government for around £15,600 per year. The 'Great Wool-Floor' at the London Dock was famous for its weekly public sales of wool. Up to 25,000 bales were sold every week, employing 200 men and making £2.6 million per annum.

Types of vessel used

The London Docks system was initially built solely for the use of sailing vessels. The shape and size of the dock enabled a relatively easy transition from sail to steam in the late 19th century. However, as vessels increased in size into the 20th century, the docks struggled to cope. By the 1930s, up to 30 vessels could dock at any one time, with a gross tonnage of 25,000 tons. As container ships became more popular, the London Docks became unable to cope with their size.

Interesting Facts

Unloading port wine from Oporto at London Docks. © NMM
The site covered 20 acres of land. A further 12 acres was developed to create a second dock.
The head engineer for the project was John Rennie.
The cost of the project was £4 million.
Wine casks in vaults at London Docks, c. 1896. © NMM
Rubble and soil was shipped up the river in barges and laid as the foundations for Pimlico.
The dock system consisted of two main basins, the Western Dock and the Eastern Dock, with a small basin known as the Tobacco Dock linking the two.
The docks were accessed from the river by three small basins, the Wapping Basin (12.19 metres in width) and the Hermitage Basin (12.19 metres in width) linking the Western Dock and the Shadwell Basin (13.72 metres in width) linking the Eastern Dock.
There were 6 quays in the docks, able to berth 302 sailing vessels.
There was 50 acres of warehouse space, containing 20 warehouses, 18 sheds and 17 vaults. The vaults covered around 20 acres of cellarage, built with ventilated vaulting.
A small permanent workforce was formed within 3 months of opening, including a Superintendent of the Dock and a Dockmaster. However, this was supplemented by a large casual workforce, which could number as many as 3000 labourers.