Prefab Town

The northern half of Cubitt Town is the area bounded by East Ferry Road, Glengall Grove (formerly Glengall Road) and West India Docks. It was developed from the 1850s and consisted primarily of terraced housing with industry along the riverfront.

Circa 1900.

1921 (click for larger image)

William Cubitt’s original intention with his Cubitt Town was to build houses that would attract the middle classes. However, the industrial environment, the damp, the poorly built houses and a period of financial crisis and poverty (see The Distress) combined to create a working-class area consisting almost entirely of houses with multiple occupancy. Not middle class, but also not poor. And the area’s relative isolation on the already-isolated Isle of Dogs created a close-knit community.

Click for larger image

However, the proximity of West India Docks to the north and Millwall Docks to the west meant that the area was to suffer greatly during WWII. The first serious damage occurred during the early evening of the first day of The Blitz, 7th September 1940 (for more information see my book, The Isle of Dogs During World War II) and by the end of the war tens of residents had been killed and almost all buildings had been destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair.

Areas of buildings destroyed (or damaged beyond economic repair) during WWII

Some cleared areas were initially put to use as allotments. The following photo shows a damaged Glengall School and Glengall Grove houses in the background on the occasion of a ceremony celebrating the receipt of seeds from the United States.

1942, Glengall Grove area

The following photo is of the same occasion, but this time looking from Glengall Grove towards Manchester Road. On the left is Marshfield Street.

1942, rear of houses in Manchester Road

The allotments did not last for long. Anticipating a housing crisis after the war, the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act of 1944 authorised the Government to spend up to £150 million on temporary houses. Poplar Borough Council, responsible for administering one of the most bomb-damaged parts of the country, applied for grants to build prefabricated houses (see article, Island Prefabs for more details).

Construction of the first Island prefab, Glengall Grove, 1944

The first family to move into one of the demonstration “Uni-Seco” prefabs in Glengall Grove were the Greens. The council started laying concrete bases for others before the end of the year.

The Green Family, 16 Glengall Grove

The prefabs attracted Royal interest too.

1945

In 1946 the Lincolnshire Echo – along with other newspapers – printed a syndicated article which referred to the area as being a ‘pre-fabricated town’,

The photo in the newspaper article was taken from an upper floor of Glengall School, looking north over Glengall Grove towards the West India Docks in the background. St John’s Church is visible on the right.

1946 (click for full-size image)

1947

In this 1950 R.A.F. reconnaissance photo of north Cubitt Town, I have shaded the prefabs in the area at the time. Glengall School is bottom right in the photo.

1950

The prefabs were for most people popular places to live. Residents picked up the pieces and life continued…

Galbraith Street

Atworth Street (foreground) and Strattondale Street (background). The shelter-like building on the right was the first-aid post during WWII, recognizable by its tower in other photos of the area. Photo: George Warren

Galbraith Street. Photo: George Warren

Martha Fitsearle in the garden of her Plevna Street prefab. Photo: Island History Trust

Galbraith Street in background, Photo: George Warren

Glengall Grove. Photo: Tina Edmonds Moore

Island History Trust comment on the photo that follows it:

Jasmine Taylor (b.1944) in her pram outside a Seco hut, one of the hutments erected towards the end of the Second World War in East Ferry Road (approximately where the shops in Castalia Square back on to the road now. These huts were intended as a temporary measure to relieve housing shortage caused by the Blitz – minimum accommodation – living room, two beds and kitchenette. No bathroom. Fireplace in the living room very plain; electric stove for cooking. Rent was about twelve shillings a week. Mrs Taylor and family stayed here just over two years; then complained about the unfairness of letting people, who were returning from evacuation, to go straight into modern prefabs. These huts were damp and cold. Tenants formed a committee to pressure the council and the family eventually moved to a prefab in Harrop Road, Poplar.

East Ferry Road. Photo: Island History Trust / Anne Taylor

Stewart Street. Photo: Christopher Dunchow

The following photo shows the view over Launch Street and East Ferry Road towards Roffey House, Cubitt House and the docks. By this time, work had begun in earnest on the construction of permanent housing in Cubitt Town. Within a decade the last prefab in the area would be demolished.

1950s. Photo: John Willoughby

 

Where Manchester Road meets East Ferry Road meets Stewart Street

This is a well-known junction to Islanders – where Manchester Road meets East Ferry Road meets Stewart Street (mind you, access to Stewart Street was restricted at this point many years ago).

1968 (Photo: Hugo Wilhare)

An 1819 map of the same junction shows East Ferry Road heading north towards the bridge over the City Canal (later extended to become part of the West India South Dock). No Manchester Road yet, and just a narrow path leading to the riverside.

The Dry Docks shown on the map are part of the Canal Dockyard, set up in the early 1800s by successful Thames shipbuilder, Thomas Pitcher. The yard and its dry docks remained operational for ship repairs, with numerous owners over the years, until its closure in 1923. The row of houses north of the junction – named Canal Row – was built in 1813 by shipbuilder Thomas Pitcher for some of his workers from the Canal Dockyard across the road.

1819 (Richard Horwood)

Construction of Manchester Road, an important road which joined up the different sections of the Cubitt Town development, started in the mid-1850s, and was completed by the time of the 1860s map below. Although, at that time, the road officially ended where it met the equally-new Stewart Street (named after John Stewart’s engineering works).

The road north of this junction was still named East Ferry Road. However, it was here far too narrow for the much increased volume of traffic. This section was widened in 1877 which involved the demolition of the Canal Row houses, and the new section was renamed to become part of Manchester Road. The Glen Terrace houses were built on the west side of the road.

1860s

Both West Ferry Road (original spelling) and East Ferry Road were built as toll roads. The West Ferry Road toll post was just north of what is now named Cuba Street, and the East Ferry Road toll post was close to its northern end, marked as ‘East Ferry T.P.’ on the above map. In 1883, after years of public pressure, the Metropolitan Board of Works moved to have both tolls abolished.

1883

The Board got its way and the tolls were lifted in 1885. Survey of London:

The [Greenwich Ferry] company scrapped its horse-ferry service in 1844, but tolls continued to be collected. Pressure for abolition of the tolls grew from the 1870s, and eventually the Metropolitan Board of Works obtained powers to buy out the company. On 9 May 1885 there were celebrations as the toll-gates were removed.

1885. Ceremonial removal of the toll gate at what is now the north end of East Ferry Road. The large building with chimney in the background is part of the Canal Dockyard.

The mid-1850s also saw the construction of The Queen public house. The 1860s map above shows that its initial ‘footprint’ was not as wedge-shaped as it would become (see following map). The demolition of the toll house and gate made it possible for the pub landlord, Henry Marner, to extend his premises northwards with the construction of a single-story extension.

1895

The following photo shows the view across Manchester Road from Stewart Street in the 1920s. On the left, a glimpse of the northernmost houses in East Ferry Road (house No. 2 on the map above) and on the right the high wall of the Canal Dockyard.

The large buildings in the centre of the photo belonged to the Britannia Works where the firm Lane & Neeve manufactured sailcloth and sacks. According to the Survey of London, After Lane & Neeve went into liquidation in 1922 the Britannia Works site was acquired by the PLA and had been cleared of buildings by 1937.

1920s.

More of the Canal Dockyard is to be seen in the following photo, taken from more or less the same place but then looking north instead of the west. The main subject of the photo is Joe King Jr., whose father owned a nearby shop.

1928. “Joe King Junior, aged 12, of Manchester Road, standing on the corner of Manchester Road and Stewart Street in 1928. Joe’s father kept a newsagent’s shop; young Joe went to George Green School. In the background is the old iron lavatory in Stewart Street; above the wall is a hydraulic tower connected to the dockyard machinery”. Photo and (slightly edited) caption: Island History Trust

Corner of Stewart Street (left, with the Pumping Station in view) and Manchester Road in the foreground. The corner shop at 410 Manchester Road was Mary Lock’s ‘chandler’s shop’ (groceries and general provisions). Joe King’s shop was at No. 408.

1925. Photo: Island History Trust

Remaining in the 1920s, the following was the view if you looked north up Manchester Road. On the left are the familiar houses of Glen Terrace and in the background the swing bridge over the West India South Dock entrance (the bridge was replaced a few years later by a cantilever bridge which itself was replaced by the Blue Bridge). But, the attention is immediately drawn to the worker at the end of the huge bowsprit which towers over Manchester Road; the bowsprit belonging to a ship being repaired in the Canal Dockyard.

Circa 1920 (William Whiffin)

This view would change considerably at the end of the decade when the West India South Dock entrance lock was enlarged and extended to be able to deal with ever-increasing ship sizes. The longer lock meant removing the old bridge and constructing a new bridge closer to the river. This in turn meant that Manchester Road was also rerouted to the east, and Glen Terrace was now on a side/access road instead of the main one.

1928. Reconstruction of the West India South Dock entrance. By this time, Canal Dockyard had already closed and its dry docks filled in with rubble from the excavation at the entrance lock.

1939

What about looking south from the junction of Stewart Street, Manchester Road and East Ferry Road? I’ve never seen a pre-WWII photo of the view. The earliest image I know is this screenshot from the 1943 film, The Bells Go Down. Unfortunately, details of the Queen and other buildings in the background are not visible. It is interesting to see the barrage balloons.

1943

Houses in Glen Terrace suffered just minor damage during the war, with only one house, No. 599, being seriously damaged (and later demolished).

1968 (Photo: Hugo Wilhare)

Houses further south, in Manchester Road and East Ferry Road, did not fare so well, as the vacant spaces and prefabs in the following photo and map demonstrate.

1950

1950

The photo and map also show the semi-detached houses built by the PLA for assistant dockmasters and police officers in the late 1940s (viewing them from the top deck of a passing 277 bus in the 1970s, I always thought they seemed a nice place to live).

1950s. The view north from The Queen. Photo: Island History Trust

The end of the war meant celebration, with (street) parties celebrating VE Day and VJ Day, and also the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

1953. Photo: Island History Trust

It was also a time of reconstruction. In the late 1940s, plans had been made by Poplar Borough Council to clear virtually the whole area west of Manchester Road and build public housing on what was officially to be named St John’s Estate, centred on a new shopping and communal area to be known as Castalia Square.

1960s. Note The Queen’s single storey extension which I mentioned earlier in the article. I nearly forgot to come back to this totally trivial piece of information 🙂

Across Manchester Road the last original houses were demolished to make room for more modern blocks of flats.

1960s. Photo (Island History Trust) taken from an upper storey of The Queen.

1980s. Photo: Mike Seaborne. No sign of a roundabout yet.

In 1983, Marsh Wall opened, largely following the path of former dock roads:

Mid-1980s

The start of Marsh Wall is behind the car; this was previously the location of dock gate No. 7.

1960s PLA map

The gate was one of the supporting cast of a 1981 episode of The Chinese Detective.

1981

The gate is on the right in the following photo. The old houses in this photo were all suddenly and illegally demolished in 2016.

c1980. The north end of East Ferry Road

2016. Demolition viewed from Marsh Wall, to the rear of the houses.

In 1994, The Queen was renamed The Queen of the Isle. Kids from Harbinger Primary School were invited to paint the new pub sign (I might have made that bit up).

Circa 2000

2000. Photo: Peter Wright. Aah, the roundabout.

A name change usually indicates new owners and/or a rebranding in an attempt to attract more custom. In any event, it didn’t work, the pub unfortunately closed in 2003 and was demolished a year later. The replacement building is …. er….. unremarkable.

2023. The site of the illegally-demolished buildings (right) is still vacant seven years later.

90 degrees to the left, the site of Joe King’s shop.

In Stewart Street, Joe King Jr. was here!

And lastly, the site of Britannia Works.

If the Millwall Docks had been Completed

This 1968 Port of London Authority map shows the extent of Isle of Dogs land that belonged to the Millwall Docks.

1968

Most people will recognize the area east of East Ferry Road as being the Mudchute, but what about that small parcel of land between Manchester Road and the river near No. 11 Gate?

The freehold for this land was acquired by the Millwall Dock Company in 1868 (the year that the docks opened) in connection with their original plans for the docks, involving an eastern arm that would extend to Blackwall Reach.

1863. Projected plan for the Millwall Docks. Image: Survey of London.

It was the dock company’s intention to build the eastern arm when there was enough business to justify it. The idea was regularly revisited over the years and the proposed eastern arm even appeared on some maps, but a business case for the extension never materialised.

1908

But, what if it had been built? What would the Island have looked like in the 20th century? And what would the Island look like now?

The 1908 map would have looked quite different.

• A bridge in East Ferry Road crossing the cutting between the Millwall Inner Dock and the eastern arm;
• The Mudchute would have been occupied by the eastern arm of the dock, with sheds on either side. Millwall Athletic’s ground would have been demolished (which happened anyway in 1910);
• Jubilee Crescent would not have been built;
• Cubitt Arms and surrounding buildings would have been demolished to make room for a new entrance lock;
• And this new entrance lock would have been crossed by a bridge in Manchester Road.

1908 (imagined)

And later, when the docks closed in 1980, the area covered by the Enterprise Zone (later developed by the LDDC)  would have been much larger, resulting in an even more densely built Isle of Dogs.

2022 (imagined)

Just a Load of Photos of Jags on the Isle of Dogs

Some might be Daimlers – I’m not an expert at telling the difference 🙂

1970s. Westferry Road

1979. West India Docks (The Long Good Friday)

1974. Preston’s Road (Jan Traylen)

1970s. Manchester Road

1970s. Manchester Road

1979. Coldharbour (The Professionals)

1970s. Glenaffric Avenue

1980s. Ferry Street (Mike Seaborne)

1980s. Ferry Street (Bill Regan)

1980s. Ferry Street (Tarbard Family)

1980s. Coldharbour (Mike Seaborne)

1980s. Coldharbour (Mike Seaborne)

1980s. Tiller Road (Mick Lemmerman)

1980s. Tiller Road (The Chinese Detective)

1980s. Tiller Road (Prospects)

1980s. Tiller Road (Prospects)

1980s. Saunders Ness Road (Pat Jarvis)

1980s. Westferry Road (Duggan Family)

The Millwall Docks Scandal

The Millwall Docks’ original ‘business model’ (in modern parlance) was to rent quay space to other companies. Wharves close to the City, but without the disadvantages of Thames wharves. On offer were modern, spacious quays in a secure area, and without dependence on the height of the Thames for loading or unloading.

After the docks opened in 1868, however, there wasn’t much business. Survey of London:

The first few months of business were inauspicious: little trade came to the docks and wages had to be paid out of the pockets of the directors. There were no subscribers to a new issue of capital, and creditors were filing suits for the payment of debts.

George Raymond Birt, previously Superintendent at the Victoria Dock, was appointed General Manager and immediately set about trying to attract imports and exports.

George Raymond Birt

In 1893, the 70 year old Birt was appointed Managing Director and Chairman of the Millwall Dock Company and oversaw a period of revenue growth for the company.

Millwall Docks, Circa 1890

In truth, though, the revenue had for years been overstated in the accounts. Concerns had been expressed on occasion, and by 1899 the board felt it necessary to invite Birt to explain at the February 6th board meeting how the revenue was calculated.

Birt could not attend the meeting as he was unwell. The former chief clerk and by now ‘inside superintendent’, John Smithers Woods, was invited by the board to answer questions about the ledgers:

After I left the directors, I went to Mr. Birt’s private house—I told him that the directors had been asking me questions about the out-standings, had he any anxiety about them? —he said, “Not at all, I can justify every iota”—I said, “This matter is troubling me very much indeed, Mr. Birt, does it not worry you?”—he said, “Not at all, I have no anxiety about it”—I told him the audit was fixed for the following Thursday and that it was imperative that he should attend—he said he should be present—I took up my duties next day again at the docks.

A preliminary audit revealed that revenue had been overstated by more than £200,000 (equivalent to over £30 million in 2022) over the years. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Birt. Inspector James Murphy:

I received a warrant for Mr. Birt’s arrest on February 17th—from that date till March 16th I endeavoured to execute that warrant, but was unsuccessful.

Birt had disappeared!

The Metropolitan Police issued a photo and description of Birt in the Police Gazette (the photo used is above in this article).

Birt, using a false name, had moved into furnished lodgings in Islington. Landlady, Josephine Wright:

I remember the defendant coming to my house—he engaged a room at 10s. a week; he paid in advance; he did not give his name—he said he had come from the country to wait the arrival of some friends who were coming from abroad—he did not have any visitors—he only left the house once – he remained with me five weeks and two days.

Birt’s stay in Islington ended after a tip-off to the police. Inspector Murphy was able to execute the warrant:

On March 16th I went to 9, Thornhill Square, Barnsbury, and there found Mr. Birt—Inspector Holmes was with me—I saw the defendant in the front room—I said, “We are police officers; I believe your name is Birt?”—he said, “Yes”—I said, “I hold a warrant for your arrest”—I read it—he made no reply—he was conveyed to the Minories Police-station.

At his Old Bailey trial, where he was found guilty of fraud, it became apparent that Birt was not motivated by personal gain. He did it to make the business appear larger than it was in order to attract new investment and customers.

Birt was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment with hard labour. The sentence would have been far harsher were it not for Birt’s ‘high character for honesty and his old age’.

The Isle of Dogs in the 1840s

In 1841 more than half the area of the Island was pasture or marshland. The best pasture was to be found west of East Ferry Road, on land that was drained thanks to the river walls and windmills in Millwall (spelled as Mill Wall until the 1840s). In the east of the Island, where there were no river walls, marshland was more prevalent.

Circa 1840

At the time, there were approximately 2000 people residing in 400 households, most of which were close to the river in Millwall (few people lived east of East Ferry Road). By far the majority of working men were employed in manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding, engineering and iron works. The very few women who did work were “in domestic service”.

The Isle of Dogs viewed from Greenwich Park in 1840.

c1840. The windmill on the mill wall close to the later Claude Street. By the time of this painting, a beer house had been established in one of the mill buildings. Built in 1701, the windmill and adjacent buildings were burnt down in January 1884.

c1840. Union Docks, located on the riverside between Limehouse and the City Arms. ‘The Walls’ followed a path around the docks’ eastern boundary.

c1840. West India Docks

Thomas Jeffery Cole, in Life and Labor on the Isle of Dogs (PhD Thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1984) wrote:

The rapid industrial growth of the 1840s, 50s, and 60s gave the Island a busy and relatively prosperous air. One contemporary journalist described the Isle as a “large, thriving, populous town . . . There are factories and workshops, and hundreds of businesses connected with the seas and navigation, already extending around its banks, a perfect cordon girdling it.

In later years an old caulker [a ship’s metal plate worker] recalled that during the mid-nineteenth century the Isle of Dogs was a gold mine . . . Shipyards had keels on every
slip . . . The old City Canal was full of craft. The docks were full of ships loading and unloading and discharging, and others waiting for their berths and more ships being built all around you . . . Even a man of seventy-five could get a job then.

The ready availability of work led to an increase in the population during the 1840s. However, house building did not keep apace, and this – in combination with high rents – meant that more than a quarter of the Island’s families were forced to take in lodgers to keep a roof over their heads. Overcrowding in poorly built houses was a significant problem during the decade.

Cole again:

The Island’s physical character posed serious problems for developers and residents alike. The low-lying, marshy character of the terrain made building and drainage difficult. It also gave the peninsula a damp and chilly climate which fostered certain types of disease. Throughout the entire century. Islanders suffered from an unusually high incidence of diptheria, membranous croup, scarlet fever, erysipelas, and a variety of throat and respiratory ailments.

Throughout the 1840s, most building in the Island was confined to areas along the Thames or immediately adjacent to Westferry Road and Manchester Road. In Millwall, which was divided among five major landowners, development was piecemeal and unplanned.

Land ownership on the Isle of Dogs in the 1820s

Survey of London:

The development of the western part of Tooke Street began in 1842 when William White, a local baker, took a building lease of four plots on its south side. As well as a terrace of four houses, he wedged in two cottages at the rear, White’s Cottages. There was some further building in 1842–7 — the lessees including a butcher and an engineer, both from Limehouse, and a Millwall stonemason.

In 1842, William Cubitt entered into a leasing agreement with the Countess of Glengall, daughter and co-heir of William Mellish who had died in 1836. This and subsequent agreements with other landowners provided him with a large tract of land (more than 120 acres) on which he built roads, river walls, wharves, factory sites and other infrastructure during the 1840s and 1850s. Housing construction he left mostly to independent building contractors.

William Cubitt & Co. occupied an extensive wharf close to Saunders Ness. The firm used the wharf to support their activities in the area, including the sale of building materials to independent builders. According to the Survey of London, the yard…

..was established c1843–4, and contained sawmills, timber-wharves, a cement factory, a pottery and several large brickfields, producing all manner of materials for the building trade.

William Cubitt also contructed close to his wharf: Christ Church, Newcastle Arms (later renamed Watermans’ Arms) and Newcastle Draw Dock.

One of the streets built by Cubitt was Wharf Road, which ran parallel with the river from the Ferry House to Seyssel Street (later, the western end of the road became part of Ferry Street, and the remainder was renamed Saunders Ness Road). Between the road and the river, Cubitt created a number of wharves.

Western end of Wharf Road (later Ferry Street).

One of the first occupants of Victoria wharf (from 1844) was a stone merchant who also leased a plot of land north of Wharf Road, connecting the two with a tramway. Later, Victoria Wharf was taken over by the Victoria Iron Works, for whose owners Cubitt built a grand house next to Johnson’s Draw Dock. Remarkably, the house has managed to survive to this day (its address is now 58-60 Ferry Street). It is a large and attractive house, but its nicest features are largely hidden from the street.

Victoria Iron Works owner’s house, built in 1844 by William Cubitt.

Close to Ferry Street were the Millwall Lead Works in Westferry Road, set up by Pontifex & Wood in the 1840s. It was a large business – lead merchants, iron founders, engineers, millwrights, copper smiths, and refrigerator and boiler makers. Their principal product at Millwall was white lead, used at the time for paint manufacture.

Millwall Lead Works. Photo (taken much later than the 1840s), courtesy of John and Pat Jarvis.

At the start of the 1840s, the Island had 13 public houses and beer houses (public houses were licensed to sell more than just beer, beer houses did not need a license). Despite the growth of the population, only one pub was built during the decade, Pride of the Isle, which opened in Havannah Street in 1846 (demolished in the 1960s to make room for the Barkantine Estate).

Pride of the Isle (left) in 1962

In 1846, a small chapel was opened in Moeity Road. Named St Edward’s Chapel, it served the growing Catholic community on the Island. It was superseded in 1874 by St Edmund’s Church in Westferry Road. The chapel building was still standing, albeit in ruins, in the 1880s.

St. Edward’s Chapel, circa 1860

1863

The first purpose-built school on the Island was Millwall British School (aka British Street Millwall School), opened in 1847 in British Street (later Harbinger Road) on a site donated by the Countess of Glengall. When the school became too small for the growing number of children in the area, a new school building was built across the road, the present day Harbinger School.

British Street School was built in the shadow of the immense Millwall Iron Works who had their origins in the yard opened in 1836 by Scottish engineer, William Fairbairn (1789-1874), the first iron shipbuilding yard on the Thames. In 1848, the premises were taken over by John Scott Russell and his partners, who later built the Great Eastern (launched in 1858).

1848

In 1849 land opposite, and owned by, the Greenwich Hospital was set aside as an open space. This was not intended for the benefit of Islanders, but instead to make sure no factories were built opposite the hospital. Known locally as ‘Scrap Iron Park’, it would (much) later become a public park, and named Island Gardens.

By 1850, the streets of Cubitt Town were beginning to take form, and Millwall streets off Westferry Road were extending to the east. The former City Canal had closed and become the South Dock of the ever-expanding West India Docks. Land in the centre of the Island was still largely marsh and pasture land, but this would change within two decades when much of it was acquired for the construction of the Millwall Docks.

c1850

By the time of the opening of Millwall Docks, the Island’s population would be approaching 10,000, a fivefold increase over the population in 1840. 1840-1850 saw considerable growth in population, firms and jobs, but it was nothing compared to what would happen in the following decades.

1851

 

From Millwall Graving Dock to Clippers Quay

The word graving is an obsolete nautical term for the scraping, cleaning, painting or tarring of a ship’s hull. Originally, when ships were much smaller, the hull could be exposed by beaching the vessel, or by tilting it at an extreme angle (a method known as careening).

Careening

More practical, and necessary when ships became too large for these methods, was the use of a graving dock – a narrow basin into which a ship could be floated, and its water removed after the entrance to the basin had been sealed.

One such graving dock was completed in Millwall Docks in 1867 on the site of the medieval Chapel of St Mary (later Chapel House Farm). A drawing made in 1857 shows a few remains of the chapel and later farm before it was demolished.

1857

1870. A caisson is a floating box-like structure which can be flooded to make it sink, serving as a gate to seal the dock. When the Thames was at low tide, water was drained from the dock via culverts into the Thames (the flow controlled by the penstocks).

Later, it became more common for graving docks to be named dry docks, probably reflecting the nature of their operations, when graving (associated more often with wooden ships) was replaced by general ship repairs.

Survey of London:

Opened in 1868, the dry dock was said to be the best on the Thames. It was certainly one of the largest, at 413ft long by 65ft wide at the entrance (90ft inner width at ground level), with a depth of 25ft. It is founded on a series of inverted brick arches on concrete, with a walling system comparable to that of the wet docks.

1891. Goad fire insurance map (British Museum)

The graving dock was leased by various ship-repair companies over the years (leased from the Millwall Dock Company and later the PLA when they became responsible for London’s docks) before reverting to the PLA in 1967.

1926 (Daily Mirror)

Circa 1930. A sailing ship entering Millwall Graving Dock

1947. In the background, East Ferry Road and a glimpse of the Mudchute. In the foreground, bomb-damaged buildings belonging to McDougall’s. Bottom-right are a few air-raid shelters.

Its most famous ‘visitor’ was the Cutty Sark in 1951, towed there for refitting in preparation for mooring off Deptford as an exhibition ship in connection with the Festival of Britain (article here).

1951. Cutty Sark in Millwall Graving Dock

1951. Cutty Sark in Millwall Graving Dock. In the background, a shed belonging to W. Badger.

1960s

The previous photo shows that some houses in Hesperus Crescent and Thermopylae Gate had a good view of the graving dock, and one resident with a keen interest in the history of the Isle of Dogs – Lucy Reading – took many photos from the back of her house of ships in the dock, including the following two.

1946 (estimate). Photo: Lucy Reading, Island History Trust

1960s. Photo: Lucy Reading, Island History Trust

Land to the east of the dock (between the dock and East Ferry Road) was occupied by various companies whose activities were related to ship-repair and marine engineering, including Harland & Wolff and W.Badger Ltd (who operated there from 1947 until their liquidation in 1981).

Circa 1965, at which time all buidings east of the dock (left in this photo) were occupied by W. Badger. Ltd.

Survey of London:

Closure of the dry dock was proposed in 1966, as it was losing money. Ship-repairers failed to persuade the PLA to lease it, and it was closed and flooded on 30 October 1968. The site and the 25-ton crane were subsequently used for a barge berth.

1972

The West India and Millwall Docks were formally closed in 1980. In 1983 Mike Seaborne took these photos of a derelict W. Badger’s shortly before demolition.

1983. Photos: Mike Seaborne

Mike also captured this image of the Millwall Graving Dock caisson lying dry after being  hauled out of the water in 1984.

1984. Mike Seaborne

Millwall Graving Dock was redeveloped as the Clippers* Quay housing estate, with construction starting in 1984. Wikimapia:

Clippers Quay was one of the first private estates to be built in the regeneration area of the London Docklands in the early 1980s. It is a marina development of 258 leasehold units, which are a mixture of terraced houses, maisonettes, flats and 16 flat blocks laid out in typical London-square style.

* Shouldn’t there be an apostrophe in there somewhere? Clipper’s or Clippers’ (depending one whether it’s a reference to one or multiple clippers)?

Construction of Clippers Quay seen from McDougall’s silo building (shortly before it was demolished)

The Observer, 23rd June 1985

1988 or later (estimate) Photo: Ken Lynn

1988 or later (estimate) Photo: Ken Lynn

The moorings for small boats are the property of surrounding home owners, but they appear to be rarely used for some reason.

The laminated timber bridge built across the head of the dock, shown in the previous photos, was later found to be unsafe – in large part due to vandalism – and access to it was blocked. It remained disused until its removal in 2021.

2021. Removal of Clippers Quay bridge. Photo: Silvia Colloseus.

 

Buses on the Isle of Dogs

Throughout the 1800s, if you wanted to leave or visit the Isle of Dogs, you would most likely walk, take a ferry, or make use of a horse-drawn omnibus, described by Wikipedia as…

…a large, enclosed, and sprung horse-drawn vehicle used for passenger transport. It was mainly used in the late 19th century … and was one of the most common means of transportation in cities. In a typical arrangement, two wooden benches along the sides of the passenger cabin held several sitting passengers facing each other. The driver sat on a separate, front-facing bench, typically in an elevated position outside the passengers’ enclosed cabin. On the upper deck, which was uncovered, the longitudinal benches were arranged back to back.

The Island was, however…

…notoriously difficult to get into, or out of. Traffic was subject to bottlenecks and frequent stoppages at the dock bridges. In the 1850s a one-horse bus (‘the smallest of all metropolitan omnibuses’) ran between the Greenwich Ferry and Limehouse. In 1862 local businessmen set up a new bus service round the loop of the Island, but this closed in the late 1870s.
– British History Online

One Island omnibus company operating later in the 19th century was George Middleditch & Son whose premises were at 227A-C Westferry Road (just north east of Kingsbridge, later the site of ‘Nob’ Davison’s yard/garage).

Circa 1900. Island History Trust

Circa 1906, at the western end of Glengall Road (a section now named Tiller Road) where it meets Westferry Road. The omnibus on the left, possibly belonging to George Middleditch, has a route painted along its side panel, implying that it usually served a scheduled route. However, everybody’s clothing gives the impression that it is a special occasion, perhaps an outing.

By WWI, virtually all horse-drawn omnibuses had been replaced by motor omnibuses. At the same time, due to a strategy of buy-outs of independent operators, 75% of London’s omnibuses were operated by the London General Omnibus Company.

1910s. An omnibus outside the Lord Nelson.

1910s. An omnibus outside the Princess of Wales (aka Macs) in Manchester Road, opposite the corner with Stebondale Street, in an area now occupied by George Green’s School playing field.

1910s. Manchester Road, diagonally opposite the previous photo. On the left is a glimpse of the corner with Stebondale Street. Photo: Island History Trust.

1920s (estimate). A bus and other vehicles waiting for a ship to enter Millwall Docks.

1926. Another bridger at Kingsbridge, this time from the other side. Photo: A.G. Linney / PLA Collection / Museum of London

1933 saw the inauguration of the London Passenger Transport Board, a public service which unified bus and tube services in the London area for the first time, and saw the introduction of many routes and route numbers which still exist in some form. Much of the route information in the remainder of this article was gleaned from the very wonderful londonbuses.co.uk.

No. 56 Bus Route

Introduced in 1934 and initially running from Mile End Road (Station) to Cubitt Town (Stebondale Street) where it connected with the 57. When the 57 was withdrawn in 1942, the 56 route was extended to Poplar. However, at the same time, the section between Mile End Road and Limehouse was discontinued, which meant the 56 route covered ‘just’ Manchester Road and Westferry Road. If there ever was an “Island Bus”, this was it.

The 56 was withdrawn in 1969, replaced by the 277. It was reintroduced in 1980 with a route extending from Limehouse to Aldgate, but was discontinued in 1987 after the introduction of the Docklands Light Railway.

1936. Kingsbridge looking south. WWII prevented the construction of a new bridge as mentioned in the article. Bomb damage to the entrance lock contributed to its closure.

1930s bridger at the West India South Dock Entrance (now served by the Blue Bridge).

Circa 1950. No. 56 seen from a bomb-damaged house looking over Samuda Street, left (with the derelict Manchester Arms on the corner) and Manchester Road, right, showing the very many prefabs in the area between Manchester Road, Glengall Road and East Ferry Road.

No. 57 Bus Route

Introduced in 1937 and running from Stebondale Street to Poplar (Robin Hood Lane, next to the entrance to Blackwall Tunnel). A short-lived route, it was discontinued in 1942.

1930. Island History Trust

1935, Manchester Road (close to The Queen). The bus driver and passengers of a 57 are invited to enjoy a street party celebrating the Silver Jubilee of George V. Photo: Island History Trust

No. 277 Bus Route

Wikipedia:

Route 277 started in April 1959 to replace the Trolleybus route 677 from Smithfield to Cubitt Town. In October 1961 the Sunday service was extended from Cubitt Town to Poplar replacing the withdrawn route 56. In 1964 Saturday journeys were also extended, and this was followed in 1969 by a weekday extension.

1960s. A 277 driving along The Walls. Photo: Island History Trust

1960s. A 277 in Westferry Road at the bus stop more or less opposite The Ship, close to Chapel House Street (right, out of view). Photo source unknown.

1965. A 277 outside the Vulcan. Photo: Hugo Wilhare.

1965. A 277 parked up at Glen Terrace, off Manchester Road next to the bridge that would be replaced by the Blue Bridge. Photo: Hugo Wilhare

In the 1970s there were two challenges for the 277 route. In 1974, it was temporarily forced to stop at The Queen – when heading north – due to the construction of the Blue Bridge (with passengers walking over the lock entrance to catch a bus on the other side).

Also, new, larger buses had problems negotiating the tight corners and narrow road widths of the iron swing bridges, especially the one at Preston’s Road, where traffic lights were introduced for a while in an attempt to accommodate the buses.

As a consequence of the latter problem, the 277A was introduced, using older buses which could travel around the Island to Poplar without problem (if you didn’t mind the screeching sounds when tyres made contact with bridge ‘pavements’, or the sight oncoming buses which had swung out to make the bend).

1970s. 277A crossing the Blue Bridge. Photo source unknown.

1970s. Kingsbridge. Photo source unknown.

1970s. Manchester Road, outside the lead works. Photo source unknown.

1970s. Manchester Road. Photo source unknown.

1982. 277 at the Blue Bridge. Photo: Chris Hurst.

No. 56 Bus Route (Reintroduction)

Reintroduced in 1980 with a route extended to Aldgate. It was withdrawn after a few years when the Docklands Light Railway opened.

Circa 1980. Westferry Road. Photo source unknown.

1980s. A screenshot from The Chinese Detective. Filmed from the Blue Bridge with The Queen in the background.

At some stage during the 1980s, the bus routes went mad as far as I’m concerned. I mean, I couldn’t keep up with the changes. D this, N that, and even driving over roads that were not Manchester Road or Westferry Road. What was the world coming to? 🙂

Church St aka Newcastle St aka Glengarnock Ave aka Glenaffric Ave

This 1862 map shows some of the streets that were laid out in Southern Cubitt Town; few had been built upon at the time apart from Church Street. The 46 houses in the street were built by W. Cubitt & Co. around the same time that the company built Christ Church and the Newcastle Arms.

One of the oldest photos of the Isle of Dogs, taken within a year or two of the map’s publication, shows also just how empty the area was.

1860s. Click for full-sized image

Survey of London:

Another plan produced in 1882 was to extend Douglas Street (later Douglas Place) in southern Cubitt Town northwards to join a projected extension of Church Street – it was shown on a plan of 1888 in this form, as Railway Road – but it was never implemented.

1888

In 1891 Church Street was renamed and became part of Newcastle Street.

1890s

1910s. Looking down Newcastle Street from close to the Newcastle Arms (now Waterman’s Arms). The rest of Newcastle Street is just about visible in the background, across Manchester Road. Photo: Tony Clary.

The Island History Trust collection contains a few photos of Newcastle Street in the early 20th century, including the following (the quoted text in the captions is also from the collection):

1910s “Alice Austin writes: This is a photograph of my sister Vrina Austin, taken before the First World War. I am guessing about 1912 or 1913. In the later years she was Mrs Chadwick of Stebondale Street, her husband being Fred Chadwick, fireman. Vrina is on the left, I don’t know who the other girl was. by Alice Austin”

1929. “Just before Guy Fawkes Day, October or November 1929 in Newcastle Street, by Phyllis Holdstock”

1930s. Decorations for either the Jubilee or Coronation celebrations.

1937 Coronation celebrations, by Daisy Woodard. This photo was taken in the short section of Newcastle Street across Stebondale Street, in what is now Millwall Park.

1937. “Newcastle Street, which won the barrel of beer for the best decorated street in Cubitt Town during the Coronation celebrations in 1937. In the cart: Mrs Sophie Roberts, Tommy Hart and Rosie Jenkins astride the horse. The street had been decorated three times because rain kept spoiling the decorations. ( Looking towards Christ Church ) . Donated by Daisy Woodard”

In 1937, Newcastle Street was renamed Glengarnock Avenue. Quite a few streets in Poplar were renamed in the same year, usually at the request of the London County Council in order to resolve duplicate street names within the same postal district (for example, British Street was renamed Harbinger Road because there was – and still is – another British Street off Bow Road). However, I have no information about why Glengarnock was chosen as the new name.

1945. Street party outside the Newcastle Arms. Photo: Island History Trust

The section of Glengarnock Avenue between Manchester Road and Stebondale Street was completely destroyed during WWII and prefabs were built along both sides.

1946

1948 Christ Church wedding guests. The remains of Glengarnock Avenue are visible in the background. Photo: Turner Family / Maloney / Island History Trust

1956. “Jean Morgan (nee Rump) with niece Jacqueline Rump (married name Rogers) in Glengarnock Avenue 1956. Jean husband drove this vehicle for Trinity Wharf, Rotherhithe.”  Photo and text: Rump Family.

In 1966, Galleon House and other flats belonging to the Schooner Estate were built on the west side of the street.

1966. The view from Galleon House, with a couple of prefabs still standing in Glengarnock Avenue.

Two years later, other flats were built on the other side of the street, viewed here from the entrance to Millwall Park (the same location as the 1937 Coronation street party above).

1972. Photo: Woodard Family

The construction of this new estate was accompanied by the closure of the junction between Manchester Road and Glengarnock Avenue in order to restrict the flow of traffic. The isolated ‘top half’ of Glengarnock Avenue was renamed Glenaffric Avenue.

1969. Glenaffric Avenue with its new street sign. It’s hard to see in the photo, but there is also an old, faded Newcastle Street sign on the wall, and some local residents still used this old name. Photo: Hugo Wilhare.

In the 1970s, colour was introduced to the Island (that’s a joke, well….it’s meant to be).

1970s. “Wendy and Janice”. Photo: John Bunn

1970s. Photo: Charlie Surface

1977. Jubilee Street Party. Photo: Mick Lemmerman

1977. Jubilee Street Party. Photo: Mick Lemmerman

1977. Jubilee Street Party. Photo: Mick Lemmerman

The late Ray Subohon filmed some of the party and many other events related to the Jubilee celebrations, and was kind enough to let me upload his film to YouTube. The party is featured in this film:

Glengarnock Avenue is looking a bit messy in this 1980s image (a collage of screenshots from a news video featuring the work of the Island History Trust – Jan Hill from the IHT is walking towards the Island Resource Centre).

1980s

1981. Screenshot from the Childrens’ Film Foundation film, 4D Special Agents

1986. Glenaffric Avenue. A collage of screenshots from the TV series, Prospects

Circa 2010

It was all change again in Glengarnock Avenue not long after the previous photo was taken. In 2011 Telford Homes began the construction of new housing: apartment blocks were built on the site of the garages and all other open space along Glengarnock Avenue, and Capstan House was demolished so that the development could continue along Stebondale Street. It is known as ‘Parkside Quarter’, which presumably is more marketable a name than ‘Schooner Estate’.

2013

And finally, the view today…..

Glengarnock Avenue from Manchester Road

Glenaffric Avenue from Manchester Road

 

 

John McDougall Gardens

Sir John McDougall Gardens is shown here in a 1986 aerial photo.

1986

Visible north and south of the park are some of the last vestiges of the industry which once dominated the Isle of Dogs riverfront as can be seen in this 1920s view of more or less the same area:

1920s

The area was severely damaged during WWII and a 1950 map shows a lot of white space where sheds and factories once stood. Surprisingly, The Union pub (informally known as The Pin & Cotter, or just The Pin) managed to survive the war intact while nearly all the buildings around it were destroyed.

1950

1950s pub business card. Photo: Kathy Cook

As early as 1954 plans were being made to turn this area into a public open space (to complement the housing estate planned for the other side of Westferry Road, the later Barkantine Estate). The LCC invited Poplar Borough Council to suggest a name for the park, and the Council proposed that it be named “Glengall Park”.

1954. Poplar Borough Council Minutes

Although “Glengall Park” was a logical name for the park, it was not chosen. Instead the park was named after a politician who had represented Poplar in the past: John McDougall, one of five sons of the Manchester flour merchant Alexander McDougall, founder of McDougall’s Flour. John was responsible for setting up the firm’s business in Millwall Docks.

Sir John McDougall (1844-1917); City of London Corporation; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/sir-john-mcdougall-18441917-51793

Wikipedia:

John McDougall and his brothers had been encouraged by their father to engage in charitable activities, and John eventually left the family business in 1888 to become a local councillor, focusing in particular on lunatic asylums and drains.

He was a member of the Progressive Party and was elected to London County Council, representing – with Will Crooks – the Tower Hamlets district of Poplar from 1889 to 1913. He was elected chairman of the LCC 1902-03, and, on 26 June 1902, it was announced he would be knighted as part of the Coronation Honours of King Edward VII, the knighthood being conferred in a ceremony on 24 October 1902.

In about 1960, demolition started of some firms, but progress was slow and much of the land remained as wasteland for the first half of the decade – a great playground for local kids, and land which also featured in a couple of scenes from the 1964 film, Saturday Night Out, including an aerial view in the closing credits.

Sir John McDougall Gardens were opened in 1968, and local children were involved in the planting of trees.

1968. Photo: Violet O’Keefe

At this time, there was still no footbridge connecting the park to the Barkantine Estate. I can’t imagine there were no plans to build a bridge – perhaps its construction was simply taking too long – but I do recall there were protests about the lack of a bridge, when it was necessary to cross the busy Westferry Road to get to and from the park.

1968. Photo: Hugo Wilhare

The following photo shows the bridge under construction (it was opened in 1969). It also shows the original Tooke Arms pub, shortly before it was demolished and a new version was built a few yards to the north (to the left of the footbridge when viewed from this angle).

1969

1970. Photo: London Metropolitan Archives (https://www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk/view-item?i=278032)

c1970

The little trees grew into larger trees, but the park didn’t change that much in the following couple of decades.

1970s. Photo: Nick Trevillion

1970s. Photo: Nick Trevillion

Circa 1980. Photo: Gary O’Keefe, probably checking on one of the trees he helped to plant more than ten years earlier.

1986. A screenshot from the Prospects television series

Around 1990, the park was redesigned by the LDDC and now has more greenery than previously.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets managed to misspell Sir John’s name at some stage (a mistake since corrected I believe).

Mind you, there’s nothing new about that. The memorial plaque affixed to the foot tunnel building on its opening in 1902 misspells his name too.

Photo: Ethan Doyle White

I must go in the park one day – I must admit to have never visited it, I’ve only whizzed by on the top deck of a 277 bus. However, I’m not on the Island that much these days, and tend to spend most of my time in the George or Ferry House (my old bones and muscles won’t be happy with slides and swings).