Tilbury Docks
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The Port of Tilbury is a port located on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
at
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
,
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 ...
. It serves as the principal port for
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
,
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
, and other bulk cargoes. There are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London.


Geography

The Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to . The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches: within the
meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
was a huge area of
marshland In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...
.
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers. There was also a naval dockyard at
Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsf ...
at the mouth of the Ebbsfleet River. The new deep-water docks were an extension of all that maritime activity. The original docks consisted of a tidal basin on Gravesend Reach opposite
Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsf ...
, connected by a
lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...
to a main dock with three side branches named East, Central and West Branch docks. Between the tidal basin and Main Dock were two dry docks.


History


Construction

The original docks of London, all built close to the
City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
, were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company (E&WIDC) at the beginning of the 19th century. With the coming of the railways and increasing ship size, proximity to the centre of London became less important than access to deep water, unrestricted sites and reduction in time spent traveling up the winding Thames. The company had long been in competition with its rival, the London and St Katherine Dock Company (L&StKDC). The opening of the Royal Albert Dock by the L&StKDC, with its deepwater quayage, in 1880 had given access to the Thames at Gallions Reach, by river below London Bridge and downstream of the then principal London docks. The E&WIDC were forced to retaliate. In July 1882, an Act of Parliament allowed the latter to construct the docks at Tilbury. The construction encountered difficulties when the contractors, Kirk & Randell unexpectedly encountered blue clay and claimed extra costs. The company had them ejected from the site in 1884, triggering expensive legal action. For a while the East & West India Company continued construction with their own workers until the firm of
Lucas and Aird Lucas and Aird was a major civil engineering business operating in the 19th century. History The business was formed as a joint venture between Lucas Brothers and John Aird & Co. in 1870. The joint venture was dissolved in 1896. Major projects ...
was engaged to complete the work. The first vessel entered the docks on 17 April 1886. This was the ''Glenfruin'' carrying the official party for the opening ceremony. The opening of the dock took place at the beginning of the steamship era, and its location soon proved to be advantageous.Timeline of Tilbury Docks
/ref>


Docks expansion

In 1909 Tilbury, along with the upstream docks, became part of the newly established
Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
(PLA). In 1921, and again in 1929, the PLA carried out major improvements. These included a new lock long and wide, linking the docks directly to the Thames to the west at Northfleet Hope, and a third dry dock, long and wide. These works were carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine. During the 1960s, at the time when the upstream docks were closing, the PLA further extended the Tilbury dock facilities. Between 1963 and 1966 a huge fourth branch dock, running north from Main Dock for nearly , was constructed. The tidal basin was closed and eventually filled in. In 1969 a £6 million riverside grain terminal on Northfleet Hope was brought into use. The PLA funded a new £30 million container port which opened in 1967. Labour issues prevented full service from starting until April 1970, although
United States Lines United States Lines was an organization of the United States Shipping Board's (USSB) Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC), created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all finances of t ...
reached an agreement with the union to begin service in 1968. Near the Dockmaster's office, on New Lock, is a memorial to Captain Peter de Neumann, GM, who was killed there in an accident on 16 September 1972. In 1978, a deep water riverside berth was opened for large container ships on reclaimed land at Northfleet Hope. In 1992 the port was privatised and became part of the Forth Ports organisation, the PLA retaining the role of managing the tidal Thames.
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...
visited the Docks in 2004 during a TV episode of ''Rolf on Art'', when he recreated J. M. W. Turner's famous painting '' The Fighting Temeraire''. On 25 January 2012 Otter Ports Holdings Ltd, owner of Forth Ports, acquired from DP World Limited ("
DP World DP World is a multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. Formed in 2005 by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and ...
") and Associated British Ports Ltd ("AB Ports") the 67% ownership of Tilbury Container Services Ltd ("TCS") not already owned by Forth Ports in a cash transaction. Forth Ports had been a one third shareholder in TCS since 1998 along with partners DP World and AB Ports. TCS is located within the Port of Tilbury, which is wholly owned by Forth Ports. In October 2019, 39 people were found dead in a truck at nearby Grays. The truck was moved to the Port of Tilbury the next day, so that more investigations could be undertaken. After that, the bodies were moved to Broomfield Hospital. Port of Tilbury recently announced a joint development with Tarmac, a partnership which will see the UK's largest construction materials aggregates terminal (CMAT) built on a 152-acre site. The joint development of the CMAT is expected to see most operations established by the end of 2020. The Port is actively exploring and implementing shore power solutions to reduce emissions from ships while docked. This includes a new development, Tilbury2, which is shore-side power enabled. Additionally, the port is working with RWE and
Mitsui is a Japanese corporate group and '' keiretsu'' that traces its roots to the ''zaibatsu'' groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the ''zaibatsu'' of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. Ins ...
to investigate green hydrogen for port operations, potentially transitioning from fossil fuels to hydrogen for port equipment and exploring a 10 MW green hydrogen plant


London Cruise Terminal

One of the shipping lines using the docks was P&O. Tilbury became the only port in the PLA to serve ocean liners, when, in 1916, it opened berths specifically for the P&O within the dock complex. With the need for expanded facilities, a large new passenger landing stage was constructed in the Thames jointly by the PLA and the
London Midland & Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...
, with rail connections. It was opened in May 1930 by
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
. Tilbury operated as London's
passenger liner A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...
passenger terminal until the 1960s. For many people Tilbury was their point of emigration to Australia under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Australian Government. The Ten Pound Poms as they were known in Australia, embarked on to ships such as '' RMS Mooltan'' and set off for a new life. At the end of the Second World War displaced people from the Baltic Countries who were in camps in Germany began to arrive. The first of these came to Tilbury in 1946. These were over 1000 Baltic women who were recruited under a British government scheme named Balt Cygnets. These women would work in hospitals and TB sanatoria. The ship on which they travelled-the ''Empire Halladale'' was used to transport British Military families from Tilbury in 1946 under Operation Union to Germany. They would join serving soldiers of the British Army of the Rhine. Tilbury was also a port of entry for many immigrants; among them being a large group of West Indians on in 1948.UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960
Ancestry.com in association with The National Archives.
The passenger landing stage was reopened by the Port of Tilbury group, as the London Cruise Terminal in 1995. The historic passenger terminal building has been rebuilt and refurbished over the subsequent years and is now called the "London International Cruise Terminal". The old station building (no longer served by a railway connection) has been refurbished to house a new luggage retrieval hall. The cruise terminal is the main port for the Ambassador Cruise Line


Other port activities

The Port of Tilbury Police, among the oldest of such forces in the UK, are responsible for the security of the Port. The port is also a base of operations of
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...
, who operate out of TS Iveston (a Coniston class former
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
).Navy News
2004 Iveston’s Indian Summer.
Seafarers welfare charity, Apostleship of the Sea, which provides practical and pastoral support to seafarers, has a port chaplain based at the port.


Railways in the Port of Tilbury

The Port of Tilbury had a rail connection of what was the London Tilbury and Southend Railway's (LT&SR) main line to
Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
and Tilbury. This was located at Tilbury North Junction which lay between Grays and Tilbury Dock and opened on the same day as the docks - 17 April 1886. The connection passed through a pair of high security gates and then fanned out into a series of exchange sidings which were controlled by a dock company signal box. When the docks were being built the contractors had laid a number of railway lines which formed the basis of the dock system. On opening some of the contractors locomotives were purchased by the London and St Katharine Dock Company. A second rail connection was provided from
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...
to a station called Tilbury Tidal Basin which opened on 17 April 1886 by the London and St Katharine Dock Company. This could also be reached via the Tilbury North Junction and a line via the east side of the docks. Its only passenger services were boat trains connecting with liners using the basin. The service was not successful and after December 1906 passenger traffic instead ran to Tilbury Riverside. The station was then used for goods traffic. In the early years goods traffic was low which was a disappointment for the LT&SR board who had been hoping the docks would be a big boost to its income. Boat trains from Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street and later St Pancras all worked into the port area via the Tilbury North connection and would work through to the relevant transit shed all of which were equipped with passenger platforms. In the early years the dock company locomotives would work these but it was felt it was easier to work the main line engines with a dock company pilot driver. 15 May 1927 saw the commencement of an LMS boat train service to Tilbury Marine railway station which was on the site of the old Tidal Basin station. The service offered one through train from London to Dunkirk each way with connecting coaches to Manchester and Bradford. Traffic was reasonable in the summer but poor in the winter and it was decided to withdraw the service with the last train running on 30 April 1932 and the Tilbury Marine closing the following day. It opened on 15 May 1927 and closed on 1 May 1932. In 1957 a new station called No. 1 Berth Passenger Terminal was opened with a terminal building. The Orient Line was the main user of the terminal and started operated in June 1957. Unfortunately the rise of air travel saw this facility little used and it fell into disuse. By the 1960s traditional traffic to the docks was in decline and the Port of London Authority were looking to convert the docks to container operation. A rail connected container terminal was built by the reception sidings and that opened in April 1968. A grain terminal was opened in the docks called Northfleet Hope in 1969 and the container berths were rail served.


Engine Shed and locomotives

A three road engine shed was built in 1886 and was where the dock systems locomotives were maintained. It was located south of the exchange sidings and close to Tilbury Dock station. The brick built shed had been built on marshy ground and by 1935 had to be rebuilt. When the docks opened in 1886, six contractors locomotives were taken over by the docks committee consisting of four Manning Wardle and two
Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...
steam locomotives. All were 0-6-0ST locomotives. These were withdrawn between 1904 and 1917 with some being scrapped and others being sold for further use. The next four locomotives were also 0-6-0STs this time produced by
Robert Stephenson and Company Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 in Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build Steam locomotive, railway engines. Famou ...
which were introduced between 1901 and 1907 and scrapped between 1934 and 1938. Two of these were scrapped and two of these sold. After the PLA took over, one Hunslet (purchased 1911) and three Hudswell Clarke locomotives which were purchased in 1915. During World War II the Hunslet and one of the Hudswell Clarke locomotives worked on the
Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...
railway system returning in 1946. The Hunslet was withdrawn in 1952 and the Hudswell Clarkes in 1954 and 1959. Further new steam engines bought for the dock were two
Hawthorn Leslie R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding, shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982. History The comp ...
0-6-0Ts which were introduced in 1922 and worked until 1956 and 1960. World War II saw two
Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST is a class of steam locomotive designed by Hunslet Engine Company for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at variou ...
s owned by the War Department working at Tilbury and these were introduced in 1944 and purchased by the PLA in 1947. Both lasted until 1960 and were sold to the National Coal Board for use at Ashington Colliery in Northumberland. As late as 1954 the PLA purchased two further Hudswell Clark 0-6-0Ts but dieselisation at Tilbury saw them transferred to other PLA docks before withdrawal and scrapping in 1963. The PLA chose diesel locomotives made by the Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) to replace the aging steam fleet at Tilbury during 1959/60. These consisted of six Janus class 0-6-0 shunters and 3 other YEC shunters. The first arrived in October 1959 and all were withdrawn when the PLA stopped working rail traffic in 1970. All were sold onto other industrial users and with one exception have since been scrapped. One of the Janus locomotive survives and in 2011 was reported stored at Emborough Quarries. However it has since been reported at a scrap yard in Attercliffe where it is a spares donor for a sister locomotive.


Tilbury Docks in film

The Docks were used as the setting of
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
's smuggler-busting operation in '' Brannigan'' (1975). The Docks stood in for Venetian waterways during the boat-chase scene in ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'' (1989). A scene from the
Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...
film '' Alfie'' (2004) was filmed there; as were scenes from ''
Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...
'' (2005). In ''
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
'' (2014), the scene where
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
arrives on a boat was filmed at the Port of Tilbury. Star Wars
Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...
filmed at London Container Terminal and Grain Terminal


References


Sources


External links

*
Newsreel 1933, Locomotive been shipped from Tilbury Docks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilbury Port of London Ports and harbours of Essex Ports and harbours of the North Sea Ports and harbours of the Thames Estuary
Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
Transport in Thurrock