London Neighbourhoods
The Royal Docks, UK
The area known as The Royal Docks can be found in the London Docklands in East London. The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. The three docks collectively formed the largest enclosed docks in the world, with a water area of nearly 1.0 km2 (250 acres) and an overall estate of 4.5 km2 (1,100 acres).
The three docks were completed between 1855 and 1921 on riverside marshes in East Ham and West Ham (now the London Borough of Newham). The Victoria and Albert docks were constructed 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 19.3 km (12 miles) 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, 17.7 km below London Bridge, the rival East & West India Docks Company responded with the construction of Tilbury Docks even further down river. King George V Dock in 1921 and reserved land to the north for a fourth dock, never built.
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.
Plan and Book:
The Royal Docks: Brief History
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 saved the day for the dock owners by connecting the generators of two submarines to power the warehouses' freezers.
The Blue Funnel Line cargo liner MV Menestheus in King George V Dock around 1960
Although the Royal Docks suffered severe damage from German bombing in World War II, they recovered after the war but suffered a steady decline from the 1960s onwards, following the adoption of containerization. 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.
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.
Several major projects have been proposed or implemented since the closure of the Docks. 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 (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.
Transport
An extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) opened in 1994 to provide direct links to the City of London and Canary Wharf. This was later extended round the south side of the docks with the link to London City Airport opening in December 2005. The line was later extended to Woolwich. Crossrail has served the area since 2022.
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 plan to extend the Beckton branch to Dagenham 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 passes beneath the Royal Docks between Canning Town and Woolwich in a tunnel, serving Custom House station, 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).
London Cable Car
The London cable car, also known as the Dangleway and officially as the IFS Cloud Cable Car, links the Royal Docks with Greenwich across the River Thames. The service opened on 28 June 2012 and comprises a 1.00 km gondola line that crosses the Thames from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Victoria Dock, to the west of ExCeL London. In addition to transport across the river, the service advertises "a unique view of London".
There are 36 passenger gondolas, of which 34 are in use at any one time, with a maximum capacity of 10 passengers each. All passenger gondolas are ready for disabled persons using wheelchairs, including those ones with leg rest extensions. The duration of a single crossing is ten minutes (reduced to five minutes in rush hour as the service speed is increased). As at March 2022 the adult pay-as-you-go fare was £6, with the child fare 50% of the adult fare.
The eastern end of the cable car line is at the Royal Docks, home to the ExCeL exhibition centre and the London City Hall. The closest interchange to the Docklands Light Railway is at Royal Victoria station. The western end of the cable car line is within walking distance of The O2. The closest interchange with the London Underground is at North Greenwich. The nearest London River Services is at North Greenwich Pier and local London Buses services at North Greenwich bus station.
London City Airport
The Royal Docks is also home to London City Airport, 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.