Ships Being Unloaded in the Pool of London with Tower Bridge in the Background

Description:

This photograph shows merchant ships in the Port of London, with Tower Bridge in the background. In the 18th and 19th centuries, and into the 20th, the Port of London was a hub of world trade, and formed the backbone of London?s economy. The area known as Docklands today was filled with warehouses where ships from all over the British Empire and the world were loaded and unloaded. However, from the late 1960s to the 1980s, the Port of London declined massively, and many of the docks and warehouses along the riverside closed down. This led to the development of the Docklands from the 1980s onwards as an area of corporate offices and high-status housing.

Production Date:

c1910

ID no:

BGATE_LONDON COLLECTION PHOTOGRAPHS/L42 4

Maker:

Bishopsgate Institute

Copyright:

Bishopsgate Institute