Port of London Through Time

Until the middle of the twentieth century, the Port of London was the busiest in the world. A long, slow decline set in, as ships grew larger and numerous seamen’s strikes and the advent of containerisation decimated the docks. Everything moved downriver and the Port of Tilbury grew to cope with the demand, while the docks in London itself declined and were closed. Some have been filled in, others converted to other uses, with London City Airport and Canary Wharf being built on converted docklands. Geoff Lunn tells the story of the Port of London, from the Pool of London to Tilbury and Gravesend, using a combination of images, both old and modern. Inside are views of the redevelopment and changing face of the docklands areas.