Portcities London

Unloading timber at the Surrey Docks. © NMM

The Surrey Commercial Docks had to cope with a lot of barge traffic, as there was no railway access to the site. Timber was transported by barge to wharves along the Surrey Canal or on the Thames.

• The dock system covered 372 acres.
• The engineers for the canal and docks were Ralph Dodd, John W. Rowe and William Jessop.
• Surrey Commercial Docks comprised of 10 docks: Lavender Dock, Stave Dock, Albion Dock, Island Dock, Lady Dock, Russia Dock, Canada Dock, Greenland Dock, Norway Dock and South Dock (formerly East Country Dock).
• The docks also had 1 basin: Surrey Basin; and 14 timber yards: Lavender Yard, Acorn Yard, Stave Yard, Island Yard, Russia Yard, Baltic Yard, Centre Yard, Canada Yard, Quebec Yard, Station Yard, Steel Yard, Commercial Yard, Swedish Yard, East Country Yard.
• The Surrey Entrance Lock measured 16 metres across and 8.2 metres deep.
• The Grand Surrey Commercial Canal was 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres) long.
• The docks had grain warehouses with a capacity of 35,000 tons and 46 acres of timber storage sheds.
• The reconstructed Greenland Dock covered 22 acres of water featuring a lock 168 metres long by 24.4 metres across. The engineer on the project was Sir John Wolfe-Barry.