St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katharine's and Wapping electoral ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. From 1828 to 1968, it was one of the commercial docks that made up the Port of London. It is in the redevelopment zone known as the London Docklands and is now a housing and leisure complex.

History

St Katharine Docks took their name from the former hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower, built in the 12th century, which stood on the site. An intensely built-up area, the entire 23-acre (9.5 hectares) Precinct of St Katharine by the Tower and part of East Smithfield, was earmarked for redevelopment by an act of Parliament, the (6 Geo. 4. c. cv), with construction commencing in May 1827. Some 1,250 houses were demolished, together with the medieval hospital of St. Katharine. Around 11,300 inhabitants, mostly port workers crammed into unsanitary slums, lost their homes; only the property owners received compensation. The scheme was designed by engineer Thomas Telford and was his only major project in London. George Turnbull and James Waylen were working for Telford. To create as much quayside as possible, the docks were designed in the form of two linked basins (East and West), both accessed via an entrance lock from the Thames. Steam engines designed by James Watt and Matthew Boulton kept the water level in the basins about four feet above that of the tidal river. By 1830, the docks had cost over £2 million to build.

Telford aimed to minimise the amount of quayside activity and specified that the docks' warehouses (designed by the architect Philip Hardwick) be built right on the quayside so that goods could be unloaded directly into them.

The docks were officially opened on 25 October 1828. Although well used, they were not a great commercial success and were unable to accommodate large ships. They were amalgamated in 1864 with the neighbouring London Docks. In 1909, the Port of London Authority took over the management of almost all of the Thames docks, including St Katharine Dock. By the 1930s the only regular use was by ships of the General Steam Navigation Company.

St Katharine Docks were badly damaged by German bombing during the Second World War. All the warehouses around the eastern basin were destroyed, and the site they had occupied remained derelict until the 1960s. The dock entrance lock was rebuilt in 1957 but the docks ceased commercial use in 1968. The remaining warehouses on the western side were demolished to make way for redevelopment. on a site parallel to the river just to the east of Tower Bridge. This was followed by the World Trade Centre Building and Commodity Quay (both designed by architects Watkins Gray International). Development around the eastern basin was completed in the 1990s; the docks themselves becoming a marina. The development has often been cited as a model example of successful urban redevelopment. An eastwards extension was eventually built as part of the Jubilee line, but took a different route south of the Thames. The closest stations to the Docks today are Tower Hill (tube) and Tower Gateway DLR station, both roughly equidistant from the north-west corner of the Docks.

Vodafone made the first ever cellular telephone call in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1985, from St Katharine Docks to Newbury, and launched the UK's first cellular network later that year.

Between 2005 and 2008, the former Danish lightship "Lightship X" (Ten) was moored on the west dock, and used as a restaurant, before returning to Denmark.

The marina, including restaurants and offices, was owned by Max Property Group, operated by investor Nick Leslau, since 2011, and was sold to Blackstone Group in 2014. Over the next three years, Blackstone completed a major restoration. In May 2017, the company retained agents to find potential buyers for the complex; the listing price was £435m. In October 2017, however, Blackstone withdrew the property from the market because bids were below the asking price.

Notable boats

thumb|[[Thames sailing barges at St Katherine Docks]]

Notable boats regularly moored in the docks include:

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  • Gloriana, royal barge
  • MV Havengore, former Port of London Authority hydrographic survey vessel

Several Thames sailing barges are also based in the docks.

Notable residents

  • David Mellor, broadcaster and former politician, and Penelope, Viscountess Cobham
  • David Suchet, actor
  • Sir Michael Hodgkinson, business man

In media

The docks were used as one of the main filming locations for the Hammer Film Productions version of Dennis Wheatley's novel To The Devil - A Daughter in 1976, with the character played by Richard Widmark living in one of the residential flats. Scenes featured the Ivory House and the retractable bridge.

In April 2021, it was filmed for Men, a folk horror film directed by Alex Garland and starring Jessie Buckley, released in 2022. It was used for Buckley's character's apartment with her abusive husband, and also where he died.

The inner gatefold photograph for The Rolling Stones album Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) was taken at St Katherine Docks by Ethan Russell in May 1969.

The docks were also used as a filming location for the 1983 UK-based action film Who Dares Wins (titled "The Final Option" in the US market).

Tower Bridge Quay

thumb|A cruise boat departs from [[Tower Bridge Quay]]

Tower Bridge Quay is close to the St Katharine Dock, providing river transport services managed by London River Services. The main service from Tower Bridge Quay is a circular river cruise operated by Crown River Cruises which goes non-stop to Westminster Millennium Pier before returning via the South Bank arts centre, as well as a Westminster-Greenwich express service run by Thames River Services.

The nearby Tower Millennium Pier, located on the other side of Tower Bridge, now provides the main commuter river boat services to Canary Wharf and Greenwich in the east and the West End in the west, and a fast visitor service to the London Eye.

References

  • Friends of St Katharine Docks