The changing face of Docks

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Micheal.
With the huge money in sport and with women's teams expanding so quickly, I can see hanging coming back! they will hang anyone not wearing someones colours,
Des

[Dave Carpenter]

Unfortunately its not only the docks that have gone! Its the sad loss of the great characters that inhabited the dock area's around the country. With today's attitude of what you can and not say, those wonderful eccentric characters would not be tolerated. I mentioned some of them in my book, 'Dockland Apprentice' that i wrote many years ago and now out of print.
Dave

[Valerie Pratt]

Millwall docks has gone and in its place is the London Arena.

[James Domleo]

#5 the West India Dock is still there and beside the fact that the warehouses are pubs or other businesses. The cranes and other dockside facilities are still there as a forlorn reminder of what a bustling place it once was. The london docklands Museum is also there ,which I think is worth a visit in its own right , it has the complete history of the docks through the ages their development and demise including a potted history of the M.N. If you want to see what happened to Charlie Browns walk along past the museum untill you reach the open dock gates and on the outside of the dock wall there is a plaque to the Railway pub, known to one and all as the infamous ' Charlie Browns'.
When people talk about the the redevelopment of the docks they need to remember that it never stops. I remember one of the first bits to be redeveloped was on the corner of East Smithfied and Tower Bridge Roads just in front of St. Katherine docks which was then called the World Trade center in the 70's, that was then knocked down in the new millenium and a larger buiding built on the site. Another example was the London Arena which was a modern and large exhibition and function facility at Canary Wharf built for that purpose ( They held things like the Brit Awards there.) That was knocked down and replaced by a banking skyscraper. The new facility that was built as an exhibition centre is the ExCel centre in the old Royal Victoria Dock. There are at this time about another 13 planning applications lodged to build large sky scrapers at Canary Wharf. What seems to be happening is that the buildings become larger or are replaced as the land becomes more expensive and the present tenants move east like the original London denizens.

Did my second mates course at college at end of West India Dock road at junction with Mile End road. British Sailors Society was opposite(1958)

[Alan Briggs]

I took a flight to Edinburgh from London City, the main runway is what used to be the dividing road between KGV and Royal Albert.

[happy daze john in oz]

Last year while in London I was given two videos,

'Waters of Time and City of Ships'
Both are centered around the London docks and the Thames.
From early 1900's until about the early 60's, a wonderful look into the past.

[john walker]

#13 Millwall docks has not completely gone, the London Arena has see my #5

[happy daze john in oz]

Watching a video containing a bit about Canary Wharf, Jamacia Producer is unloading Bananas, the system works well with them being moved via an escalator style lift.
Another bit showed Tea from India, China, Sri Lanka being unloaded.
A hole is punched into the side of the tea chest and a sample taken, a metal plate then pushed into the hole to seal it.

Over the years have used tea chests when moving and often wondered what the metal plate was for, now after all this time I know.
You learn something every day it is said.

[john mc dermott]

Saint Katherines dock and the old Warf and warehouse area was modernised ,incorporating most of the excising infrastructure . Some old haunts like the Brown Bear, the Princess Of Prussia, and the old Prescott Street pool building and the Red Ensign Club to name but a few were still there when i last visited. Walking down the old original cobbled streets past Tobacco Warf etc., to the dock and lock gates is an experience and well worth a visit.

[John Pruden]

dock road liverpool spent millions on rudusing the size of the road making a bike lane??? i drive the dock road and never seen a bike yet in the land now a football ground there that will see thousands of cars there? who are the brains in my city..jp