22 Aug Timeline of St Katharine Docks

Courtesy of Patricia’s Tidal Thames blog,  here is a headline history of St Katharine’s and the docks, now just across Tower Bridge. In medieval times, Matilda, wife of King Stephen, founded a hospital linked to the Priory of Holy Trinity at Aldgate. From about 1250 the hosital had the patronage of the queen until the 1820s. In 1825, The St. Katharine Dock Bill was passed by Parliament, transferring 13 acres of land to the St. Katharine Dock Company. In 1828, the St. Katharine Docks, designed by chief engineer Thomas Telford were opened. The warehouses, designed by Sir Phillip Hardwick, for speed of turnround allowed cargoes to be unloaded directly into warehouses rather than onto the quayside.

The docks and surrounding warehouses were badly damaged by World War II bombing and the dock entrance was rebuilt by 1957. But the docks were closed in 1968 being too small for the prevailing size of cargo ship. In the 1970s, The Tower Hotel was opened, designed by the Renton Howard Wood Partnership in the Brutalist style, and most of the original warehouses were demolished. The Dickens Inn was created from an old warehouse by Cedric Dickens, grandson of the great author. In the 1990s, the development of flats and houses around the eastern basin was completed.

More here https://thetidalthames.com/2024/08/18/st-katharine-docks/