CHAPTER XX - The East India Docks
The East India Docks, which were constructed between
1803 and 1806, were the third set of wet docks built on the
Thames in the early nineteenth century, after the West
India Docks (1800–6) and the London Docks (1802–5).
Although the West India Docks clearly provided the inspiration, the arrangements for dealing with the East India
trade were not part of the prolonged debate that preceded
the building of the West India Docks. Nor was there a
variety of plans for the layout of the East India Docks,
as there had been for the earlier scheme. Indeed, the
need for such a dock system to handle East India trade
in the port was much less pressing than for the West
India shipping. By the end of the eighteenth century
East Indiamen had been sailing from Blackwall for almost
200 years; the East India Company having shipped valuable cargoes from the East to the Thames at Blackwall
before moving them by barge to the City.
The East Indiamen were the largest merchantmen in
the British marine. Because of their size and draught
they had traditionally lightened their loads at Long Reach,
near Gravesend, before sailing along the Thames to deep
moorings at Blackwall. It was here, rather than in the
severely congested Pool of London, that the goods were
unloaded. The valuable cargoes were then carried by
lighters to the 'legal quays' and 'sufferance wharves',
and from them to the spacious East India Company
warehouses, which by the late eighteenth century centred
on Billiter Street and Cutler Street (those in Cutler Street
were largely built in the 1790s).
The system was not entirely satisfactory, especially
after the opening of the West India Docks and London
Docks robbed the river pirates of their previously easy
pickings in the chaos of the Pool, and they turned their
attention to the exotic cargoes from the East Indies and
the Indiamen's ports of call on their homeward voyages:
teas, silks, saltpetre, Madeira, wine and spices, all of
which had a ready sale on the black market. This was
evidently a growing problem and was beginning to cause
concern. At the time of the construction of the East India
Docks it was stated that
The Quantity of Tea Stolen in the delivery of the Ships has
been on Average for the three Last years 210 Chests. Valuing
them at £10 per chest the amount of Plunder is in this Article
alone £2100 per annum. (ref. 1)
The East India Company and the merchants and
shipbuilders associated with the eastern trade had not
been among the vociferous petitioners for reform of the
Port whose representations resulted in the West India
Dock Act of 1799 (see page 252). Unloading on the river
had suited the East India trade because the quasi-military
nature of the East India Company ships protected them
from the worst attacks of the river pirates. The Brunswick
Dock of 1789–90 provided excellent facilities for the
fitting-out, masting and minor repair of East Indiamen,
while the dry docks in Blackwall Yard allowed for major
repair work. An enclosed dock for the East Indies trade
was therefore not regarded as such an urgent requirement
as it was for other trades.
Yet soon after the opening of the West India Docks in
1802 a scheme was proposed to build a dock at Blackwall
for the East India trade. It was the immediate success of
the West India Docks that provided the spur, for those
engaged in the eastern trade did not wish to be left out
of any London dock boom. Merchants and shipowners
alike wanted to participate in building an 'advanced'
modern dock to take the trade forward into the nineteenth
century, and could not 'doubt the Advantages that must
result to the East India Company whose valuable cargoes
have been very often exposed to the most serious contingencies'. (ref. 2) The initiative for the creation of the East
India Dock Company and the construction of the docks
did not come from the East India Company itself, but
from a group of East India merchants. Even so, as all
trade was controlled by the East India Company, any
proposal to build docks at Blackwall could not succeed
without the company's consent to the scheme. That
agreement was evidently secured by May 1803, when
John and William Wells, the owners of Brunswick Dock,
thanked the Court of the company for the attention paid
to the proposal for wet docks for East India cargo. (ref. 3)
In July 1803, a group of shipowners led by (Sir) Robert
Wigram (1744–1830) and (Sir) John Woolmore secured
an Act 'for the further Improvement of the Port of
London, by making Docks and other works at Blackwall
for the Accommodation of the East India shipping in the
said Port', (ref. 4) which also established the East India Dock
Company. (fn. a) Wigram ceased to take an active role in the
company once it was launched, and the leading figures
became Joseph Cotton (1746–1826), (fn. b) Deputy Master of
the Trinity Corporation, who acted as Chairman, and
Woolmore, an Elder Brother of Trinity House, who
became Deputy Chairman.
The administration of the East India Dock Company
was vested in 13 directors, who were required to hold at
least 20 shares each; four of them also had to be directors
of the East India Company. (ref. 5) The East India Dock
Company, like the West India Dock Company and the
canal companies on which it was modelled, obtained most
of its finance from those who had direct or related
interests in that trade or the shipbuilding industry. By
September 1803, £197,000 of initial capital had been
subscribed by 102 individuals. (ref. 6) Those early investors
were mainly East India merchants, all but one of the 24
directors of the East India Company, (ref. 7) managing owners
of East Indiamen, a large number of shipbuilders, and
assorted City interests, including a few bankers and
insurance brokers. The large investments included the
£12,000 put in by Henry Bonham of Broad Street
Buildings, managing owner of the Preston East Indiaman;
£6,000 invested by John Perry, the Blackwall shipbuilder;
and £4,000 advanced by John Locke, a lead merchant. (fn. c)
The chaplain of the East India Company's almshouses in
Poplar, Samuel Hoole (who became the first rector of All
Saints'), invested £1,000. Of the first 102 investors, 84
each put £1,000 or more into the new company.
Utilizing the technical and financial experience gained
in the construction of the West India Docks and employing personnel who had experience in dock construction most notably the engineers John Rennie and Ralph
Walker - the company proposed to build the East India
Docks around the existing Brunswick Dock constructed
by John Perry in 1789–90 (see page 562). This was the
obvious site and as there was no opposition to its use,
and the adjacent land could be acquired, it was the one
chosen. The Brunswick Dock and the adjoining land
were bought from John and William Wells for £35,660.
Land on the north side was required for the Import Dock
and so 65¼ acres of Bromley Marsh were purchased from
Robert Peers of Bedford Square in September 1803 for
£8,500 (with a leasehold interest from William Stevens,
a yeoman of Poplar) (ref. 8) and 30 acres from George Hyde
Wollaston for £5,610. Additional parcels to the east of
Brunswick Dock were acquired from James and Thomas
Mather for £12,000. The total outlay on land in 1803–4
was £63,270. (ref. 9) (fn. d)
The Construction of the Docks, 1803–1806
The key elements of the East India Dock system were
the Import Dock, the Export Dock, and the Entrance
Basin linked to the River Thames by an entrance lock.
The water area was 30 acres, about half that impounded
at the West India Docks (see page 268). The docks were
for the exclusive use of vessels engaged in the East Indies
trade. At any one time only a few ships were at anchorage
compared to those on passage, and so smaller docks were
required than those devoted to the West India trade. The
trade of the East Indies was in goods of high value but
little bulk; imports from the West Indies were of less
value but of greater size and quantity, and consequently
involved many more ships. The times of sailing were
regulated by weather conditions in the Indian Ocean and
helped confine East India shipping in the Thames to
particular times of the year. The first departures of the
year to Bombay and China left the Thames between
December and April; other ships went in June, after
which there was a quiet period for three months until
mid-September, when the last ships of the year were
dispatched to the Indian Ocean. The returning East
Indiamen arrived in loose convoys; those from India
arriving in the Thames at the end of June and those
sailing from China in September. (ref. 12) This, too, contrasted
with the visits of the West India shipping, which were
much more concentrated.
On the other hand there was a risk of building docks
that would soon be inadequate. The East India trade had
been increasing steadily since the 1780s. (ref. 13) In 1792 the
number of ships returning to London from the East
Indies was 27, in 1793 it was 33, by 1794 it was 42, and
in 1795 there were 63. In 1804 Ralph Walker reported
that the East India Company had employed 95 ships that
year, 14 of which had been of around 1,500 tons. (ref. 14) He
warned that if trade continued to increase at such a rate,
then the new dock 'altho' at present may be rather larger
than requisite may soon be too small to give necessary
accommodation'. (ref. 15) Furthermore, the size of the vessels
was increasing. Before 1789 the East India Company's
largest ships had been between 750 and 800 tons, but in
that year it was decided to build five ships of between
1,100 and 1,200 tons. Just four years later, in 1793, the
Company had 36 vessels of 1,200 tons and 40 of 800
tons, making the ships trading to the East Indies the
largest using the Thames. (ref. 16)
Figure 216:
The East India Docks, as originally proposed by John Rennie and Ralph Walker in 1803
The earliest plan for the docks was prepared by John
Rennie and Ralph Walker and was presented in March
1803 (Walker had been dismissed by the West India Dock
Company in the previous October). It envisaged the
provision of just two basins: a newly excavated Import
Dock of 12¾ acres (1,380ft by 400ft), on the north side
of the old road leading to Orchard House, and a combined
Export Dock and entrance basin, formed by reshaping
the old Brunswick Dock (fig. 216). The impracticality of
combining an entrance basin and the Export Dock, with
all the shipping passing through that dock, was soon
realized. The problem was solved by acquiring land to
the east of the Brunswick Dock from James Mather and
using that for a separate, irregularly shaped, entrance
basin (fig. 217). (ref. 17)
The plan of March 1803 was accompanied by an
estimate of the costs, which were put at £198,740. This
was evidently acceptable and the planning went ahead;
by August, Rennie and Walker had been confirmed as
the company's engineers for the construction of the
docks. (ref. 18) Excavation of the Import Dock began in September with Hugh McIntosh as the contractor, but there
was a problem in the following month, when his men were
alarmed 'on account of the Danger of being impress'd, a
Report being circulated of a number of Hands being
taken from the London Docks'. The company obtained
assurances that its construction workers would not be
impressed into the Royal Navy. (ref. 19) By January 1804 the
work was described as progressing 'with all possible
despatch'. (ref. 20)
The bricks were made by Joseph Trimmer of Brentford, some of them at Blackwall, on land acquired for
the purpose (see page 188). The brickearth excavated
from the site of the Import Dock was suitable for brick
making, but some malms and stocks were made at
Brentford. (ref. 21) James Mylne supplied 7,350 tons of Dundee
stone, and 663 tons of Cornish stone came from Messrs
Grey & Gregg. (ref. 22) The timber used included Quebec and
German oak, and six oaks supplied by James Wilkins
from Berkhamsted. (ref. 23)
Figure 217:
The East India Docks, as built 1803–6.Key: a Engine and Mortar Mill used during the building of the docks: b Former CopperasHouse (occupied as the Engineer's residence during the building of the docks): c GreatSteam Engine: d Assistant Dockmaster's House: e Private Trade Warehouses: f PrincipalDockmaster's House
The construction work posed no great technical problems for the engineers and the excavation of the dock
progressed smoothly. However, by January 1804 the
engineers reported to the company that there had been a
change of plan, which would increase the size of the
Export Dock from 12¾ acres to 18 acres and so 'give
more room for the Indiamen to load, and discharge their
cargoes, and thereby promote safety, and dispatch'. (ref. 24) Six
months later, further alteration to the layout of the dock
was judged advisable. This involved the construction of
the separate entrance basin, of about 2¾ acres, which
could be 'exclusively appropriated to the purpose of
Transit only, without Interference with the Important
Business of loading, or discharging the vessels which will
take place in the Brunswick and new docks'. (ref. 25) Little
trouble was experienced until June 1805, when one of
the Import Dock walls gave way, but repair was rapid
and progress continued. By January 1806, the engineers
could confidently predict that 'the Docks will be ready
. . . before Midsummer next'. (ref. 26) Their confidence was
misplaced and they did not quite meet their target.
The total cost to September 1807, just over a year
after the opening, was £322,608, far more than the
estimate had allowed. (ref. 27) The largest items were the purchase of the land, the excavation of the Import Dock and
Entrance Basin, and the construction of the quay walls.
All of these had cost much more than had been provided
for in the estimate of 1803. (ref. 28)
The Opening of the East India Docks
The docks were opened on 4 August 1806. They were
described by The Times as a 'great work' but 'not of such
magnificent dimensions as the West India Docks'. (ref. 29)
The opening was a great public occasion: 'The Grand
Gate, on the land-side, was opened for the reception of
visitors at half-past eleven, and by one, the place was
crowded with genteel company.' After a 21-gun salute,
the Trinity House Yacht, adorned with flags of all nations,
entered the dock, preceding the East Indiaman the
Admiral Gardner, followed by the City of London, the
Lady Castlereagh and then the Surrey. The whole having
entered, the band on the board the Admiral Gardner 'immediately struck up in excellent style, "God save the King",
which was chorussed by a crowded Orchestra of charming
Syrens on board'. It was estimated that 15–20,000 people
were assembled within the dock walls, 'and as such
exhibitions are always attractive of female curiosity, it is
scarcely necessary to add, that the whole formed a lively
coup d'aile, richly studded with beauty and elegance'. (ref. 30)
Figure 218:
The East India Docks in 1836
Rennie and Walker later reported that the work was
not finished at the time of the official opening. The
quays remained unlevelled and the unloading sheds and
saltpetre warehouse had yet to be constructed. It was not
until March 1807 that they could tell the directors that
'these Docks are compleat in every respect of the East
Indies Trade', adding that a water pumping-engine and
reservoir for supplying ships with water had been built
and the water piped along the south wharf of the Export
Dock. (ref. 31)
The East India Docks in the Nineteenth Century
In the absence of any large warehouses, the East India
Docks were originally quite plain; their open expanses of
water surrounded by unobstructed quaysides are clearly
depicted in Daniell's view of 1808 (Plate 148b). In that
year a description stated that the 'Dock is very spacious,
the Quays surrounding 200 feet wide, and no Buildings
within the Walls but 3 low ones to house the Salt petre'. (ref. 32)
Big quayside warehouses were not needed, as the valuable
goods were transported to the City warehouses by road
in closed caravans (Plate 61a). Mounted on four wheels,
the long, deep chests, closed on every side by planks and
padlocked with iron, were drawn by two or four horses,
and were loaded up on the edge of the West Quay of
the Import Dock. The goods were hurried along the
Commercial Road to the safety of the East India Company's warehouses.
Despite the absence of storage within the docks, a
variety of workmen was employed. As well as the Dockmaster, his Deputy and an Assistant, there were six
officers and another six subordinate working men to
supervise the labourers. There were 30 labourers, including watchmen, employed on yearly contracts, while
another 100 men were engaged on a casual basis as
'lumpers' to load and unload the ships for eight months
of the year. Other casual labour was hired if needed. (ref. 33)
The docks were subject to stringent controls; indeed,
regulation in the East India Docks was no less strict than
in the West India Docks. Work in the dock did not start
until ten o'clock, and at three o'clock in the afternoon in
winter and four o'clock in summer a bell was rung which
announced that the gate was to close. All work then
stopped and the labourers, clerks, horses, wagons and
carts as well as all visitors (permitted only with tickets)
had to leave.
The new dock company received a 21-year monopoly
similar in essence to that granted to the West India Dock
Company. All vessels trading to the East Indies and
China were required to use the new docks for unloading
their cargoes and for refitting and loading stores for their
subsequent voyages. In addition, all merchandise taken
off the ships had to be housed in the East India Company's
warehouses. Throughout the years of the monopoly, the
East India Docks were successful and profitable, and
performed a useful role for the East India Company. The
average annual dividend for the period 1807–27 was 7.4
per cent, with a peak of 10.75 per cent in 1818. The
most profitable years were 1818–21, judging by the level
of dividends. (ref. 34)
When the East India Dock Company's monopoly
expired in 1827, the East India Company entered into an
agreement with the dock company, by which the East
India Company agreed to continue trading through the
East India Docks for the next six years. Under this
agreement the dock company was paid £28,000 per
annum for the use of its docks and warehouses. The
agreement effectively protected the East India Dock
Company from the competition that the ending of its
monopoly was intended to promote. The East India
Company's clerks were accommodated in a building just
inside the main gates, erected in 1828–9 to the designs
of James Walker. He had been appointed in November
1824, his uncle, Ralph Walker, having died in that year,
and John Rennie (1761–1821) was succeeded by his
second son (Sir) John Rennie (1794–1874).
A survey of 1828 showed that the total area within the
dock walls was over 60 acres, just over a half of which
was covered with water. The total length of quay space
was 8,374ft and warehouse capacity was said to equal
28,000 tons, of which only 1,000 tons was cellar space. (ref. 35)
In 1833 the Government ended the East India Company's trading function, causing a crisis for the East India
Dock Company. Immediately, the dock company was
deprived of the use of the East India Company's purposebuilt bonded warehouses in the City and the shipping
trade plummeted. A year before, in 1832, the East
India Dock Company decided to build a steam wharf
(Brunswick Wharf) which opened in 1834 (see page 593).
It was against these very changed trading conditions
that, in February 1838, the West India Dock Company
approached the East India Dock Company with a bid
worth £110 of West India stock for every £100 of East
India stock. The offer was taken up and the two companies were amalgamated and thenceforward the East
and West India Docks were run for the use of all trades.
Once the East India Docks became part of a larger
dock system on the Thames, their role inevitably changed.
The larger locks and deeper entrance basin of the East
India Docks were better able to accommodate larger ships
than the West India Docks, and the mid-nineteenth
century saw a change in their use, with a growing
emphasis and reliance on the export trade (fig. 218). The
export wharfage trade increased in value from £2,364 in
1849 to £3,104 in the first half of 1853. (ref. 36) In the 1850s
and 1860s the docks became increasingly busy, with the
annual number of ships using them rising from just 50
in 1851 to 400 by 1866. (ref. 37) Yet in 1854 the East India
Docks were said to be 'in a poor state . . . overcrowded
with floating timber and lighters, poor roadways, rubbish
uncleared', and reform of the docks was urged. (ref. 38)
The increase in the volume of trade during these
middle decades of the nineteenth century led to the
construction of three jute and seed warehouses on the
north quay of the Import Dock in 1865–6. Guano imports
began in the 1840s and peaked in the 1850s, but the
trade declined rapidly and had all but gone by the 1870s.
In 1855 a guano shed was erected on the north quay of
the Import Dock. (ref. 39) A number of other wharfingers'
storage sheds were constructed around the docks to
shelter goods awaiting export, including two in 1850 and
four in 1853. (ref. 40)
In 1859 the increasing export trade at the East India
Docks encouraged the idea of a railway link from the
north quay, passing behind the warehouses. (ref. 41) The
railway was built in 1860 as a branch line from Poplar
station. (ref. 42)
By 1883 the chief imports of the East India Dock were
from Australia, the Colonies and America, and comprised
rice, jute, seed, wheat, wool and tallow. In the 12 months
to October 1883, 178 vessels had entered the dock, 35 of
which belonged to Donald Currie & Company, which
had taken two berths for their Cape mail service in 1876. (ref. 43)
In the 1880s frozen meat imports were brought through
the docks, including one shipment of 30,000 tons from
the Falkland Islands, said to have been the largest single
cargo of meat to have been imported. (ref. 44)
The East India Docks were popular throughout the
nineteenth century, owing to their convenience, compactness and good management. They were generally
preferred to the other docks on the Thames; whenever
there was room and arrangements could be made, ships
would request to enter.
The Docks during the Twentieth Century
In 1909 the East India Docks passed into the control of
the newly created Port of London Authority (PLA)
and were thereafter associated with the West India and
Millwall Docks for administrative purposes (see page
263). Soon afterwards, in 1912–16, the PLA undertook
an extensive renovation scheme which included the reconstruction of the north quay of the Import Dock. The old
sheds used to shelter the goods of the East India Company
were removed at that time and three high-quality transit
sheds were constructed on their site. In addition, a large
shed was erected on the east quay of the Import Dock.
The passageway between the Import Dock and the Basin
was deepened to allow modern ships into the dock. (ref. 45)
Figure 219:
The East India Docks in 1881
The Second World War had a tremendous impact
on the docks. The Import Dock was drained for the
construction of Mulberry floating harbours; the Export
Dock suffered such severe bomb damage that it was not
reopened and was sold in 1946. It subsequently became
part of the site of Brunswick Wharf power station.
In the 1950s and 1960s the East India Docks handled
short-sea and coastal traffic, particularly ships involved
in the linoleum trade. But the development of new
technology for cargo handling in the 1960s, especially
the introduction of containers, rendered their facilities
obsolete.
The Closure of the Docks
After three or four years of discussion, the PLA decided
in August 1967 to close the East India Docks. This was
part of a larger plan that also involved the closure of
other docks on the Thames. Closure had been delayed
while the principal occupiers removed to other sites. The
main user of the dock at that date was Fred Olsen Lines,
for the Canary Island fruit and vegetable trade, which by
1967 had moved to new facilities at the Millwall Docks
(see page 360). The three Coast Line services operating
out of the dock were due to move to other ports. (ref. 46) The
principal reason for the closure was the outdated state of
the dock, the fact that it could not handle the bigger
ships now being built for bulk cargo, (ref. 47) and that 'much
of the cargo carried by the small ships which used the
mile of quays is now carried by road and rail transport'. (ref. 48)
The Import Dock was gradually filled in between the
late 1960s and the mid-1980s.
In July 1971 the PLA concluded the sale of the East
India Dock to the Central Electricity Generating Board
for over £1 million. The site covered 46 acres.
In 1994 the East India Docks have been all but
obliterated. All of the original features have gone, apart
from stretches of original walling.