History of the Docklands

Geoff is still not at all well but refusing to stay home today. So we came up with a compromise and caught the DLR to West India Quay which is closer to Stratford. This area has been portrayed in the book and TV series 'Call the Midwife' and I was interested to learn more about its history. The books I think gave a much more accurate presentation of the area than the TV series I must say however.

It is an area of such great contrasts. There are still areas of old dilapidated houses and facilities right next to posh new buildings and restaurants.

 

 

 

The old and the new.

 

The Docklands Museum on the Isle of Dogs in East London. It's one of the best museums we have ever been in. It gives a comprehensive history of the Thames and everything connected to it.

The nucleus of the collection is the museum and archives of the Port of London Authority. The periods covered range from the first port of London in Roman times to the closure of the central London docks in the 1970s and the subsequent transformation of the area with new commercial and residential developments.

 

 

 

Lots of interesting old maps and artefacts.

 

 

The stone commemorating the building of this range of wharehouses where the museum is housed. Apparently at the time of its building this row of wharehouses were the biggest in the world measuring 3/4 mile in length. The building was bombed during the Blitz and only a portion of it remains but it is still big enough to house a large museum plus a range of restaurants and other buildings.