Queenhithe Dock in 1923.

Queenhithe Dock.

Repro ID: P27590

Description: Queenhithe was originally presented by King Alfred the Great in 883 AD to his brother-in-law Ethelred, who in the same year was made the first Earldorman, or Alderman. It acquired its name after the dues and profits from the docks were dedicated to the wife of Henry I, Queen Matilda. The area probably began life as a Roman dock, but was known in Saxon times as Aedereshyd. Indeed, it contains the remains of some Roman baths. With the oldest and possibly the only extant Saxon harbour in the world, the area has always been known as a trade centre, used extensively until the 20th century by the corn and later the fur and tea trades. Furs, particularly coney skins, were a major import to the area and the nearby Skinners Lane stands as a reminder of this now departed trade.

Creator: Waldo McGillycuddy Eagar CBE

Date: 1923

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London. Eagar collection