The image of the London Docks; you identify it as gone, but it isn't. It is the St Katharine's Dock, one of the later docks to be built and still there today, an expensive yacht haven and restaurants in almost exactly that configuration. Take a look on Google Maps and you will recognise the layout.
It was built because high value goods, such as gold and silver going to and from The Royal Mint (just behind the dock) and ivory imports (piano keys and billard balls!) were all getting stolen in the Isle or Dogs docks complex a few miles further east.
So the St Katharine's Dock was built by knocking down the London Poor People's Hospital and digging out the marshland to create three docks, surrounded by high brick walls and with stout gates. Ships could unload and load high value cargoes in safety and security.
The central building in the dock was The Ivory House, where thousands of elephant tusks were stacked on the floors or the warehouse to some 6' high. There are images online, and in the London Museum, and the building was converted to luxury apartments in the early 1980's. The first buyer was the actor, Roger Moore, who reputedly paid over £1 million for the apartment with his view of my boat, berthed just below him for £22 per week!
I lived on my 60' wooden sailboat in the dock from 1985 to 1987, not long after it was converted to a yacht haven and before the area around was redeveloped by the London Docklands Development Corporation. The dock is well worth a visit today too, nowadays with chic restaurants and designer shops. A genuine surprise in the very heart of old London.
I did look up how much my current yacht would cost to moor there - £4,000 a month! Comparable to Monaco!
Here's a link to the current dock. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you an see the layout today is identical to the layout in the picture in the article.
The image of the London Docks; you identify it as gone, but it isn't. It is the St Katharine's Dock, one of the later docks to be built and still there today, an expensive yacht haven and restaurants in almost exactly that configuration. Take a look on Google Maps and you will recognise the layout.
It was built because high value goods, such as gold and silver going to and from The Royal Mint (just behind the dock) and ivory imports (piano keys and billard balls!) were all getting stolen in the Isle or Dogs docks complex a few miles further east.
So the St Katharine's Dock was built by knocking down the London Poor People's Hospital and digging out the marshland to create three docks, surrounded by high brick walls and with stout gates. Ships could unload and load high value cargoes in safety and security.
The central building in the dock was The Ivory House, where thousands of elephant tusks were stacked on the floors or the warehouse to some 6' high. There are images online, and in the London Museum, and the building was converted to luxury apartments in the early 1980's. The first buyer was the actor, Roger Moore, who reputedly paid over £1 million for the apartment with his view of my boat, berthed just below him for £22 per week!
I lived on my 60' wooden sailboat in the dock from 1985 to 1987, not long after it was converted to a yacht haven and before the area around was redeveloped by the London Docklands Development Corporation. The dock is well worth a visit today too, nowadays with chic restaurants and designer shops. A genuine surprise in the very heart of old London.
I did look up how much my current yacht would cost to moor there - £4,000 a month! Comparable to Monaco!
Here's a link to the current dock. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you an see the layout today is identical to the layout in the picture in the article.
https://www.skdocks.co.uk/