The level of theft in docklands directly led to the founding of the police. The Thames River Police was set up as an experiment in 1798. It was so successful that it was taken over by the Home Office in 1800. Thus it became the first state run police force (not the Met. as they claim, the Met. only came into existence nearly 30 years later). It is a facinating tale, that might make a good topic for that nice Mr. Hazzard.
@@caw25sha Yes the PLA Police were certainly around in the (19)70's and 80's. They followed the Met as regards uniform (white shirts as opposed to blue in those days) and, in Tilbury at least, operated the ambulance service within the docks too. They were most visible at the gates, or patrolling around (sometimes in an ambulance) but had a CID too who investigated theft etc.
Not a lot had changed ASDA opened a supermarket around 1998 and had to fire a load of the new staff as they were nicking stuff and not running their families goods past the scanner at checkout ! 😂😂😂👮
As a chikld, I lived in a side street off East India Dock Road called Stoneyard Lane. At the weekends my mother took us (on foot) to visit my grandmother in Bow E3 via the Commercial road. During New year's eve, we'd see fireworks in the area and at midnight all the ships in the docks would blare out their horns in cacophonic salute to the new year. All fine memories from childhood that were brought back by this video. Thank you Jago - always a joy to watch.
Why was this stuff so deadly boring at school but so fascinating when it comes from Jago? Discuss. Forty five minutes only, use both sides of the paper. (There's a clue to the answer in there...)
I'm pretty sure this underlines the stupidity of our current educational system. Let kids learn what they're interested in and don't force 'stuff' down their throats just because. Later in life, we decide what we're really interested in and follow it through with a passion because it is relevant to us. I strongly suspect we'll see a lot more education shifting away from the traditional subjects to things that allow us to learn in our own right vs having established knowledge fed to us purely to regurgitate ad nauseam.
Ah, Jago, you should do the bulk wine trade from France and Spain into London. One of the last major imports that the London Docks ever took (a small portion of a hitherto closed dock was kept open to service this trade, that's how important it was!).
I think historian would equal be confussed, when given 2 dates for the taken over of the docks by one company. Without been able to see the paper work of the agreement of the take over, it is hard to known which date is the correct one. If one of them is correct, or may be it could be another date, for all we known.
2 dates 12 years apart at that. If I was researching something and came across a discrepancy like that,I'd be fairly confident that one of those dates was correct - but which one? Sometimes that's when a process of deduction can help where they tie in chronologically with other events,sometimes not.
@@rjjcms1 Maybe one date is completion, the other is when it was announced. Or maybe one date is when approval was received. Could both dates be right?
Ah, lovely. Perfect viewing of an area that was still new and being built when I first visited the capital (I refer to Canary Wharf, not the original docks; I'm old, but not that old).
Back in the 50s and 60s, the PLA used to do boat trips from Tower Pier around the docks and we went on them a couple of times and it was really interesting, seeing all the ships that had arrived from various parts of the world.
I remember those boat trips too. So many caego vessels still sitting on the mud at low tide and plenty of lighters strung behind the tug boats with their cranked down funnels to pass the bridges. Also the 'flat irons'-the low superstructured colliers from the North East to feed the power stations up river.
Love the tie back to the finance sector and exploitation at the end, Jago -- definitely the spirit of Canary Wharf. The thing that irked me about walking around the area and along the Thames from Limehouse to Canary Wharf were all the signs reminding you that this is privately owned land and they have *so graciously* allowed public passage onto it...
@@musicandfilms9956 The negotiated let of public access to otherwise private lands has opened up much of the thamesside pathways, which otherwise would not have been possible ( legally, or practically)
@@highpath4776 perhaps, but it does feel somewhat wrong for a formerly publicly owned area. A private company moved I. To develop it, but could have returned the roads and spaces to public ownership after they were done, but didn't. Maybe because this was financially more interesting to the government, as with public ownership comes public expense for its upkeep, but still
Another great video. I have been a follower and a fan for a long time. I also happen to be an academic historian of slavery and empire, with a side interest in the history of trains and transport. I recognise why you might have had some reluctance to talk about potentially politically sensitive histories on a channel otherwise focused on the Tube, lightrail, etc. But this was incredibly well done and I am looking forward to future videos that come out of the research you undertook for this one. I will go ahead and call you a historian based on what you have taught me about the history of London.
I have the impression that the part of the story surrounding rum was a delight to research. That first hand comment on the efficacy of coffee as a post inebriation refresher was truth indeed.
@@rodjones117 There were certain buildings that got the planning permission that were torn down before completion as new permission gave even taller buildings, incorporating hotels, flats and offices !
I have very clear memories of the Docks as a kid growing up through the 70's. My Dad used to drive us round the Docks sometimes if we were on our way to cross the river at Woolwich. I remember all these warehouses with smashed windows, the cranes idle, and no ships apart from the odd carrier belonging to BEN LINE. There were old railway lines that we used to cross over and girder bridges that rolled away to let vessels in and out of various parts of the Docks. Mad to think that the Victoria and Albert Docks now have aircraft landing on them, particularly when you consider the damage done to them by aircraft previously.
I'm so used to Canary Wharf that I never stopped to think _when_ was it built. Interesting, it's newer than I thought. Thanks for this delightfully informative video!
Somewhere I have an unused ticket to ascend Canary Wharf Tower (Or One Canada Square if you prefer). I think it should be noted that there is a fair number of shops, and the likes of cultural spaces like Cabot Square.
very interesting as always - thank you. My father worked in shipping and I can remember being taken round the docks as a child in the mid 1960s when they were still working. Worth mentioning that there was a very prolonged dockers' strike in the late 1960s which proved the final nail in the coffin as shipowners effectively voted with their feet and started using other ports with less militant and short-sighted unions.
I’m not so sure of this-containerization caused a lot of ports to shift around in the 1970s, not just in London. The same thing happened to NYC’s port (which declined in favor of ports across the harbor in New Jersey with better facilities for containers) and to San Francisco (supplanted by Oakland for similar reasons, which itself has been supplanted to a lesser degree by Long Beach). Maybe the union fights accelerated this shift but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen anyways.
Or... the shipyard owners, being capitalists, refused to pay a decent wage to the workers who created their wealth. Instead, being allowed by a pro-capital government, they engaged in a race to the bottom to pay workers the least and make them work the hardest. Isn't capitalism wonderful?
Fascinating- I understand that the lower part of St. Pancras station was used for storing beer-any interest in doing something about that- how beer was delivered and how it was distributed and so forth.
I love docks and wharfs. Really glad that so many of them was preserved. Ok, now time for a pint of rum to keep my spirit level up for what's coming next...
The Science Museum has it down as 1901. For over ten years previous to that it was run by a joint committee. Perhaps thats where the confusion lies. The dock strike of 1889 has to be pivotal in all this. The strike achieved it's aims of minimum shift lengths and increased hourly rates. I would say the minimum shift situation was what prompted the joint committee in the first place.
It's always good to see something on the history of the London Docks, and I agree that the museum is well worth a visit. It doesn't seem as popular as it should be, maybe because it's a long way from the usual tourist spots.
Absolutely first class research on such an interesting topic. The story of shipping and trade worldwide is fascinating with the current supply chain issues bringing it to the fore when most people wouldn't be concerned with how their bananas get to the supermarket! Keep up the great work on the London docks.
This video was definitely a reminder to me to get back to exploring London on my next visit and not stick to the same ‘ole neighborhoods. Still so much more to see! A beautifully shot and informative video!!
Thoroughly enjoyable episode, the longer the better 😊 a really good subject to cover, and covered well it was... Londons trading history is a great topic as it made London what it is today... Looking forward to more episodes like these, I am 52 years old, born in Shepherds Bush and now learning more about the history of London then ever before, thanks to your episodes on you tube, thanks Jago...
I think this might the best/most interesting video you've ever done. It was definitely worth making it longer. In fact it could have been at least 2 videos to be honest. There's so much history in that part of town. What I found most interesting was learning about how all the names came to be. I've often walked around that area or been on the DLR and wondered about all the unusual foreign sounding names and what they relate to, so this definitely helps build a picture of how it all came to be. Have you done one on Canada Water or Millwall Docks yet? Those could be interesting topics.
Very nice video, and a proper seasoning of puns on top. well done. Can't wait to see what new video's the inspiration from this one will bring, so I will do something else until then.
My Grandad was a "Tea Runner" in the docks as a young kid. I got the impression this was a message boy that ran from merchant to merchant. Great video as always. I am amazed that you manage to produce such good quality videos every week -- quite a task!
Yes I heartily concur. Even though I was already pretty keen on the subject, the museum handsomely exceeded my expectations. Fascinating history and a world-in-a-world.
Enjoyed this much more than I possibly thought I might. Excelled yourself with the script on this video. A truncated yet seamless narration of this little slice of history
The Navy dished out brandy or wine not to placate the sailors, but to make the rancid water on board drinkable. Admiral Vernon, commander of the West Indies squadron substituted diluted rum, which was cheaper and more readily available. Vernon was known as "old grog" because he wore a cloak of grogram - coarse woolen cloth. I think you can see where this is going ...
Brilliantly put together video. In the 1970's to the early 1990's, my Uncle & Aunt lived in Kelson House, the biggest block on the Ise for many year's. They sadly broke up & moved out, many happy memories of being on the top floor looking South to Greenwich & North into The Dockland's as the 1 Canada Square went up & the other tower's.
Thank you for this. I used to live and work around there, and it was lovely to hear and see its history. I never noticed the length of the vid, which shows how interesting the content was!
This is by far my favorite of your series. Interesting on the trade changed from one form to another but nonetheless revolves around money (and greed LOL)
One of the things that came out of the docks via dock workers and merch men was RnB and Blues records. My best bud's Dad was a docker and had records by the likes of Big Bill Broonzy and Huddie Leadbetter
That is also true of Southampton. As late as the 70's The docks at Southampton were a rich source or otherwise unobtainable ska and reggae records brought over for easy money by sailors on the banana boats. The Market Diner Boys (skinhead possee) could always get you a nice little bit of groove (and also US Career Club button down oxford cotton shirts, as copied by Ben Sherman). Thanks for reminding of those days. Oh what fun we had...
@@rodjones117 likewise New Orleans, Charleston, New York, Chicago, LA, the SF Bay Area, Seattle... nobody ever talks about Kansas City or Omaha as being great hotbeds of musical creativity! Oddly, that doesn't seem to apply here, Birmingham is in the heart of the Midlands yet has a huge musical legacy... whereas I can't think of any notable bands from Immingham, Grimsby, Hull, Gateshead/Newcastle or Edinburgh. Portsmouth and Plymouth aren't exactly New Orleans either.
@@richardharrold9736 Sure. I once had a conversation with the great Martin Carthy and he made the same point, that ports are great cultural, and therefore musical, melting pots. Tiger Bay, Shirley Bassey... Agreed about many British ports, but Liverpool, Manchester and London are historic musical hubs to rival anywhere. Interesting that the Beatles went from being founded in one great port Liverpool, to honing their live act in another, Hamburg. Also interesting that whilst Amsterdam has never really produced any notable bands, it has been the inspiration for quite a few songs - Brel/Bowie, John Martyn, even Coldplay...
I did a gig at Canary Wharf some many years ago. IT. Couple of months. I found the place deeply depressing. Dockland railway is good, but the rest of it is mostly sterile.
I'm a security officer at CW. I get told that a lot by people. However it's only 35 years old as it is, and before that it was pretty much a wasteland looking at the pics. You're not going to get soul from such a new place with shops hidden underground.
@@chrissaltmarsh6777 canary wharf invests in a lot for cleaning & security. You may have ntocied how clean it was to the rest of london and a lot less groups of youths with anti social behaviour etc... It's incredibly safe and I don't think it will be raggedy ever. However they have in the last year invested (millions of £'s) in lots of greenery such as planters. Its helped in my opinion covering the concrete to some extent. They have a new residential section that has shops on street level too. That helps the vibe more. However it's always going to be concrete & glass I feel
A sweet and informative video thanks Jago. I lived in Westferry for some time and know the area well so your video was of particular interest. I also work for an insurer with a syndicate at Lloyd's of London, and have run tours of the 1986 Lloyd's building - I always mention it started over a cup of coffee so your mentioning of this was wonderful.. refreshing even! Many thanks
"The legal quays system needed overhauling badly"? Really? They probably also badly needed overhauling. That said, a really excellent video Mr H, quite up to your usual excellent standard. Thank you, Simon T
I loved this history video ! The history of London is fascinating. Your succinct and integrated narration is superb ! Thank you for this, and keep up the great work !
Very interesting - as a child in London all those 'docklands' were thoroughly looked down on as places where not to go - too unsafe ! Quite a difference now ! I haven't been in London for over 40 yrs so I would be lost anywhere I went now, but I still occasionally look at little videos like this to understand what is changing ! Thank you for this report, I enjoyed it very much !
there was also a celebration on a Saturday in July, every year, commemorating the dock workers, with entertainment laid on, at West India Quay in the 90s - always well-attended which pleased me a lot.
Most informative and enjoyable, thank you. When I was a kid dockers were glamorous. On my last visit to the Science Museum there was an exhibit on sugar and a 1930s movie of unloading a shipload of sugar. They did it one sack at a time! In the 1950s theft was looked on as a perk of the job, no wonder they containerized.
I LOVED this video! I used to live on the waterfront of Surrey Quays, (used to be called Surrey Docks) and work on Shad Thames. We’d have lunch on the balcony overlooking Shad Thames, with all its glorious historical wharfs and docks. SO MUCH history in both of those areas. Definitely my favourite part of London ❤️❤️❤️
A very well done job! I was so engrossed that I really did not notice that it was longer than normal. Plenty of information presented in an easy to understand manner. Thank you Jago.
Despite your statement to the contrary, I'd say the very fact you discussed the two different possible dates and the fact that there is evidence for both makes you a true historian. The non-historian would just have asserted one of the dates and left it at that. Keep the great videos coming. From you, Geoff Marshall and Jay Foreman, I've learned an immense amount about London ...
Thanks for such an engaging and enjoyable instalment The views brought back the past 35 years of my relationship with the West India Docks from volunteering when it was a wasteland to regular visits in recent years to witness at first hand the transformation
First it was goods at the expense of people to make money on the docks now it’s international banking. Same thing different process. Very good insight, knowledge is power
Great video my strongest recollections were the smell of the area. Just overpowering, Soap, Sugar, Glue (boiled bones), tobacco and brewing which came from the other side. You could cut it with a knife in the summer.
Smells are one thing hard to bring back. Remember the fishy/smoky smell of railway stations? In those days fresh fish was transported by rail, even heritage railways don't have that.
Before west India dock, a canal was created across the top of the Isle of dogs, where West India dock was built. The idea was using the canal would be quicker than sailing around the Isle of dogs, but in fact that turned out not to be the case.
Excellent video as always Jago. Fascinating, well researched, filmed and edited. Well, what more can I say. Except perhaps...Quality that's the quay....sorry. key..lol.
An excellent concise video. There is a lot of history to condense. Per Mulberry Harbours: in 'A harbour goes to war', many component parts were made all over the UK in specifically obscure places; hard to know about, hard to find, scattered all over the country. Garlieston in Dumfrieshire was specifically mentioned, and I believe the Swiss Rolls were tested there; also Newhaven, Leith (not E Sussex) where there are photos of pontoons being built and tested in Leith Docks in 1943. I believe Faslane was also used. I remember Faslane because they dropped the legs on the land side of the pontoon, which duly hit bottom, as they should, but on the loch side of it, they topped out, so steep are the sides of Loch Long.
A lot of things I never understood about my own country (the still fledgeling and frail usa) now makes a lot of sense after your video Mr. Jago, I enjoyed it very much and would like to visit that museam where so much toil and construction was accomplished... although that sure aint gonna happen any time soon...cheers from Jacksonville Florida.
Up until 2012, I worked for the LB of Tower Hamlets, so used the DLR to & from Bank Station on a daily basis. This fascinating video very much reminded me of those happy days - so cheers Jago ! 🍺🍺😎
Great video as ever. I have to agree about the transformation since the 80s has been stark. Even in the past 10 years things have moved on dramatically. I used to watch the London marathon religiously every year, and it's incredible how things have changed in the Isle of Dogs - it's odd that the trivial things stand out. There was a pub called the City Pride, where there was always a jazz band playing as the runners went past. I remember year after year that was a regular feature - although I have to confess I don't recall passing when I did the marathon in 1997! Perhaps in the past 10 years I've not seen this pub or its jazz band, so I guess it has been replaced by some new temple of mammon. Of course I don't want to live a country that knocks down its history every generation and replaces it with something shiny and new. but I also get a buzz from a place that is continually reinventing itself.
The City Pride closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2012. The site is now occupied by the Landmark Pinnacle; a 233 metre apartment block. I had no great love for the City Pride but I preferred it to yet another glass monolith.
Really enjoyed this, thanks! I still remember a school trip to the docklands when they were building Canary Wharf and the surrounding buildings/blocks were flat cleared wasteland. I was about 8 and it was quite surreal.
Brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable, I lived in the area throughout the 1980’s and have always been interested in this subject. Looking forward to the next instalment ! Great photography by the way.
I found this to be especially interesting since my uncles worked as longshoremen (stevedores) on the docks in New York and New Jersey. Jago noted that at one time 4% of all goods transported through the London docks were stolen. In postwar Murica the FBI estimated that the mafia (which controlled the longshoreman's union) stole at least 10% of everything shipped through the Port of New York. The FBI referred to that theft as a 'mob tax'. For years containerization was delayed as the longshoremen's union put up very stiff resistance to the proposal....since containerization would greatly cut down on theft. In 1968 containerization was put in place and all the NYC docks were closed with the entire operation moved across the Hudson River to Port Newark in New Jersey. Today Port Newark is the largest cargo port facility on the East Coast of the United States.
A full video on the Great Dock Strike would be very welcome. I am a relative of one of the organisers, Ben Tillett who signed the General Manifesto at 12:17 . The Wade Arms mentioned just above his name is in fact a pub that they used as their base of operations. The whole thing nearly went sideways but they were rescued from destitution by the Australian dockers sending them about £20,000 which enabled the strike to keep going as they distributed the money to the poorer men who therefore were not forced back to work. All in all a very interesting story.
I lived on the IoD from 1996 til 2003. I liked it as it had Canary Wharf, I lived opposite Greenwich, some old pubs and I grew to like the trad East Enders. Glad I left when I did though.
One of your most interesting videos Jago! My granddad and his elders were born in this area of London and worked as Lightermen, probably in these docks. I worked at the (now gone) Westferry printers back in the 90s, more like this please :)
One thing I LOVE about London is it’s ability to change and adapt with the times. This video is a great example of the ability of London through government and private means to change.
Fantastic video as always! What incredible history and transformation of such a large area is really impressive. It is great to see that they kept some great relics like the cranes and various structures and the overall shape of the water ways and port facilities area. The move to containerization lead to so many cities with decaying port facilities all over the world so it is great to see such a nice revitalization.
I found this very interesting. I know you mentioned that it was longer than normal and I did notice that, but it kept my attention all the way through. Great video.
hats off, Jago ! what a comprehensive history of the docks, for good or for evil, there it all is. thanks for including the Customs House, which is still there, near West Ferry station. i could add bits & pieces, like: you would still see Paul or Albert Reichmann walking through the development buildings to catch the DLR on Friday lunchtime for hometime.
Yes, I once again enjoyed this video and as usual look forward to the next video. I could see how my life could have easily been completely different if you had been my history teacher, I know you don't claim to be a historian but rubbish I say. From across the pond I also say thank you for peeking an interest I didn't know I had.
I remember walking around the then dying docks in the mid 1970s, the same time I had started working in the City. The concept that the docks area would in time become the center of the world’s finance I would never have got to. I have always thought it interesting what the alternative would have been if O&Y had never started The Canary Wharf project. Would the City have expanded eastwards anyway (at least one major bank went to Alie Street) or where there other areas that might have been considered?
Its interesting the flow down Bishopsgate for Example. The Original buildings for finance had sort of gone round London Wall - built after WW2 they were full of asbestos panelling and becoming difficult to repair and let. the move to Docklands gave the City some breathing space to renew those buildings, change around Bishopsgate and later create the new London Skyline. Its interesting that London actually expanded in its financial square footage , both in the City and in Docklands.
@@highpath4776 I hadn’t thought about the asbestos. One issue (I worked for a Bank on the infrastructure side) was that cabling became an issue in particular for trading rooms. False floors were getting so deep that older buildings didnt have the remaining ceiling height which made more modern builds popular. Canary Wharf is also interesting with the idea that it is a live/work development. Not too many financial districts around the world can boast that.
I love these videos. I am both Educated and Entertained in bite sized digestible portions. Great for dyslexics as would take ages to do the research themselves. Thank you
![รวมเพลงลูกทุ่ง 6 หนุ่มไทบ้าน ฮิตติดกระแส ชุดที่ 1 l มนต์แคน ไมค์ ไผ่ เสถียร ไหมไทย พี [Longplay]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GD2v1OjMw5I/mqdefault.jpg)
The level of theft in docklands directly led to the founding of the police. The Thames River Police was set up as an experiment in 1798. It was so successful that it was taken over by the Home Office in 1800. Thus it became the first state run police force (not the Met. as they claim, the Met. only came into existence nearly 30 years later). It is a facinating tale, that might make a good topic for that nice Mr. Hazzard.
Didn't the PLA have it's own constabulary?
@@caw25sha people's liberation army?
The filth that has come out of that vile river.
@@caw25sha Yes the PLA Police were certainly around in the (19)70's and 80's. They followed the Met as regards uniform (white shirts as opposed to blue in those days) and, in Tilbury at least, operated the ambulance service within the docks too. They were most visible at the gates, or patrolling around (sometimes in an ambulance) but had a CID too who investigated theft etc.
Not a lot had changed
ASDA opened a supermarket around 1998 and had to fire a load of the new staff as they were nicking stuff and not running their families goods past the scanner at checkout ! 😂😂😂👮
As a chikld, I lived in a side street off East India Dock Road called Stoneyard Lane. At the weekends my mother took us (on foot) to visit my grandmother in Bow E3 via the Commercial road. During New year's eve, we'd see fireworks in the area and at midnight all the ships in the docks would blare out their horns in cacophonic salute to the new year. All fine memories from childhood that were brought back by this video. Thank you Jago - always a joy to watch.
Had the same experience in Wapping.
Why was this stuff so deadly boring at school but so fascinating when it comes from Jago? Discuss. Forty five minutes only, use both sides of the paper. (There's a clue to the answer in there...)
"Candidates are advised not to write on both sides of the paper at once." - Sellar & Yeatman: 1066 and All That
When we were at school we didn't yet know enough context to make this stuff interesting.
I'm pretty sure this underlines the stupidity of our current educational system.
Let kids learn what they're interested in and don't force 'stuff' down their throats just because.
Later in life, we decide what we're really interested in and follow it through with a passion because it is relevant to us.
I strongly suspect we'll see a lot more education shifting away from the traditional subjects to things that allow us to learn in our own right vs having established knowledge fed to us purely to regurgitate ad nauseam.
I would like to think the answer is in the presentation...
Didn’t even learn this stuff at school.
Ah, Jago, you should do the bulk wine trade from France and Spain into London. One of the last major imports that the London Docks ever took (a small portion of a hitherto closed dock was kept open to service this trade, that's how important it was!).
Jago, you are definitely a historian.
I think historian would equal be confussed, when given 2 dates for the taken over of the docks by one company. Without been able to see the paper work of the agreement of the take over, it is hard to known which date is the correct one. If one of them is correct, or may be it could be another date, for all we known.
2 dates 12 years apart at that. If I was researching something and came across a discrepancy like that,I'd be fairly confident that one of those dates was correct - but which one? Sometimes that's when a process of deduction can help where they tie in chronologically with other events,sometimes not.
He is a historian, just not a dogmatic one!
@@rjjcms1 You could be absolutely certain that one of the dates is wrong.
@@rjjcms1 Maybe one date is completion, the other is when it was announced. Or maybe one date is when approval was received. Could both dates be right?
Ah, lovely. Perfect viewing of an area that was still new and being built when I first visited the capital (I refer to Canary Wharf, not the original docks; I'm old, but not that old).
If I was feeling brighter, I'd make a good joke about the match girls having a successful strike 🤣
Eyyyy! 🤣
Also, seconded for Chiana and Farscape! 😎
There's no taking a dim view of that.
@@rjjcms1 Sulphar so good
it seems to me there could be no more dangerous a thing that a strike in the match factory...
@@fumthings Spare a thought for those poor women on the ig-night shift. Sorry....
Back in the 50s and 60s, the PLA used to do boat trips from Tower Pier around the docks and we went on them a couple of times and it was really interesting, seeing all the ships that had arrived from various parts of the world.
I remember those boat trips too. So many caego vessels still sitting on the mud at low tide and plenty of lighters strung behind the tug boats with their cranked down funnels to pass the bridges. Also the 'flat irons'-the low superstructured colliers from the North East to feed the power stations up river.
Yes. Every year in the 60s, my junior school did a visit to the London docks. I did it twice. Blimey - I might still have old photos.
Love the tie back to the finance sector and exploitation at the end, Jago -- definitely the spirit of Canary Wharf. The thing that irked me about walking around the area and along the Thames from Limehouse to Canary Wharf were all the signs reminding you that this is privately owned land and they have *so graciously* allowed public passage onto it...
The sign stops the roads and walkways becoming public rights of way
@@highpath4776 Which in a free democracy they would be.
@@musicandfilms9956 The negotiated let of public access to otherwise private lands has opened up much of the thamesside pathways, which otherwise would not have been possible ( legally, or practically)
@@highpath4776 perhaps, but it does feel somewhat wrong for a formerly publicly owned area. A private company moved I. To develop it, but could have returned the roads and spaces to public ownership after they were done, but didn't. Maybe because this was financially more interesting to the government, as with public ownership comes public expense for its upkeep, but still
I don't like the private security force that patrols Canary Wharf very much. What's wrong with the normal police?
I could watch this for HOURS. What a delightfully long presentation.
Another great video. I have been a follower and a fan for a long time. I also happen to be an academic historian of slavery and empire, with a side interest in the history of trains and transport. I recognise why you might have had some reluctance to talk about potentially politically sensitive histories on a channel otherwise focused on the Tube, lightrail, etc. But this was incredibly well done and I am looking forward to future videos that come out of the research you undertook for this one.
I will go ahead and call you a historian based on what you have taught me about the history of London.
I have the impression that the part of the story surrounding rum was a delight to research. That first hand comment on the efficacy of coffee as a post inebriation refresher was truth indeed.
Excellent as always. I trust you visited the docklands museum which was often in shot, then a swift pint in the old and beautiful Ledger Building
Great video, I lived and worked in London when Canary Wharf was being built, it was fascinating seeing the transformation.
Agreed - I could see it go up from the landing whilst waiting for the unreliable lift in the block where I lived.
@@rodjones117 There were certain buildings that got the planning permission that were torn down before completion as new permission gave even taller buildings, incorporating hotels, flats and offices !
@@highpath4776 Nice...
I have very clear memories of the Docks as a kid growing up through the 70's. My Dad used to drive us round the Docks sometimes if we were on our way to cross the river at Woolwich. I remember all these warehouses with smashed windows, the cranes idle, and no ships apart from the odd carrier belonging to BEN LINE. There were old railway lines that we used to cross over and girder bridges that rolled away to let vessels in and out of various parts of the Docks. Mad to think that the Victoria and Albert Docks now have aircraft landing on them, particularly when you consider the damage done to them by aircraft previously.
I'm so used to Canary Wharf that I never stopped to think _when_ was it built. Interesting, it's newer than I thought. Thanks for this delightfully informative video!
Somewhere I have an unused ticket to ascend Canary Wharf Tower (Or One Canada Square if you prefer). I think it should be noted that there is a fair number of shops, and the likes of cultural spaces like Cabot Square.
very interesting as always - thank you. My father worked in shipping and I can remember being taken round the docks as a child in the mid 1960s when they were still working. Worth mentioning that there was a very prolonged dockers' strike in the late 1960s which proved the final nail in the coffin as shipowners effectively voted with their feet and started using other ports with less militant and short-sighted unions.
I remember the graffiti: "Look what Jack Dash did".
I’m not so sure of this-containerization caused a lot of ports to shift around in the 1970s, not just in London. The same thing happened to NYC’s port (which declined in favor of ports across the harbor in New Jersey with better facilities for containers) and to San Francisco (supplanted by Oakland for similar reasons, which itself has been supplanted to a lesser degree by Long Beach). Maybe the union fights accelerated this shift but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen anyways.
Basically the key problem is that modern container shipping is too space-intensive to make sense in a city where land is at a premium.
Or... the shipyard owners, being capitalists, refused to pay a decent wage to the workers who created their wealth. Instead, being allowed by a pro-capital government, they engaged in a race to the bottom to pay workers the least and make them work the hardest. Isn't capitalism wonderful?
I mean also true
Fascinating- I understand that the lower part of St. Pancras station was used for storing beer-any interest in doing something about that- how beer was delivered and how it was distributed and so forth.
Just read Henry Mayhew so it was interesting to hear a more general video on the Docks
I love docks and wharfs. Really glad that so many of them was preserved. Ok, now time for a pint of rum to keep my spirit level up for what's coming next...
I do much prefer your longer videos Jago! Where you have the time to delve deep & erm... granular.
This one was fascinating. Thank you! More please! 🍬
The Science Museum has it down as 1901. For over ten years previous to that it was run by a joint committee. Perhaps thats where the confusion lies. The dock strike of 1889 has to be pivotal in all this. The strike achieved it's aims of minimum shift lengths and increased hourly rates. I would say the minimum shift situation was what prompted the joint committee in the first place.
It's always good to see something on the history of the London Docks, and I agree that the museum is well worth a visit. It doesn't seem as popular as it should be, maybe because it's a long way from the usual tourist spots.
Pity no mention of either the Surrey Docks or the Royals, obviously another video is needed here
Absolutely brilliant video Jago. I would love to see more like this, and of this length. Thank you.
Ditto completely !!! Aarre Peltomaa
...and some historical film added in
Absolutely first class research on such an interesting topic. The story of shipping and trade worldwide is fascinating with the current supply chain issues bringing it to the fore when most people wouldn't be concerned with how their bananas get to the supermarket! Keep up the great work on the London docks.
These longer videos are perfect for such a topic with a long history
This video was definitely a reminder to me to get back to exploring London on my next visit and not stick to the same ‘ole neighborhoods. Still so much more to see! A beautifully shot and informative video!!
Thoroughly enjoyable episode, the longer the better 😊 a really good subject to cover, and covered well it was... Londons trading history is a great topic as it made London what it is today... Looking forward to more episodes like these, I am 52 years old, born in Shepherds Bush and now learning more about the history of London then ever before, thanks to your episodes on you tube, thanks Jago...
I think this might the best/most interesting video you've ever done. It was definitely worth making it longer. In fact it could have been at least 2 videos to be honest. There's so much history in that part of town. What I found most interesting was learning about how all the names came to be. I've often walked around that area or been on the DLR and wondered about all the unusual foreign sounding names and what they relate to, so this definitely helps build a picture of how it all came to be. Have you done one on Canada Water or Millwall Docks yet? Those could be interesting topics.
I haven’t yet, but I want to.
Very nice video, and a proper seasoning of puns on top. well done. Can't wait to see what new video's the inspiration from this one will bring, so I will do something else until then.
My Grandad was a "Tea Runner" in the docks as a young kid. I got the impression this was a message boy that ran from merchant to merchant. Great video as always. I am amazed that you manage to produce such good quality videos every week -- quite a task!
The museum is well worth a visit.
Yes I heartily concur. Even though I was already pretty keen on the subject, the museum handsomely exceeded my expectations. Fascinating history and a world-in-a-world.
Enjoyed this much more than I possibly thought I might. Excelled yourself with the script on this video. A truncated yet seamless narration of this little slice of history
"the match girls held a successful strike...." :)
The Navy dished out brandy or wine not to placate the sailors, but to make the rancid water on board drinkable. Admiral Vernon, commander of the West Indies squadron substituted diluted rum, which was cheaper and more readily available. Vernon was known as "old grog" because he wore a cloak of grogram - coarse woolen cloth. I think you can see where this is going ...
Supercool video Jago. I'm going to have to watch this one again in the morning to get it all crystal. Thanks..
Brilliantly put together video. In the 1970's to the early 1990's, my Uncle & Aunt lived in Kelson House, the biggest block on the Ise for many year's. They sadly broke up & moved out, many happy memories of being on the top floor looking South to Greenwich & North into The Dockland's as the 1 Canada Square went up & the other tower's.
Thank you for this. I used to live and work around there, and it was lovely to hear and see its history. I never noticed the length of the vid, which shows how interesting the content was!
This is by far my favorite of your series. Interesting on the trade changed from one form to another but nonetheless revolves around money (and greed LOL)
Used to live there, but didn't know the history. Thanks, man!
One of the things that came out of the docks via dock workers and merch men was RnB and Blues records. My best bud's Dad was a docker and had records by the likes of Big Bill Broonzy and Huddie Leadbetter
That is also true of Southampton. As late as the 70's The docks at Southampton were a rich source or otherwise unobtainable ska and reggae records brought over for easy money by sailors on the banana boats. The Market Diner Boys (skinhead possee) could always get you a nice little bit of groove (and also US Career Club button down oxford cotton shirts, as copied by Ben Sherman).
Thanks for reminding of those days. Oh what fun we had...
@@rodjones117 Apparently, Van Morrison's Dad had the best record collection in Belfast. He worked on the shipyards.
@@Peasmouldia Excellent! Probably also says something about Liverpool, Merseybeat, the Beatles etc...
@@rodjones117 likewise New Orleans, Charleston, New York, Chicago, LA, the SF Bay Area, Seattle... nobody ever talks about Kansas City or Omaha as being great hotbeds of musical creativity! Oddly, that doesn't seem to apply here, Birmingham is in the heart of the Midlands yet has a huge musical legacy... whereas I can't think of any notable bands from Immingham, Grimsby, Hull, Gateshead/Newcastle or Edinburgh. Portsmouth and Plymouth aren't exactly New Orleans either.
@@richardharrold9736 Sure.
I once had a conversation with the great Martin Carthy and he made the same point, that ports are great cultural, and therefore musical, melting pots.
Tiger Bay, Shirley Bassey...
Agreed about many British ports, but Liverpool, Manchester and London are historic musical hubs to rival anywhere.
Interesting that the Beatles went from being founded in one great port Liverpool, to honing their live act in another, Hamburg.
Also interesting that whilst Amsterdam has never really produced any notable bands, it has been the inspiration for quite a few songs - Brel/Bowie, John Martyn, even Coldplay...
I did a gig at Canary Wharf some many years ago. IT. Couple of months. I found the place deeply depressing. Dockland railway is good, but the rest of it is mostly sterile.
we were happy to have you !
I'm a security officer at CW. I get told that a lot by people. However it's only 35 years old as it is, and before that it was pretty much a wasteland looking at the pics. You're not going to get soul from such a new place with shops hidden underground.
@@UnseenSpirit Good point. Wait until some stuff looks a bit raggedy? I liked the DLR because it was after the horrid tube to...Bank.
@@chrissaltmarsh6777 canary wharf invests in a lot for cleaning & security. You may have ntocied how clean it was to the rest of london and a lot less groups of youths with anti social behaviour etc... It's incredibly safe and I don't think it will be raggedy ever. However they have in the last year invested (millions of £'s) in lots of greenery such as planters. Its helped in my opinion covering the concrete to some extent. They have a new residential section that has shops on street level too. That helps the vibe more. However it's always going to be concrete & glass I feel
A sweet and informative video thanks Jago. I lived in Westferry for some time and know the area well so your video was of particular interest. I also work for an insurer with a syndicate at Lloyd's of London, and have run tours of the 1986 Lloyd's building - I always mention it started over a cup of coffee so your mentioning of this was wonderful.. refreshing even! Many thanks
"The legal quays system needed overhauling badly"? Really? They probably also badly needed overhauling. That said, a really excellent video Mr H, quite up to your usual excellent standard. Thank you, Simon T
The way round Jago put it is actually the grammatically correct one,but nevertheless amusingly ambiguous.
@@rjjcms1 I found it ambiguously amusing, myself.
@@CheshireTomcat68 I found myself ambiguously amused
This was truly wonderful, Jago. Really enlightening history, and description of one aspect of developing London. Thank you so much. Bernard
I loved this history video ! The history of London is fascinating. Your succinct and integrated narration is superb ! Thank you for this, and keep up the great work !
Very interesting - as a child in London all those 'docklands' were thoroughly looked down on as places where not to go - too unsafe ! Quite a difference now ! I haven't been in London for over 40 yrs so I would be lost anywhere I went now, but I still occasionally look at little videos like this to understand what is changing ! Thank you for this report, I enjoyed it very much !
there was also a celebration on a Saturday in July, every year, commemorating the dock workers, with entertainment laid on, at West India Quay in the 90s - always well-attended which pleased me a lot.
Anyone besides myself up for a personal tour from Jago?
Most informative and enjoyable, thank you. When I was a kid dockers were glamorous. On my last visit to the Science Museum there was an exhibit on sugar and a 1930s movie of unloading a shipload of sugar. They did it one sack at a time!
In the 1950s theft was looked on as a perk of the job, no wonder they containerized.
I LOVED this video! I used to live on the waterfront of Surrey Quays, (used to be called Surrey Docks) and work on Shad Thames. We’d have lunch on the balcony overlooking Shad Thames, with all its glorious historical wharfs and docks. SO MUCH history in both of those areas. Definitely my favourite part of London ❤️❤️❤️
A very well done job! I was so engrossed that I really did not notice that it was longer than normal. Plenty of information presented in an easy to understand manner. Thank you Jago.
Another brilliant tube-free episode!Thankyou
Despite your statement to the contrary, I'd say the very fact you discussed the two different possible dates and the fact that there is evidence for both makes you a true historian. The non-historian would just have asserted one of the dates and left it at that. Keep the great videos coming. From you, Geoff Marshall and Jay Foreman, I've learned an immense amount about London ...
Thanks for such an engaging and enjoyable instalment The views brought back the past 35 years of my relationship with the West India Docks from volunteering when it was a wasteland to regular visits in recent years to witness at first hand the transformation
First it was goods at the expense of people to make money on the docks now it’s international banking. Same thing different process. Very good insight, knowledge is power
Would love to see something similar for the Surrey Docks & canal
There was a railway also from that famous iron town Croydon
Great video my strongest recollections were the smell of the area. Just overpowering, Soap, Sugar, Glue (boiled bones), tobacco and brewing which came from the other side. You could cut it with a knife in the summer.
Smells are one thing hard to bring back. Remember the fishy/smoky smell of railway stations? In those days fresh fish was transported by rail, even heritage railways don't have that.
@@trek520rider2 The DMU running galas traditionally have fish and chips suppers (see Spa Valley Railway for example !)
Before west India dock, a canal was created across the top of the Isle of dogs, where West India dock was built. The idea was using the canal would be quicker than sailing around the Isle of dogs, but in fact that turned out not to be the case.
Fascinating, history is people and the effects from using them. You seem to have done a good job; thanks.
Excellent video as always Jago.
Fascinating, well researched, filmed and edited.
Well, what more can I say.
Except perhaps...Quality that's the quay....sorry. key..lol.
An excellent concise video. There is a lot of history to condense. Per Mulberry Harbours: in 'A harbour goes to war', many component parts were made all over the UK in specifically obscure places; hard to know about, hard to find, scattered all over the country. Garlieston in Dumfrieshire was specifically mentioned, and I believe the Swiss Rolls were tested there; also Newhaven, Leith (not E Sussex) where there are photos of pontoons being built and tested in Leith Docks in 1943. I believe Faslane was also used. I remember Faslane because they dropped the legs on the land side of the pontoon, which duly hit bottom, as they should, but on the loch side of it, they topped out, so steep are the sides of Loch Long.
"The Match Girls at Bryant & May held a successful strike". . Brilliant pun. And you just glossed over it.
Good stuff Jago, thanks for another interesting video.
A lot of things I never understood about my own country (the still fledgeling and frail usa) now makes a lot of sense after your video Mr. Jago, I enjoyed it very much and would like to visit that museam where so much toil and construction was accomplished... although that sure aint gonna happen any time soon...cheers from Jacksonville Florida.
Up until 2012, I worked for the LB of Tower Hamlets, so used the DLR to & from Bank Station on a daily basis. This fascinating video very much reminded me of those happy days - so cheers Jago ! 🍺🍺😎
Great video as ever. I have to agree about the transformation since the 80s has been stark. Even in the past 10 years things have moved on dramatically. I used to watch the London marathon religiously every year, and it's incredible how things have changed in the Isle of Dogs - it's odd that the trivial things stand out. There was a pub called the City Pride, where there was always a jazz band playing as the runners went past. I remember year after year that was a regular feature - although I have to confess I don't recall passing when I did the marathon in 1997! Perhaps in the past 10 years I've not seen this pub or its jazz band, so I guess it has been replaced by some new temple of mammon.
Of course I don't want to live a country that knocks down its history every generation and replaces it with something shiny and new. but I also get a buzz from a place that is continually reinventing itself.
The City Pride closed in 2010 and was demolished in 2012. The site is now occupied by the Landmark Pinnacle; a 233 metre apartment block. I had no great love for the City Pride but I preferred it to yet another glass monolith.
@@jimm.3845 Cheers for the info :)
Great teacher for lifelong learners!
5:57 only a Merc owner would have the audacity to park on a Zebra Crossing 😂
It's not only Merc owners it's just that Jago reuses footage.
Yes, the scooter parked on the zig-zags in the foreground looks positively law-abiding by comparison!
Really enjoyed this, thanks! I still remember a school trip to the docklands when they were building Canary Wharf and the surrounding buildings/blocks were flat cleared wasteland. I was about 8 and it was quite surreal.
Brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable, I lived in the area throughout the 1980’s and have always been interested in this subject. Looking forward to the next instalment ! Great photography by the way.
I remember visiting the area in the mid 80s for work purposes and seeing nothing but a building site. Only the pubs were left standing.
I found this to be especially interesting since my uncles worked as longshoremen (stevedores) on the docks in New York and New Jersey. Jago noted that at one time 4% of all goods transported through the London docks were stolen. In postwar Murica the FBI estimated that the mafia (which controlled the longshoreman's union) stole at least 10% of everything shipped through the Port of New York. The FBI referred to that theft as a 'mob tax'. For years containerization was delayed as the longshoremen's union put up very stiff resistance to the proposal....since containerization would greatly cut down on theft. In 1968 containerization was put in place and all the NYC docks were closed with the entire operation moved across the Hudson River to Port Newark in New Jersey. Today Port Newark is the largest cargo port facility on the East Coast of the United States.
This was a wonderful blog that I wished I had seen before I went to the museum last week.
A full video on the Great Dock Strike would be very welcome. I am a relative of one of the organisers, Ben Tillett who signed the General Manifesto at 12:17 . The Wade Arms mentioned just above his name is in fact a pub that they used as their base of operations. The whole thing nearly went sideways but they were rescued from destitution by the Australian dockers sending them about £20,000 which enabled the strike to keep going as they distributed the money to the poorer men who therefore were not forced back to work. All in all a very interesting story.
I lived on the IoD from 1996 til 2003. I liked it as it had Canary Wharf, I lived opposite Greenwich, some old pubs and I grew to like the trad East Enders.
Glad I left when I did though.
One of your most interesting videos Jago! My granddad and his elders were born in this area of London and worked as Lightermen, probably in these docks. I worked at the (now gone) Westferry printers back in the 90s, more like this please :)
One thing I LOVE about London is it’s ability to change and adapt with the times. This video is a great example of the ability of London through government and private means to change.
Watching From The Caribbean 🇻🇨
Worked on Canary wharf in 1990... happy days I was only 18 and just about to take on the 90s
Jago thank you that was a Brilliant Post Keep safe!
2:19 Excellent! The Starbucks on the left, just excellent.
A superb and comprehensive history. Well done Jago!
Fantastic video as always! What incredible history and transformation of such a large area is really impressive. It is great to see that they kept some great relics like the cranes and various structures and the overall shape of the water ways and port facilities area. The move to containerization lead to so many cities with decaying port facilities all over the world so it is great to see such a nice revitalization.
I found this very interesting. I know you mentioned that it was longer than normal and I did notice that, but it kept my attention all the way through. Great video.
hats off, Jago ! what a comprehensive history of the docks, for good or for evil, there it all is. thanks for including the Customs House, which is still there, near West Ferry station. i could add bits & pieces, like: you would still see Paul or Albert Reichmann walking through the development buildings to catch the DLR on Friday lunchtime for hometime.
I used to drive into most of the Docks, picking up loads and taking them somewhere else! Loved it.
Excellent!
Yes, I once again enjoyed this video and as usual look forward to the next video. I could see how my life could have easily been completely different if you had been my history teacher, I know you don't claim to be a historian but rubbish I say. From across the pond I also say thank you for peeking an interest I didn't know I had.
Loving your stuff Jago. I've learned more than I did at school.
I remember walking around the then dying docks in the mid 1970s, the same time I had started working in the City. The concept that the docks area would in time become the center of the world’s finance I would never have got to. I have always thought it interesting what the alternative would have been if O&Y had never started The Canary Wharf project. Would the City have expanded eastwards anyway (at least one major bank went to Alie Street) or where there other areas that might have been considered?
Its interesting the flow down Bishopsgate for Example. The Original buildings for finance had sort of gone round London Wall - built after WW2 they were full of asbestos panelling and becoming difficult to repair and let. the move to Docklands gave the City some breathing space to renew those buildings, change around Bishopsgate and later create the new London Skyline. Its interesting that London actually expanded in its financial square footage , both in the City and in Docklands.
@@highpath4776 I hadn’t thought about the asbestos. One issue (I worked for a Bank on the infrastructure side) was that cabling became an issue in particular for trading rooms. False floors were getting so deep that older buildings didnt have the remaining ceiling height which made more modern builds popular. Canary Wharf is also interesting with the idea that it is a live/work development. Not too many financial districts around the world can boast that.
Thanks Jago - your best yet, Keep 'em coming.
Excellent video!!!
Thanks great video love that area.
Jago, you are a good narrator
ThankYou. Very interesting, great images.
Your film may have been longer than planned, but it was worth every moment.
I love these videos. I am both Educated and Entertained in bite sized digestible portions. Great for dyslexics as would take ages to do the research themselves. Thank you
Wow! What a lot of research must have gone into this video.
Thank you for a clear and enjoyable episode of London's history.