Port of London

About Port of London

Port of London Authority Building, Trinity Square Gardens, Tower Hill

Port of London Authority building on Charterhouse Street

The 'Port of London' lies along the banks of the River Thames in London, England.
Technically the Port of London consists of all the tidal portion of the River Thames from Margate on the south coast, and Clacton-on-Sea on the north, through to Teddington, a total of around 95 miles (150 km). The port is governed by the Port of London Authority (est. 1908) which has its headquarters at London River House in Gravesend, Kent. From the City of London via the Thames Conservancy, the PLA has inherited ownership of the bed of the river and foreshore from Teddington to the Yantlet Line between Southend and Grain.^[1]
The Port of London was central to the economy of London from Saxon times. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the busiest port in the World, with wharves extending continuously along the Thames for 11 miles, and over 1,500 cranes handling 60,000 ships per year. In World War II it was a prime target for the Luftwaffe during The Blitz.
With the use of larger ships and containerisation, the importance of the port declined throughout the second half of the 20th century. As it includes Tilbury, it remains one of the three largest ports in the United Kingdom, in terms of number of containers, after those at Southampton and Felixstowe (the order changes from time to time).
The Port currently handles 50 million tonnes of cargo each year and 12,500 commercial ships, which use 73 operational wharves. This represents around 10% of the UK commercial shipping trade, and contributes over 35,000 jobs and 8.5 billion pounds to the UK's economy.
Much of the disused land of the London Docklands is in the process of being developed for housing and as a second financial district for London. 29 wharves have been protected from development to ensure they are retained for commercial shipping.
The body that has management of the Port is the Port of London Authority (PLA), established in 1909. The PLA Head Office at Trinity Square Gardens was built by John Mowlem & Co and completed in 1919.

The London docks in 1882. The King George V Dock had not yet been built.

External links

1. London Assembly standard letter re access to the River Thames - PDF (view as HTML)

★ Port of London - the website of the PLA.

★ The Port of London in 1819

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

Deals to Port of London

Travel Articles

	Discover Ethiopia: Top 10 Attractions and Sights
	Harley Davidson Sightseeing Tours in Melbourne Australia
	The 5 Coolest Places in the World & on Earth
	Austria Offers New Wine in the Old World
	Canadian Tour Revives Historic Saskatchewan Open at Dakota Dunes
	Forget Bora Bora: Have a Real Honeymoon in Tikehau, French Poly

Recent Blogs

Off to Trinidad+Tobago!

Did you know?

Bolivia has 2 capitals: La Paz is the government's administrative capital, while Sucre is the legal/judicial branch of the government is located and is Bolivia's historic capital.
Mexico, Zambia, Kiribati, Fiji, and Egypt all have birds on their flags.
Stone tools were first used by Homo Habilis in East Africa about 2.6million years ago