#docks london

[ltwilliammowett]

A replica of a Ship Chandler as once seen in London's Sailortown - now in Museum of London Docklands 1840-1850 

[ltwilliammowett]

Ok, this might be a silly question, but my nautical knowledge is next to nill, so I bet you to bear with me. If a vessel was to make port in London, would it actually navigate the Thames until it reached the city, or would it set anchor on the coast? (I am talking in the XIX, as a period of time).

Hi,

there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers, and if you don't know something, it's better to ask than to go on living ignorantly. My motto, so don't be afraid and your question is not silly or anything, it's even a very important question because many people don't know that.

First of all, you have to distinguish between merchant ships and the navy. The Navy had its main anchorage off Portsmouth at Spithead. There was also a Navy dockyard at Deptford in south London, near Greenwich. Merchant ships, on the other hand, were actually brought as far as London.

Just for orientation we have here a map from the year 1817 (x)

The two India Companies had their two large dock areas at the head of the Themse in the south-east of the city, near Greenwich. There they had their import and export basins as well as their dockyards. Smaller trading companies or private merchants had their warehouses and docks along the Thames.

The London dock, for example, was used especially for very valuable goods and was more centrally located in the city.

Later on, steamers took over more and more of the work of bringing goods into the city, but as you can see, the Thames was very intensively used by shipping and shipbuilding. I hope I was able to answer your question and wish you a nice Sunday.