Shipbuilding in Limehouse started in the fourteenth century. Limehouse is a district located on the northern bank of the River Thames east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. Its name arose from the lime kilns established here around the same time. It became a centre for shipbuilding and related trades such as

ropemaking A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

, with some entrepreneurs shifting the focus of their activity through their careers. John Graves established his shipyard at Limekiln Dock in 1633 and then expanded his holdings with

Dundee Wharf Dundee Wharf is a residential development in Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London. The modern buildings occupy the site of a former shipyard known as Limekiln Dockyard. John Graves established this shipyard in 1633 and then ...

.'Limehouse Hole: The riverside area', in ''Survey of London'': Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs, ed. Hermione Hobhouse (London, 1994), pp. 388-397. British History Onlin
accessed 14 October 2016
/ref> By 1650 George Margetts developed a ropemaking yard including a ropehouse, storehouse and a ropewalk on land he leased from Graves.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limehouse Shipbuilding in London