An escape from the City in the heart of London, St. Katharine Docks transport you to another world, a world of glamorous boats, calm waters and a hint of the exotic…
Here follows a personal photo album of St. Katharine Docks from 2019 to 2024, and at the end, a timeline with a few important dates. I have added links to further information on some of the boats featured here, together with links at the foot of this article, to good sites for exploring the history of the docks.
Some special occasions and special boats
Andrew Murray, who came from South Africa to live in London, was best known in the 1980s for his cheerful naive paintings, widely reproduced on calendars, cards and posters. This painting of St. Katharine Docks shows the historic ships that were moored there at the time. The Royal Research Ship RRS DISCOVERY, now moored at Discovery Point in Dundee; the sailing barge SB CAMBRIA; the Light Vessel LV86 NORE; and the SS ROBIN.
Brief Historical Background of St. Katharine Docks
1148: Matilda of Boulogne, wife of the “usurper” King Stephen, founded a hospital “for the repose of the souls” of her son and daughter and for the “maintenance of a master and several poor brothers and sisters.” It was linked to the Priory of Holy Trinity at Aldgate.
Mid 13th Century: Peter Stone writes in The History of the Port of London that “from the time of Queen Eleanor wife of Edward I, the Foundation of St Katharine’s came under the patronage of each queen consort, queen dowager or reigning queen” and the Precinct was thereby protected from development. However, Stone explains that with the death of Queen Charlotte in 1818, wife of George III, who died in 1820, followed by the death of Caroline, the estranged wife of George IV in 1821, “St. Katharine’s lacked the royal protection of a queen consort”. Shortly afterwards, after much manoeuvring between conflicting parties, St. Katharine’s long and dramatic history as a religious and charitable institution was brought to a close when commercial pressures took precedence.
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Timeline from the creation of St. Katharine Docks
1825: The St. Katharine Dock Bill was passed by Parliament, transferring 13 acres of land to the St. Katharine Dock Company.
1828: The St. Katharine Docks, designed by chief engineer Thomas Telford were opened on October 25. The warehouses were designed by Sir Phillp Hardwick and allowed cargoes to be unloaded directly into the storage areas rather than onto the quayside, which greatly speeded up the process.
1940-1941: The docks and surrounding warehouses were badly damaged during the Blitz, and all those around the eastern basin were destroyed.
1957: The dock entrance lock was rebuilt.
1968: The docks were officially closed.
1973: The Tower Hotel, designed by the Renton Howard Wood Partnership in the Brutalist style, was opened.
1970s: Saw the demolition of most of the original warehouses
1976: The Dickens Inn was created from an old docks’ warehouse by Cedric Dickens, grandson of the great author.
1990s: Completion of development around the eastern basin.
Sources and further Information
British History Online: St. Kathrine Docks
A comprehensive history of the Docks by the author of A London Inheritance: St. Katharine Docks
Links to useful documents: St. Katharine Docks
Northern University of London: History of St. Katharine Docks
Story Maps of St. Katharine Docks’ History.
Peter Stone’s excellent: The History of the Port of London, 2017
You can follow three different Twitter-X accounts on St. Katharine Docks: @StKats and @StKatsMarina; Friends of St. Katharine Docks @OfficialFOSKD