Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1994.
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'Glossary of terms connected with docks and riverside sites', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs, ed. Hermione Hobhouse( London, 1994), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp725-726 [accessed 15 October 2024].
'Glossary of terms connected with docks and riverside sites', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. Edited by Hermione Hobhouse( London, 1994), British History Online, accessed October 15, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp725-726.
"Glossary of terms connected with docks and riverside sites". Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs. Ed. Hermione Hobhouse(London, 1994), , British History Online. Web. 15 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp725-726.
Glossary of Technical Terms used in Connection with the Docks and Riverside Sites
Accumulator: an apparatus for collecting and storing water pressure or electricity.
Altar: a step or ledge in the wall of a dry dock, used to hold the wooden supports which steady the vessels when the dock is empty.
Apron: a platform or hard surface at the bottom of a dock entrance to intercept the fall of water and prevent the erosion of the bottom.
Bascule bridge: a type of drawbridge, hinged, with a counterweight, which raises to allow ships to pass beneath it.
Caisson: a pontoon or floating gate used to close a dry dock; also a watertight chamber or other structure used, often in combination with compressed air, to keep water or soft earth out of a site during construction work; also an apparatus for lifting a vessel out of the water for repairs or inspection.
Campshedding: a retaining wall of timber piles to protect or hold back the river bank.
Chevaux de frise: a line of spikes or nails fixed along the top of a wall or railing.
Coal-meter: one who measures or weighs coal.
Coal-whipper: one who raises coal out of a ship's hold by means of a pulley.
Counterfort: a strengthening pier or buttress in a retaining wall.
Derrick: a contrivance or machine for hoisting and moving heavy weights; a simple crane (apparently the surname of a celebrated seventeenth-century hangman at Tyburn).
Drawdock: an inlet in a river where boats can unload cargo or lie at low water.
Dolphin: a post, buoy or platform for mooring a vessel, sometimes situated at the entrance to a narrow harbour or dock as a guide to shipping.
Fairleads: see Snatch-heads
Garner: a store or granary.
Graving dock: a dry dock, originally a dock where ships' bottoms were cleaned and smeared with tar (a process known as graving, possibly derived from graves or greaves, the dregs of tallow).
Greenheart: a South American hardwood.
Gridiron: a wooden framework on to which a ship could be floated at flood tide, allowing for repairs and maintenance when the water receded.
Heel post: the corner post of a lock gate, to which the gate is fastened
Invert: an inverted arch, as at the bottom of a canal or sewer.
Jigger: a loose chain used as a light warehouse crane.
Loophole: one of the vertical series of doors in a warehouse, through which goods are delivered by crane.
Level-luffing crane: a crane which, during luffing (the raising or lowering of the jib), maintains the load at a constant height, moving it horizontally.
Luffing crane: a crane with the jib hinged at the foot to allow the angle of operation to be altered.
Mould loft: a room where the drawings were turned into full-size templates or 'moulds' for the shipwrights to work from.
Paddle: a sliding panel in a lock gate or sluice gate which regulates the flow or level of water.
Penstock: a sluice gate for controlling water flow, which opens by lifting upwards.
Pug mill: a machine for mixing and tempering clay.
Scoop wheel: a wheel driven by wind or steam for lifting water.
Scupper: an opening in the side or floor of a building to allow excess water to drain off.
Sheerlegs (also sheer legs or shearlegs): a device for lifting heavy loads, consisting of two poles lashed together at their upper ends, from which a pulley is suspended.
Snatch-heads or fairleads: fixtures used to alter the direction of a hauling rope or cable.
Toe: the part of the base of a dam or retaining wall on the free side, away from the retained material.
Trunnion: one of a pair of side projections on which an object (such as a cannon) is pivoted to move in a vertical plane.
Turning bridge: a bridge turning horizontally on a pivot; a swing-bridge.
Wales or whales: horizontal supports (usually of timber, sometimes of iron) used to bind together piles driven in a row.