Blackwall Yard
Encyclopedia
Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall
, London
, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. The yard should not be confused with the nearby Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
which although their head office address was in Blackwall, was based at Leamouth Wharf
.
. Initially, this change of policy proved profitable as the first ships cost the Company about £10 per ton instead of the £45 per ton that it had been paying to have ships built for it. However, the situation changed as the Deptford yard came to be expensive to run.
In 1614 the East India Company outgrew Deptford and ordered William Burrell to begin work on a new yard for repair, construction and loading of out-going ships. The site Burrell selected was at Blackwall, which was further down river and had deeper water, allowing laden ships to moor closer to the dock. The new yard was fully operational by 1617. The yard and its facilities were enlarged repeatedly during the early 17th Century. The yard was surrounded by a 12 feet (3.7 m) high wall, but was not used for storage of imported goods.
Later on in the 17th century the East India Company reverted to its original practice of hiring vessels. In many cases the owners who chartered their vessel to the East India Company had them built at Deptford and Blackwall.
The Anglo-Dutch wars
of the late 17th Century resulted in too much work for the royal dockyards
, and the Navy Board
under Samuel Pepys
began to commission third rates from Blackwall which was by then the largest private yard on the Thames. A new dock of 1½ acres constructed in the 1660s was the largest wet dock in England until the construction of the Howland Great Wet Dock
in Rotherhithe
. Construction of merchant ships continued, with Blackwall building 12 ships between 1670 and 1677 in a period when a bounty was offered to shipbuilders by Charles II
. Following Johnson's death in 1683 the yard passed to Henry's son Henry junior, who was not a shipwright. After Henry junior's death in 1718 on a posting as Governor of Cape Coast Castle
for the Royal African Company
, the yard had little work until sold in 1724 and was overtaken in importance by Bronsdens yard at Deptford
. With the end of the Dutch wars naval shipbuilding had also retreated to the royal yards. This was reversed by war with Spain in 1739.
, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The yard recovered under the management and later ownership of the Perry family. When the Navy again surveyed the yard in 1742, the yard had the greatest capacity on the Thames.
In 1784 when Francis Holman
painted it, it was said to be the biggest private yard in the world. It was at this time that the Perrys began construction of the large Brunswick Dock to the east of the yard, opened in 1790.
The yard was reduced in size in 1803 when the East India Dock
company bought the eastern part including the Brunswick Dock. The Brunswick Dock became the East India Export Dock (the southern of two docks), which in the 20th Century was filled to become the site of Brunswick Wharf Power Station. In the 1830s the London and Blackwall Railway
isolated the northern part of the remaining site, which was the company then sold off.
shipbuilder John Wells) and eventually Wigram & Green. In 1821 the firm built its first steamship. During this period the yard built Blackwall Frigate
s.
and developed as a coal dock, which survived until the 1950s. This was known as Poplar Dock, not to be confused with the North London Railway's
Poplar Dock built in 1851 further west, and still in use as a marina. During World War II the dock was seriously damaged by bombing and it was later filled in and used as a fuel oil storage yard by Charringtons. Part of the site is now occupied by the northern ventilation shaft of the second Blackwall Tunnel
and the rest by housing.
Greens continued building wooden ships longer than Wigrams, including 25 naval vessels, 14 of them 200-ton gunboats, during the Crimean War
. Their first iron ship was built in 1866.
R. & H. Green Ltd continued to build ships at Blackwall until 1907. In 1910 the company amalgamated with Silley Weir & Company, as R.& H. Green and Silley Weir Ltd, with further premises at the Royal Albert
dry docks. The company grew rapidly until the outbreak of the First World War, concentrating on repairing vessels. Throughout the war the firm constructed and repaired munitions ships, minesweepers, hospital ships and destroyers.
After the war a major programme of building and refurbishment was begun at the yard. A marine engineering shop was built between the two graving docks. This was nearly 350 ft (106.7 m), over 100 ft (30.5 m) and nearly 60 ft (18.3 m), and dominated the yard until the late 1980s. Their head office was located at the YMCA Building in Greengate Street, Plaistow E13, and they remained there, almost at the last occupants, until the company finally moved out in 1981.
In 1977 the company merged with the London Graving Dock Company Ltd (located on the SE of Blackwall Basin in the West India Docks
) to form River Thames Shiprepairers Ltd, as a division of the nationalized British Shipbuilders
. The Blackwall site became known as Blackwall Engineering and continued in operation until 1987.
The upper graving dock remained in use until closure. In 1989 it was partially filled in and the new Reuters
building was constructed, straddling it. The eastern dry dock (one of the earliest remaining on the Thames) was refurbished in 1991–92.
Blackwall, London
Blackwall is an area of the East End of London, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames.The district around Blackwall Stairs was known as Blackwall by at least the 14th century. This presumably derives from the colour of the river wall, constructed in...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. The yard should not be confused with the nearby Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...
which although their head office address was in Blackwall, was based at Leamouth Wharf
Leamouth
Leamouth is the area to the west of the mouth of the River Lea at the River Thames at . The northern part of the area lies within a meander of the Lea; the southern part is bounded in the west by the former East India Docks, on two sides by the Lea and by the River Thames to the south...
.
East India Company
Blackwall was a shipbuilding area since the Middle Ages. In 1607, the Honorable East India Company (HEIC) decided to build its own ships and leased a yard in DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
. Initially, this change of policy proved profitable as the first ships cost the Company about £10 per ton instead of the £45 per ton that it had been paying to have ships built for it. However, the situation changed as the Deptford yard came to be expensive to run.
In 1614 the East India Company outgrew Deptford and ordered William Burrell to begin work on a new yard for repair, construction and loading of out-going ships. The site Burrell selected was at Blackwall, which was further down river and had deeper water, allowing laden ships to moor closer to the dock. The new yard was fully operational by 1617. The yard and its facilities were enlarged repeatedly during the early 17th Century. The yard was surrounded by a 12 feet (3.7 m) high wall, but was not used for storage of imported goods.
Later on in the 17th century the East India Company reverted to its original practice of hiring vessels. In many cases the owners who chartered their vessel to the East India Company had them built at Deptford and Blackwall.
Johnsons
In 1656, following a decline in the East India Company's fortunes, the yard was sold to shipwright Henry Johnson (later Sir Henry), who was already leasing the docks and part of the yard. The premises sold included three docks, two launching slips, two cranes and storehouses. Johnson went on to expand the yard, which continued to build and repair ships for the East India company as well as other activities.The Anglo-Dutch wars
Anglo-Dutch Wars
The Anglo–Dutch Wars were a series of wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes. The first war took place during the English Interregnum, and was fought between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic...
of the late 17th Century resulted in too much work for the royal dockyards
Royal Navy Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards are harbours where either commissioned ships are based, or where ships are overhauled and refitted. Historically, the Royal Navy maintained a string of dockyards around the world, although few are now operating today....
, and the Navy Board
Navy Board
The Navy Board is today the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the British Royal Navy. Its composition is identical to that of the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, except that it does not include any of Her Majesty's Ministers.From 1546 to 1831, the Navy...
under Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
began to commission third rates from Blackwall which was by then the largest private yard on the Thames. A new dock of 1½ acres constructed in the 1660s was the largest wet dock in England until the construction of the Howland Great Wet Dock
Greenland Dock
Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in...
in Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
. Construction of merchant ships continued, with Blackwall building 12 ships between 1670 and 1677 in a period when a bounty was offered to shipbuilders by Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. Following Johnson's death in 1683 the yard passed to Henry's son Henry junior, who was not a shipwright. After Henry junior's death in 1718 on a posting as Governor of Cape Coast Castle
Cape Coast Castle
Cape Coast Castle is a fortification in Ghana built by Swedish traders. The first timber construction on the site was erected in 1653 for the Swedish Africa Company and named Carolusborg after King Charles X of Sweden. It was later rebuilt in stone....
for the Royal African Company
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in the English Restoration of 1660...
, the yard had little work until sold in 1724 and was overtaken in importance by Bronsdens yard at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
. With the end of the Dutch wars naval shipbuilding had also retreated to the royal yards. This was reversed by war with Spain in 1739.
Perrys
The yard continued to repair and build ships, particularly for the East India CompanyEast India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The yard recovered under the management and later ownership of the Perry family. When the Navy again surveyed the yard in 1742, the yard had the greatest capacity on the Thames.
In 1784 when Francis Holman
Francis Holman
Francis Holman was a British maritime painter, little recognised during his own lifetime, but whose paintings are now sought after. He is also notable as the teacher of Thomas Luny.-Life:...
painted it, it was said to be the biggest private yard in the world. It was at this time that the Perrys began construction of the large Brunswick Dock to the east of the yard, opened in 1790.
The yard was reduced in size in 1803 when the East India Dock
East India Docks
The East India Docks was a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin remains.-History:...
company bought the eastern part including the Brunswick Dock. The Brunswick Dock became the East India Export Dock (the southern of two docks), which in the 20th Century was filled to become the site of Brunswick Wharf Power Station. In the 1830s the London and Blackwall Railway
London and Blackwall Railway
Originally called the Commercial Railway, the London and Blackwall Railway was a railway line in east London, England. It ran from the Minories to Blackwall via Stepney, with a branch line to the Isle of Dogs, thus connecting central London to many of London's docks in the 19th and 20th centuries...
isolated the northern part of the remaining site, which was the company then sold off.
Wigram and Green
As the Perrys began to withdraw from the business the firm became Perry Sons & Green (George Green having married John Perry's second daughter, Sarah in 1796), Perry Wells & Green (a half share having been sold to RotherhitheRotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
shipbuilder John Wells) and eventually Wigram & Green. In 1821 the firm built its first steamship. During this period the yard built Blackwall Frigate
Blackwall Frigate
Blackwall Frigate was the colloquial name for a type of three-masted full-rigged ship built between the late 1830s and the mid 1870s. They were originally intended as replacements for the British East Indiaman in the trade between England, the Cape of Good Hope, India and China, but from the 1850s...
s.
Wigrams
In 1843 the remaining site was split into two yards, with Wigram & Sons in the western yard. Wigrams soon began construction of iron ships, but ceased building in 1876. In 1877 Wigram's yard was bought by the Midland RailwayMidland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
and developed as a coal dock, which survived until the 1950s. This was known as Poplar Dock, not to be confused with the North London Railway's
North London Railway
The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...
Poplar Dock built in 1851 further west, and still in use as a marina. During World War II the dock was seriously damaged by bombing and it was later filled in and used as a fuel oil storage yard by Charringtons. Part of the site is now occupied by the northern ventilation shaft of the second Blackwall Tunnel
Blackwall Tunnel
The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the London Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road in Blackwall; the southern...
and the rest by housing.
Greens
The eastern yard was occupied by R & H Green. Greens demolished earlier buildings in order to extend the dry dock, known as the eastern or lower graving dock. This was progressively lengthened and reduced in width. By 1882 it was 335 ft (102.1 m) and 62 ft (18.9 m), with a wooden bottom and brick sides. In 1878 they opened the 'new' or upper graving dock. This was 410 ft (125 m) [later lengthened to 471 ft (143.6 m)], 65 ft (19.8 m) at the entrance, and 23 ft (7 m).Greens continued building wooden ships longer than Wigrams, including 25 naval vessels, 14 of them 200-ton gunboats, during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. Their first iron ship was built in 1866.
R. & H. Green Ltd continued to build ships at Blackwall until 1907. In 1910 the company amalgamated with Silley Weir & Company, as R.& H. Green and Silley Weir Ltd, with further premises at the Royal Albert
Royal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:The dock was constructed to the east of the earlier Victoria Dock by the St Katharine and London dock companies and opened in 1880...
dry docks. The company grew rapidly until the outbreak of the First World War, concentrating on repairing vessels. Throughout the war the firm constructed and repaired munitions ships, minesweepers, hospital ships and destroyers.
After the war a major programme of building and refurbishment was begun at the yard. A marine engineering shop was built between the two graving docks. This was nearly 350 ft (106.7 m), over 100 ft (30.5 m) and nearly 60 ft (18.3 m), and dominated the yard until the late 1980s. Their head office was located at the YMCA Building in Greengate Street, Plaistow E13, and they remained there, almost at the last occupants, until the company finally moved out in 1981.
In 1977 the company merged with the London Graving Dock Company Ltd (located on the SE of Blackwall Basin in the West India Docks
West India Docks
The West India Docks are a series of three docks on the Isle of Dogs in London, the first of which opened in 1802. The docks closed to commercial traffic in 1980 and the Canary Wharf development was built on the site.-History:...
) to form River Thames Shiprepairers Ltd, as a division of the nationalized British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders Corporation was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in England and Scotland from 1977 and through the 1980s...
. The Blackwall site became known as Blackwall Engineering and continued in operation until 1987.
The upper graving dock remained in use until closure. In 1989 it was partially filled in and the new Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
building was constructed, straddling it. The eastern dry dock (one of the earliest remaining on the Thames) was refurbished in 1991–92.
Ships
- HMS WarspiteHMS Warspite (1666)HMS Warspite was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1666 at Blackwall Yard. This second Warspite was one of the five ships designed to carry more provisions and lower deck guns higher above the water than French and Dutch equivalents...
, 62 guns was built 1665-6 by Johnsons, at a cost of £6,090. - HMS BelliqueuxHMS Belliqueux (1780)HMS Belliqueux was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 5 June 1780 at Blackwall Yard, London. She was named after the French ship captured in 1758....
, 1780 by Perrys, a 64-gun ship of 1,376 tons. - HMS PowerfulHMS Powerful (1783)HMS Powerful was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 April 1783 at Blackwall Yard, London.In 1805 the ship arrived too late to take part in the Battle of Trafalgar but was then detached to reinforce the East India squadron. On 13th June 1806 she captured the French...
, 1783 by Perrys, a 74-gun ship. - HMS Vennable, 1784 by Perrys, a 74-gun ship, of 1,652 tons.
- HMS Hannibal, also of 1,652 tons, was built by Perrys between June 1782 and April 1786 at a cost of £31,509.
- HMS AlbionHMS Albion (1802)HMS Albion was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Perry's Blackwall Yard on the Thames on 17 June 1802...
, 1802 by Perrys. A third-rate of 1729 tons. - Alfred, 1845 by Greens. Indiaman.
- HMS Terpsichore, launched by Wigrams in 1847.
- Indus, 1,782-ton paddle steamer by Wigrams in 1847.
- Yard Nos. 275, 278, 282 were lightships built in 1847.
- Yard No. 279 was the tea clipper Sea Witch built in 1848.
- Yard No. 291 was the famous tea clipper ChallengerChallenger (clipper)Challenger was a wooden clipper ship built in 1852 by Richard & Henry Green, Blackwall Yard for Hugh Hamilton Lindsay, London.From "The Copartnership Herald", Vol. I, no...
built in 1852. 174 ft (53 m) by 32 ft (9.8 m) by 20 ft (6.1 m) deep. - Radetzky, launched by Wigrams in 1854 for the Austrian navy.
- HMS Superb, 364-tons, launched by Greens in 1866.
- HMS Crocodile, 4,173 ton troopship launched by Wigrams in 1867.
- Tug Gamecock, Tug by R & H Green, 1880.
- Tug Stormcock, Tug by R & H Green, 1881.
- Tug Woodcock, Tug by R & H Green, 1884.
- Tug Sirdar, Twin screw steam tug by R & H Green, 1899.
- WarleyWarley (East Indiaman)The Warley was a 1475-ton East Indiaman and one of the East India Company's larger and more famous vessels. She made nine voyages to the East between 1796 and 1816, most direct to China. In 1804 she participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura...
. Perrys built two East Indiamen by the name of Warley, one in 1788 and one in 1796.