East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

in London. The road takes its name from the former

East India Docks The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the We ...

in the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

, and partly serves as the

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

of Poplar. To the west it becomes

Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), through ...

and to the east Newham Way. It forms part of the A13, a major road connecting the historic

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

and

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

History

The road begins in the west at Burdett Road and continues to the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

bridge in the east at Bow Creek. It was built in order to connect the newly built

with the

, which opened in 1806, bypassing

Poplar High Street Poplar High Street is a street in Poplar and partly in Blackwall, Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. Although the street became less used after 1860, it had previously been the principal street in Poplar. Notable buildings on Poplar H ...

. It passed over undeveloped land and was assumed to be cheap to construct, but the costs of buying garden land proved higher than anticipated. The original plan called for the road to be built as far as the

, and it is shown ending there on

Richard Horwood Richard Horwood (1757/8 – 3 October 1803) was a surveyor and cartographer. He is mainly remembered for his large-scale plan of London and its suburbs published in 32 sheets between 1792 and 1799. He also published a plan of Liverpool in six she ...

's 1807 map of London. In June 1809, an Act of Parliament was passed to build a crossing over the Lea towards

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, in order to improve communications between London and

Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artill ...

. An iron bridge was designed by John Rennie, but the final chosen plan was from James Walker and

Alfred Burges Alfred Burges (1796–1886) was a British civil engineer. He was apprenticed to the civil engineer James Walker, and in turn trained several other engineers including Sir Joseph Bazalgette. Walker and Burges were responsible for railways, bri ...

. It was built in 1810 and was the first road bridge to use

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

columns. The bridge was long and wide. The bridge originally charged a 2d toll, which was abolished in 1871. A new bridge was constructed by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and the Corporation of West Ham between 1893 and 1896. This in turn was replaced by the current bridge to the north, constructed in 1930-1932 of reinforced concrete. The road was designed to be wide, and was constructed as such from Limehouse to the East India Docks. Beyond this, its width was because of the imposing geography of Bromley Marsh.

Gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directl ...

was partially installed along the road in 1826. The

London and Blackwall Railway Originally called the Commercial Railway, the London and Blackwall Railway (L&BR) in east London, England, ran from Minories to Blackwall, London, Blackwall via Stepney, with a branch line to the Isle of Dogs, connecting central London to many o ...

sought to compete with the road. By 1827, an hourly coach service was set up between the City of London and the East India Docks, covering the route in 45 minutes. The railway was built as anticipated, but well to the south, allowing the East India Dock Road to compete as a major transport thoroughfare.

Properties

All Saints Church, Poplar All Saints' Church, Poplar, is a church in Newby Place, Poplar, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is the Church of England parish church of Poplar. It was built in 1821–3 to serve the newly created parish. The church was designated a Gra ...

was constructed on the south side of East India Dock Road, and consecrated in 1823. It was rebuilt after being bombed in the Second World War.

George Green's School George Green's School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form, located in Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. History The school was founded in 1828 by George Green, a shipbuilder and shipw ...

was founded in 1828 by George Green, a shipbuilder and shipwright. It was originally located on East India Dock Road but moved in 1979. Queen Victoria's Seamens' Rest at 121-131 East India Dock Road was founded in 1843 as the Seamen's Mission of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. Beside the Blackwall Northern Approach is the

Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...

Memorial, erected when it was first opened in 1897. In 1959, when the newer western tunnel was dug, the inscription was moved to its present position underneath East India Dock Road itself. The

Poplar Baths Poplar Baths on the East India Dock Road in Poplar, London is a former public bath house and Grade II listed building that was constructed in 1933 and closed to the public in 1988. The Baths are adjacent to All Saints DLR station. A campaign to ...

re-opened on 25 July 2016 and were removed from the Buildings at Risk register, after campaigners had won the battle to restore the building to use in 2010. According to Swinton Insurance, East India Dock Road was the fourth most dangerous road in London for motorcyclists in 2017.

References

Citations Sources {{refend

External links

An East End Tale
- showing East India Dock Road Streets in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Streets in the London Borough of Newham Limehouse Poplar, London Canning Town A13 road (England)