Portcities London

reflecting our cultures

Maritime London Partnership

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The port in 1901

At the time of the census of 1901, over a thousand vessels were either in the port of London or on their way up or down the Thames.

Five barges on the Thames. © NMM

This meant that hundreds of lighters left empty for the night do not appear in the census.

Of the vessels that were included in the census, more than half were humble Thames barges.

This work shows a selection of the different types of vessels using the various docks and wharves, using pictures of the ships present in London on census night.

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