This is a list of about 680 former or extant wharves, docks, piers, terminals, etc. of the Port of London, the majority of which lie on the Tideway of the River Thames, listed from upstream to downstream.
Many of the docks closed after the mass uptake of containerisation changed the face of the industry and bringing about an end to an era, and a demise to the occupation of the docker as it then was.
Those marked with a † have at present the status of a safeguarded wharf. Those in italics are no longer used for port or river transit related activities. Further remarks are made in brackets, including in some cases the present operator or cargo handled.
It is estimated that in 1937, at the height of London's trade, there were around 1,700 wharves between Brentford and Gravesend.[1] Today there are around 70 active terminals, each generally handling much greater volumes. Much of the cargo and commodities handling by the Port of London takes place in the downstream stretches of the Thames beyond Greater London, on the banks of south Essex (Thurrock) and north Kent. The Port of London Authority controls operations from its base in Gravesend. The main container terminal is currently at Tilbury, though in 2008 construction began on the London Gateway project, which will become the largest single component of the Port of London when completed.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2011)
Delta/Blackwall Wharf[10][33](originally Delta Metals brass, bronze etc. works) (major aggregates wharf now lost - redeveloped as part of the Greenwich Peninsula masterplan)
Draw dock
Ordnance Wharf[10][32][33] (originally Blakely's Ordnance Works making heavy guns)[31]
Below here lie the Medway ports including Thamesport, a container port on the site of BP's Kent oil refinery on the Isle of Grain and Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. These are not part of the Port of London.
^ abcdefgLondon Sheet 77, Bermondsey & Wapping 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-100-7.
^ abcdefghijkLondon Sheet 77, Bermondsey & Wapping 1914 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. 1983. ISBN 978-0-85054-922-5.
^ abcEllmers, Chris; Werner, Alex (2000). London's Riverscape Lost and Found. London's Found Riverscape Partnership. p. 148. ISBN 1-874044-30-9.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaLondon Sheet 78, Rotherhithe 1868 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-466-7.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuLondon Sheet 78, Rotherhithe 1914 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. 1984. ISBN 0-907554-67-9.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyLondon Sheet 78, Rotherhithe 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-042-0.
^ abcdefghiLondon Sheet 91, Deptford (North) 1868 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-687-2.
^ abcdefghijklmnLondon Sheet 91, Deptford (North) 1914 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-003-1.
^ abcdefghiLondon Sheet 91, Deptford (North) 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-1-84151-359-1.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiLondon Sheet 92, Greenwich 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-1-84151-404-8.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakLondon Sheet 92, Greenwich & Isle of Dogs 1913 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-155-7.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvLondon Sheet 92, Greenwich & Isle of Dogs 1867 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-1-84784-232-9.
^"Assessment of Boatyard Facilities on the River Thames for the Greater London Authority" (PDF). Adams Henry Consulting. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
^ abcdefghijklmLondon Sheet 79, West India Docks 1867 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 0-85054-466-1.
^ abcdefghijklmnopLondon Sheet 79, West India Docks & Greenwich Marshes 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-194-3.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxLondon Sheet 79, West India Docks & Greenwich Marshes 1914 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 0-85054-444-0.
^ abcdLondon Sheet 80, Silvertown 1867 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-861-1.
^ abcdefghijklmnLondon Sheet 80, Silvertown 1893 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-073-4.
^ abLondon Sheet 81, North Woolwich 1869 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 0-85054-044-5.
^ abcdefghijLondon Sheet 81, North Woolwich 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-203-5.
^ abcdeAA Greater London Street Atlas (Map). The Automobile Association. 1981. ISBN 0-86145-070-1.
^ abcd"Dolphin Square Conservation Area" (PDF). City of Westminster. 2007.
^"Cousen's Lane - Crachemilles | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ abcdefghijklmnoLondon Sheet 63, Whitechapel, Spitalfields & The Bank 1873 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-095-6.
^ abcdefLondon Sheet 63, Whitechapel, Spitalfields & The Bank 1894 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-85054-039-0.
^ abcde"View map: OS town plan - London - sheet VII.76 - Ordnance Survey Town Plans of England and Wales, 1840s-1890s". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ abcdeLondon Sheet 63, Whitechapel, Spitalfields & The Bank 1913 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 978-0-907554-50-9.
^"Ordnance Survey Maps, London, Five feet to the Mile, Sheet VII.76 1896". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
^ abcdefghijklLondon Sheet 64, Stepney & Limehouse 1914 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 0-85054-069-0.
^ abcdefLondon Sheet 64, Stepney & Limehouse 1870 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-255-9.
^ abcdef"Southern Millwall: The Byng Estate in Southern Millwall". Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. 1994. pp. 452–462. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^"Southern Millwall: Drunken Dock and the Land of Promise". Survey of London: volumes 43 and 44: Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. 1994. pp. 466–480. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^ abcdLondon Sheet 65, Poplar & Canning Town 1867 (Map). 1:2500 reduced to 1:4340. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition. Alan Godfrey. ISBN 1-84151-261-3.
^ abcdefghijW R Powell, ed. (1973). "West Ham Industries". A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6. pp. 76–89.
Mander, David, Notes to West India Docks 1914, London Sheet 79 of Old Ordnance Survey Maps, The Godfrey Edition, Alan Godfrey, 1991, ISBN 0-85054-444-0
External linksedit
England portal
Safeguarded Wharves - the official 2005 list and descriptions
The Port of London today - many of the present-day terminals
London Yard - Dockland's best kept secret
Sweet taste of history - Manbre and Garton, Fulham