South Dock is one of two surviving docks in the former

Surrey Commercial Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969. Most were subsequently fi ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

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 ...

. It was built in 1807–1811 just south of the larger

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. Greenland ...

, to which it is connected by a channel now known as Greenland Cut; it also has a lock giving access to 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 ...

. Originally named the ''East Country Dock'', it was renamed in 1850 when the Surrey Commercial Dock Company purchased and enlarged it. Timber and grain were the main products imported and exported in the dock.

World War II

The dock was seriously damaged by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

attacks in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when the area was heavily bombed by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

. Due to bomb damage in Greenland Dock, South Dock became the only exit from that dock. It was emptied of shipping in 1944, drained and used for the construction of concrete sections for the Mulberry Harbours used on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. After the war, it was repaired and the surrounding warehouses rebuilt.

After the war

The revival of the Surrey Docks proved short-lived with the advent of

containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the p ...

from the 1960s onwards. The new

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

s were much too big to be accommodated in the upstream London docks and, with a few exceptions, most of the river trade moved downriver to

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 anc ...

and other more modern ports around the country. The Surrey Docks closed in December 1970 and were sold to the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

in 1977.

Redevelopment

Although most of the Surrey Docks were infilled and converted to residential, commercial or light industrial land, South Dock escaped this fate. The former warehouses were demolished and replaced with residential blocks, while the dock itself was refurbished. Residential development in the area received funding from the

London Docklands Development Corporation The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an ...

, erecting unique buildings, such as Baltic Quay. In 1994, South Dock reopened as London's largest

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

, with over 200 berths. It is now largely occupied by yachts and residential barges.

Nearby places

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...

Russia Dock Woodland Russia Dock Woodland is a long narrow park in Rotherhithe, London, created by the infilling of one of the former Surrey Commercial Docks. The former Russia Dock was originally used for the importing of softwood timber from Norway, Russia and Swe ...

* Surrey Quays * Globe pond * Centre Dock * Norway Dock

References

External links

South Dock Marina Berth Holders' Association
*Yahoo! email grou
Friends of Greenland Dock and South DockSouth Dock SE16
- An ongoing history of Rotherhithe's South Dock {{More citations needed, date=February 2010 Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark London docks Geography of the London Borough of Southwark History of the London Borough of Southwark Military history of London Ports and harbours of the Thames Estuary Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in London Redevelopment projects in London Shipbuilding in London Shipyards on the River Thames Marinas in England Port of London Rotherhithe