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Royal Docks is an area in the London Borough of Newham in the
London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...
in East London,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Navy Dockyard, Royal being due to their naming after members of the royal family rather than Crown ownership. The three docks collectively formed the largest enclosed docks in the world, with a water area of nearly and an overall estate of . The area was designated a special enterprise zone in 2012. North Woolwich is part of Royal Docks ward. Royal Docks was also a ward of the London Borough of Newham, which at the 2011 Census had a population of 10,679. It was abolished for the 2022 elections and replaced by two new wards of Royal Albert and Royal Victoria.


History

The three docks were completed between 1855 and 1921 on riverside marshes in
East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...
and West Ham (now the London Borough of Newham). The Victoria and Albert docks were constructed by the London & St Katharine Docks Company, to provide berths for large vessels that could not be accommodated further upriver. They were a great commercial success, becoming London's principal docks during the first half of the 20th century. They specialised particularly in the import and unloading of foodstuffs, with rows of giant granaries and refrigerated warehouses being sited alongside the quays. The docks' great size and provision of numerous finger quays gave them a collective span of over of quaysides, serving hundreds of cargo and passenger ships at a time. Following the opening of the Royal Albert Dock in 1880, giving the Royals access to Gallions Reach, below London Bridge, the rival East & West India Docks Company responded with the construction of Tilbury Docks even further down river. The ruinous competition led eventually to all the enclosed docks being taken over by the Port of London Authority (PLA) in 1909. The PLA completed the King George V Dock in 1921 and reserved land to the north for a fourth dock, never built. The General Strike of 1926 hit the Royal Docks hard, with 750,000 frozen carcasses threatened by the docks' electrical supply being cut off. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
saved the day for the dock owners by connecting the generators of two submarines to power the warehouses' freezers. Although the Royal Docks suffered severe damage from German bombing in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, they recovered after the war but suffered a steady decline from the 1960s onwards, following the adoption of
containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or International Organization for Standardization, ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuf ...
. Nonetheless, they survived longer than any of the other upstream docks, finally closing to commercial traffic only in 1981. The docks' closure led to high levels of unemployment and social deprivation in the surrounding communities of North Woolwich and Silvertown.


Redevelopment

Because of their relative remoteness from central London and poor transport links, the redevelopment of London's Docklands has proceeded more slowly in the Royals than in the other former docks. The London Docklands Development Corporation undertook much work during the 1980s and 1990s to improve local transport and promote new residential and commercial developments in the area. Thousands of new homes were built at Beckton, just north of the Royal Docks. An extension of the
Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...
(DLR) opened in 1994 to provide direct links to the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
and Canary Wharf. This was later extended round the south side of the docks with the link to
London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...
opening in December 2005. The line was later extended to Woolwich.
Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...
has served the area since 2022. Several other major projects have been proposed or implemented since then. Many residential complexes have been built; most notably the architecturally progressive Eastern Quay on the south side of Royal Victoria Dock, Capital East on the north side of the dock and the large complex of Gallion's Reach in the extreme east of the Royal Docks. A series of major developments have seen the construction of a new university campus (for the University of East London) and the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, among much else. The Royal Docks have also seen the development of
London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...
(code LCY), opened in 1988 on the quay between the Royal Albert Dock and the King George V dock. While the docks themselves have been preserved largely intact, little remains of the old infrastructure, although some historic warehouses and cranes have been preserved. In 2011 the one hundred and twenty five hectares of the Royal Docks were granted
Enterprise Zone An urban enterprise zone is an area in which policies to encourage economic growth and development are implemented. Urban enterprise zone policies generally offer tax concessions, infrastructure incentives, and reduced regulations to attract invest ...
status to help attract jobs and businesses to the area. In 2014, Singapore listed Oxley Holdings together with leading developer Ballymore UK have a Joint-Venture to set up a new waterfront township of Royal Wharf, with 3,385 new homes housing over 10,000. This will be a
mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...
comprising shops, restaurants and even office complexes. The final phase is known as Mariner's Quarter which has the tallest building standing at 19 storeys, overseeing the river Thames and Canary Wharf. In March 2023, consultants unveiled proposals to use floating modules to create additional dockspace area that could be used to host
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor racing events on a circuit incorporating 2.7km of the existing embankment along the Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Dock from ExCeL to the University of East London.


Transport

Aside from local bus routes, the area is primarily served by the DLR which goes from Canning Town (services west to Canary Wharf and Central London, and North to Stratford) along the north of the dock to Beckton, and along the south of the dock to North Woolwich and under the Thames to Woolwich Arsenal.
Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
plan to extend the Beckton branch to
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...
but this is dependent on funding. The DLR replaced the North London Line services that previously served the area from Canning Town to North Woolwich via Custom House and the 600 m Connaught tunnel beneath the docks. From 2022, a branch of the
Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...
passes beneath the Royal Docks between Canning Town and Woolwich in a tunnel, serving
Custom House station Custom House is an interchange station by the Royal Docks, in Custom House, Newham, Custom House in the London Borough of Newham, London for Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – on which it is branded Custom House for ExCeL – and Elizabeth line ...
, with future provision for a station at Silvertown. Crossrail reuses the southern part of the former North London Line alignment from Custom House to North Woolwich (including the Connaught tunnel built in 1878). There has also been a need for a further river crossing in the area. A long-standing proposal has been for a four-lane tolled bridge providing a road link between Beckton and
Thamesmead Thamesmead () is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly c ...
on the south bank: the Thames Gateway Bridge. A public inquiry on the bridge closed in May 2006, it being particularly contentious in the residential neighbourhoods between Plumstead and the Danson Interchange (a junction on the A2). The plans were shelved, along with the DLR Dagenham extension, by then
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
when he came to power in 2008. However, in the run-up to the 2012 election, Johnson started to push for a crossing at Silvertown (the western end of the docks). The Royal Docks is also home to
London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...
, between the northern and southern docks. It was opened in 1988 to serve the Canary Wharf development. It is closer to central London than Heathrow, and is served by a dedicated DLR station. In 2010, London City was the fifth busiest airport in terms of passengers and aircraft movements serving the London area.


Navigation

Although the docks are now closed for commercial shipping, most of the water area of the docks still exists and is still navigable by craft of all sizes up to and including sizeable ships. The docks' principal use is now water sports, but they do see occasional visits by naval and merchant vessels, especially during the annual London Boat Show and the biennial DSEi arms fair, both of which are held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Cruise ships including Fred Olsen Lines' Braemar (24,300 GT) were moored there during the London 2012 Olympics. The management of the water areas of the Royal Docks, including locks and bridges, is now the responsibility of ''Royal Docks Management Authority Limited'' (RoDMA), which is owned and funded by the owners of the surrounding development land.


See also

* Royal Docks Heritage Railway


References


External links


The Mayor of London – Royal Docks website

Royal Wharf - Royal Docks Biggest Township

Royal Wharf Details- Royal Docks Biggest Township

Royal Docks Trust website

Royal Docks Management Authority Limited website

Royal Docks Information website
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 London docks Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Newham Geography of the London Borough of Newham Redevelopment projects in London Port of London