![Deptford Dockyard - Joseph Farington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Deptford_Dockyard_-_Joseph_Farington.jpg)
Convoys Wharf, formerly called the King's Yard, is the site of
Deptford Dockyard
Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...
, the first of the
Royal Dockyards
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...
, built on a riverside site in
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
, by the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was first developed in 1513 by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
to build vessels for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Convoys Wharf also covers most of the site of
Sayes Court
Sayes Court was a manor house and garden in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham on the Thames Path and in the former parish of St Nicholas. Sayes Court once attracted throngs to visit its celebrated garden'' Diary and Correspondence of ...
manor house and gardens, home of
diarist
A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
John Evelyn
John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...
.
The site was owned until 2008 by
News International
News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...
, which used it to import
newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...
and other paper products from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
until early 2000. It is now owned by
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
Limited and is subject to a planning application to convert it into residential units, although a large part of the site has
safeguarded wharf
Safeguarded wharves are those wharves in London which have been given special status by the Mayor of London and the Port of London Authority (PLA) which ensures they are retained as working wharves and are protected from redevelopment into non ...
status.
The eastern area adjoining Watergate Street was Palmers Wharf.
History
Royal Dockyard
The King's Yard was established in 1513 by Henry VIII as the first Royal Dockyard building vessels for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, and the leading dockyard of the period.
It brought a large population and prosperity to Deptford.
[london-footprints.co.uk](_blank)
Deptford Dockyard
The docks are also associated with the knighting of Sir
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
by
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
aboard the ''
Golden Hind
''Golden Hind'' was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as ''Pelican,'' but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hat ...
'', the legend of Sir
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
laying down his cape for Elizabeth, Captain
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
's third voyage aboard
''Resolution'',
Frobisher's and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
's voyages of discovery, despatching ships against the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
, as well as for
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
's battles including
Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to:
* Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain
* Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England
It may also refer to:
Music
* ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees
Pl ...
.
In 1698
Tsar Peter I of Russia aged 25, came to Deptford to learn about shipbuilding and seamanship. He was granted the use of
John Evelyn
John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...
's Sayes Court, adjoining the Royal Dockyard, by
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
. In three months he and his party caused considerable damage to the famous
gardens, and also to the house, with "much of the furniture broke, lost or destroyed". Sir
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
was instructed to survey the property and declared it "entirely ruined". At the mouth of Deptford Creek, on the Fairview Housing estate, there is a statue, designed by
Mihail Chemiakin
Mihail Mikhailovich Chemiakin (or Shemyakin, russian: Михаил Михайлович Шемякин, born 4 May 1943) is a Russian painter, stage designer, sculptor and publisher, and a controversial representative of the nonconformist ar ...
and gifted by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
commemorating Peter's visit.
18th century and closure
By the 18th century, due to the silting of the Thames, the dockyard's use was restricted to ship building and distributing stores to other yards and fleets abroad. It was shut down from 1830 to 1844
and in 1864 a
Parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
Committee recommended that the dockyards at Deptford (and
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
) should be closed. Their recommendation was accepted and the Deptford dockyard was closed in May 1869, by which time it employed 800 people. It had produced some 450 ships, the last being the wooden screw
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
HMS ''Druid'' launched in 1869.
Foreign Cattle Market
Before
refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
cattle had to be
import
An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.
In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...
ed alive, and the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act 1869 gave the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
exclusive local authority for foreign animal imports and processing subject to its opening a market before January 1872.
The complete site at Deptford, including a lease on the
LB&SCR
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
docks, was acquired and the market opened in 1871,
[Supply Reserve Depot, Deptford. (Old Foreign Cattle Market). Skeleton Record Plan. Sheet No. 1 of a set of 4. Corrected to September 1938.] By 1889 the site had been extended to . In 1907, 184,971
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
and 49,350
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
were imported through the market but by 1912 these figures had declined to 21,547 cattle and 11,993 sheep.
[''Sale of Deptford Market. Government to Pay £387,000.'' The Times, 13 March 1926, p.12, col F]
During the War years
The Foreign Cattle Market was taken over by the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
in 1914, on a tenancy agreement from the City of London Corporation, for use as the
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
Supply Reserve Depot.
On several occasions after the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
traders and others urged that the market should be reopened; however, in 1924 the War Office exercised their option to buy it
[''Future of Deptford Market. War Office decision to buy.'' The Times, 6 February 1924, p12, col B] along with the adjacent the Sayes Court property for £400,500 () under
deed
In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
s dated 25 March 1926, 18 March 1927 & 25 July 1927 including the
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
,
tramway,
wharf
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
age and
jetty
A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...
rights and
easement
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...
s.
The Royal Naval Victualling Depot operated here which included a rum store. During the Second World War a bomb destroyed one of the storehouses and killed a number of men, a plaque was visible in the early 1970s commemorating this tragedy. During the war, because of the Blitz some of the stores were dispersed to various locations including Park Royal.
The yard also served as a United States'
Advance Amphibious Vehicle base and married quarters during the Second World War.
[Greenwich Industrial Histor]
Proposal to list the remains of the Royal Dockyard at Deptford
6 January 2010
Latter part of 20th century
On the closure of the Victualling Depot in the 1960s the establishment was renamed The Royal Naval Stores Depot and moved to a new building within Convoys Wharf. The Depot was the main Air Freight hub for the RN and was particularly busy during the Falklands War. It also continued as the central RN Stationery Store and Joint Services Baggage operations. The Depot closed in 1981.
The site purchased by News International from the
UK Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...
for £1,600,000 (), and a remainder in 1986, for £340,000 (). In 1993 the Greenwich and Lewisham (London Borough Boundaries) Order transferred the site from the
London Borough of Greenwich
The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London boroughs, London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metr ...
to the
London Borough of Lewisham
Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...
.
Archaeology
Most of the Tudor, Stuart, Georgian and Victorian structures above ground level that had survived until 1955 have since been destroyed. One structure that escaped the demolition is Olympia Warehouse, a unique cast-iron building constructed in the 1840s.
[Convoys Wharf London](_blank)
, Richard Rogers Partnership, 2002 However,
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
surveys carried out by CgMs and Pre-Construct Archaeology in 2000 by Duncan Hawkins, in 2000 by Jon Lowe and in 2001 by David Divers, established that by far the greater part of the dockyard survives as buried structures filled in intact between 1869 and 1950. The structures of the yard proper, the docks, slips, basins, mast ponds, landing places and stairs, constitute a substantial architectural fabric that is currently extant, though largely invisible, being covered by superficial accretion or infill.
As yet there has been no archaeological investigation of the garden area of Sayes Court, and only limited trial trenching of part of the manor house.
[CVW00, Convoys Wharf evaluation by CgMs Consulting on behalf of News International PLC by David Divers]
International recognition
In October 2013 Deptford Dockyard and Sayes Court garden were added to the
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...
's 2014 watch list.
Sayes Court
The War Department hired the Sayes Court area and almshouses, from the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
from 19 September 1914 to use as a Horse Transport Reserve Depot at a rental of £90 per annum (),
to enlarge its Supply Reserve Depot at the Foreign Cattle Market.
The
fee simple
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...
of the Foreign Cattle Market and of the Sayes Court property were purchased by the War Department, for £400,500 (), under
deed
In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
s dated 25 March 1926, 18 March 1927 and 25 July 1927 including the
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
,
tramway,
wharf
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
age and
jetty
A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...
rights and
easement
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...
s.
Dockyard railways
From 15 December 1900 there was
tramway access via Grove Street, to the Foreign Cattle Market, using their own
Maudslay
Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were an ...
petrol locomotive. When the docks became an army depot the junction was relaid to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
for direct connection to the
LB&SCR
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
. There was as well, an internal
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
tramway system. When the War Department took over, they introduced
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s to work the tramways,
purchasing between 1915 and 1917, twelve oil-fired Warril type
gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s from the
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & S ...
. In December 1920 the Government announced the sale of the equipment from the railway at the Deptford Meat Depot. In 1921 Sir Robert Walker purchased three locos and 75 wagons for the
Sand Hutton Light Railway
The Sand Hutton Light Railway was a minimum gauge estate railway serving the estate of Sir Robert Walker, the Fourth Baronet of Sand Hutton, Yorkshire. It connected the main house with the LNER Warthill Station and the village of Bossall. It ...
, and purchased a fourth 1927. By January 1938 of the remaining eight locos, seven were apparently still in existence at Deptford, but out of use.
[
]
Development
In October 2000, 'Creekside Forum' set up the 'Convoys Opportunity' umbrella group
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
in response to the News International Ltd plan to sell the Convoys Wharf site. Convoys Opportunity, composed of community organisations, churches, businesses and others in Deptford and beyond,[Select Committee on Transport Written Evidence]
Memorandum by the Creekside Forum (TT 09)
by Bill Ellson, Creekside Forum, July 2004 campaigned to have the News International scheme refused and the safeguarding order upheld.
In 2002 News International applied to the London Borough of Lewisham for outline planning permission to erect 3,500 residential units on the site. Lewisham councillors resolved to approve the application in May 2005. The Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
Olympia Warehouse would have to be preserved and refurbished as part of the redevelopment of the site. New International engaged Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
to develop a masterplan for the site.[Planning Context](_blank)
/ref>
If the Mayor allowed the application it would then be referred to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction o ...
. Reasons for such a referral would include a Government direction that half the site is safeguarded for freight use. Since freight wharves on the Thames were safeguarded in 1997 by the then Secretary of State for the Environment, John Gummer
John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, (born 26 November 1939) is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. He was Conservative Party Chairman from 1983 ...
, only one operational wharf has been lost to residential use without a full public inquiry. This was Delta/Blackwall Wharf, a major aggregates wharf redeveloped as part of the Greenwich Peninsula
The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...
masterplan.
On 18 May 2005 a 50/50 joint venture company of Cheung Kong Holdings
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a major ...
and Hutchison Whampoa entered into an agreement to acquire Convoys Wharf, to develop it as a mixed residential and commercial project, with News International
News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...
retaining a profit share in the sale of the luxury homes proposed. In 2008 a new planning application was submitted by Hutchison based largely on the original Richard Rogers scheme.
In July 2011 Hutchison Whampoa engaged Aedas
Aedas is an architectural firm with eleven International offices founded by the Welsh architect Keith Griffiths. Aedas provides services in architecture, interior design, urban design, masterplanning and graphic design. It was established in 2002 ...
to develop a new masterplan for the site and submitted an amendment planning application. Then in early 2012 Hutchison appointed Terry Farrell to revise the masterplan for the site and submitted a planning application in April 2013.
In September 2011 a group of local residents launched a campaign, with the name ''Deptford Is..'' to oppose the masterplan proposed by the developers. They have proposed a couple of projects to connect to the history of the area and benefit the local community. These are the Lenox project (see below) and Sayes Court Garden.
On 17 October 2013, Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, the Mayor of London called in the application. In January 2014 Lewisham Council's strategic planning committee recommended that the outline planning application for Convoys Wharf in its current form be rejected.
On 22 January 2014 Dame Joan Ruddock
Dame Joan Mary Ruddock, (née Anthony; born 28 December 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015. Ruddock was Minister of State for Energy at the Departmen ...
challenged the government to recognise the unique heritage features of the site.
On 31 March 2014 Boris Johnson approved plans to build up to 3,500 new homes on the Convoys Wharf site that has been derelict since 2000.
A planning application to build a first major residential block of 456 flats, the first of 22 plots in Hutchison's masterplan, was approved by Lewisham Council in June 2020. Future plans include a 1.5 acre park on an existing river pontoon, cultural, commercial and retail space, and 3,500 homes including three towers up to 40 storeys tall.
The Lenox Project
In 2013 the Lenox Project put forward a formal proposal to build a full-size sailing replica
A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...
of HMS ''Lenox'', a 70-gun ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
originally built at Deptford Dockyard in 1678. The ship would actually be constructed on the dockyard site, and would form the centrepiece of a purpose-built museum which would remain as a permanent part of the development of Convoys Wharf.
By late 2015 the project had gathered momentum, with more detailed plans fitting the building of the ''Lenox'' into the overall development of this part of Deptford.
The 2015 Feasibility Study identified the Safeguarded Wharf at the Western end of the Convoys Wharf site as the most suitable place for the dry-dock where the ship herself would be built; the existing but disused canal entrance could then be modified to provide an entrance for the dock as well as a home berth for the finished ship.
It is hoped that the ''Lenox'' will provide a focus for the regeneration of the area as the comparable replica ship ''Hermione
Hermione may refer to:
People
* Hermione (given name), a female given name
* Hermione (mythology), only daughter of Menelaus and Helen in Greek mythology and original bearer of the name
Arts and literature
* ''Cadmus et Hermione'', an opera by ...
'' did for Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
in France.
See also
*Deptford Dockyard
Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...
References
Further reading
Post-excavation assessment report and updated project design
Museum of London Archaeology, November 2013
* An archaeological desk-based assessment, by Duncan Hawkins, CgMs Consulting, April 2000
* Preliminary Assessment of Surviving Historic Fabric Convoy's Wharf, Deptford, June 2000 by Jon Lowe
* Convoys Wharf, Deptford; TQ 3700 7820; (David Divers); evaluation; 9 October-14 November 2000; CgMs Consulting on behalf of News International PLC; CVW00
* An archaeological field evaluation (trial trenching) in consultation with English Heritage, by David Divers, CgMs Ltd., January 2001
* Our Future Heritage: A Framework for the Management of The Heritage Resource, Convoys Wharf, Deptford, London Borough of Lewisham.,English Heritage, October 2003
London Snoring: A tale of missed opportunity
Creekside Forum, Spring 2007
"The Battle of Convoys Wharf" Kieran Long, London Evening Standard, 26 October 2011
External links
Deptford Is...
blog about the proposed development of Convoys Wharf
Convoys Wharf development website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120313231705/http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/lewgreen/597284.no_more_penthouses/ No more penthousesNews Shopper, Lewisham & Greenwich, 17 May 2005
New look for old wharf
News Shopper, Lewisham & Greenwich, 31 May 2005
Include tribute in wharf scheme
News Shopper
The ''News Shopper'' titles are local newspapers published in South East London and North West Kent by Newsquest. The newsroom is in Orpington.
There are five local editions: Bexley Borough, Bexley & North Kent, Bromley, Dartford & Gravesend, ...
, Lewisham & Greenwich, 19 July 2005
*Convoys Wharf, Deptford a
GLIAS
Notes and news, December 2009
Safeguarded Wharves
- the official 2005 list and descriptions
*Model of th
Royal dockyard at Deptford in 1774
{{Coord, 51.486, -0.027, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Archaeological sites in London
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lewisham
London docks
Military history of London
Ports and harbours of the Thames Estuary
Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in London
Redevelopment projects in London
Royal Navy bases in England
Royal Navy dockyards in England
Shipbuilding in London
History of the London Borough of Lewisham
Shipyards on the River Thames
Port of London
Wharves in the United Kingdom
18 in gauge railways in England
Industrial railways in England
Rail transport in London
Deptford