THE PORT OF LONDON.
The Port of London commences at London Bridge. The forest of masts which rises in direct view—thickening in perspective till it is lost in the distance—announces the vast extent of that Commerce which stretches its arms to the "uttermost parts of the globe." The Pool, as this part of the river is called, extends from London Bridge to Deptford,—a distance of nearly four miles, with an average breadth of from four to five hundred yards. It consists of four divisions, called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Pools, and that occupying the space between Limehouse and Deptford. The Upper Pool extends from London Bridge to Union Hole—a space of about sixteen hundred yards; from this to Wapping New Stairs forms the Middle Pool—about seven hundred yards. The Lower Pool extends from the latter point to Horseferry Pier, Limehouse—about eighteen hundred yards. The fourth Pool occupies the space between Limehouse and Deptford—about two thousand seven hundred yards.
The Custom-House, which is a prominent feature in this View, was first erected in 1559—very shortly after the accession of Queen Elizabeth; but, having shared the fate of the other public buildings in the great fire of London, it was rebuilt, two years after by Charles the Second. By a similar calamity, however, this was also burnt to the ground in 1718, and a third erected, which—strange to say—was also consumed in 1814. The fourth, which is the present magnificent structure, was opened for business in May, 1817. It was erected from the designs of David Laing, Esq.; but, in consequence of certain defects, which threatened destruction to a considerable portion of the building, the Long Room, as it is called, was shored up, the front next to the river taken down, and the present front as shown in the Engraving, was substituted by Mr. Smirke. The whole is erected on an extensive and magnificent scale.
The London and St. Katherine's Docks are seen a little to the right, and afford accommodation to a vast number of shipping. The London Dock covers twenty acres: fourteen tobacco-warehouses cover an acre each; the cellars occupy three acres, and can accommodate twenty-two thousand pipes of wine. The St. Katherine's Dock covers the extensive area of ground which a few years ago was occupied by the parish of St. Katherine; the whole of which, comprising above twelve hundred houses, was bought and pulled down, at an outlay of two millions sterling, for the construction of these magnificent basins and warehouses, with which nothing that mercantile enterprise has hitherto effected can bear a comparison. The old parish church of St. Katherine was built on the site of an ancient monastery founded in the twelfth century by Matilda of Boulogne. A rich hospital and various benefactions have belonged to this parish ever since its original endowment; for the perpetuation of which a handsome church and several dwelling-houses were erected near Gloucester Gate, Regent's Park, the emoluments connected with which were bestowed by the late Queen Adelaide, in whose gift they were, upon persons belonging to the royal household, or otherwise recommended to her Majesty.
In front of these docks is a spacious steam-packet wharf; and from this point to Rotherhithe the river—here called the Middle Pool—is generally so crowded with shipping at anchor, or rapidly passing up and down, that it requires both skill and caution on the part of the helmsman to avoid collision. It is here that strangers can form an exact idea of the vast traffic by which the Thames is continually animated, and to which there is no parallel in the cities of commercial Europe.
Notwithstanding the obvious utility of wet-docks, and the vast trade of the British Metropolis, there was no establishment of this sort on the Thames till nearly a century after a wet-dock had been constructed at Liverpool. The inconvenience arising from the crowded state of the river at those periods when the fleets of merchantmen were accustomed to arrive, the very insufficient accommodation afforded by the legal quays and sufferance-wharfs; the necessity under which many ships were placed of unloading in the river by means of fighters, and the insecurity and loss of property thence arising, had been felt and complained of as an intolerable grievance. But so powerful was the opposition to any change, made by the private wharfingers and others interested in the support of the existing order of things, that it was not till 1793 that a plan was projected for making wet-docks for the Port of London, yet the activity and enterprise of the merchants and shipowners of the metropolis have, since that date, amply compensated for their lost time, and the docks of London are now models of superiority in that peculiar department of civil engineering.
Though not included in the engraving, the recent improvements which have been effected in its vicinity by the public spirit of the Corporation of London, demand a passing tribute of admiration. The New Coal Exchange is an edifice worthy of the purpose for which it was designed—the mart for the sale of one of Great Britain's most valuable products; and Billingsgate is now a market fitting for a city containing two millions of inhabitants.