Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 & … Continue reading →

Sir John McDougall Gardens is shown here in a 1986 aerial photo. 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 … Continue reading →

Asphalt is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum which has been extensively used since the 19th century, mostly as a waterproofing material at first, but later as a component in the construction of road surfaces. … Continue reading →

In this 2018 article I wrote about the history of South Cubitt Town, and now it’s the turn of North Cubitt Town, which for the purposes of this article covers the following area: As most people know, Cubitt Town was … Continue reading →

The earliest known written reference to the name Isle of Dogs is contained in the ‘Letters & Papers of Henry VIII’. Volume 3: 1519-1523. 2 October 1520. No. 1009 – ‘Shipping’. Originally written in Latin, and translated into English and … Continue reading →

To my knowledge (and I am open to correction), there was never a ‘proper restaurant’ on the Isle of Dogs before the appearance in the late 1980s of the Gaylord Indian Restaurant at 141 Manchester Road in the former premises … Continue reading →

Fred & Thomas Thorne ran a building firm on the Island that operated from 1898 until 1952. Their main premises were at 266 Manchester Road (next door but one to the Cubitt Arms) which had a large yard and a … Continue reading →

The Greenwood Housing Act of 1930 encouraged the large-scale clearance of slums and poor quality housing. Its full title: An Act to make further and better provision with respect to the clearance or improvement of unhealthy areas, the repair or … Continue reading →