| Blackwall | |
|---|---|
 Virginia Quay, the line that runs down the centre of the avenue marking theprime meridian | |
  Blackwall | |
| Population | 19,461 (2011 Census. Blackwall and Cubitt Town Ward)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ385805 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E14 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°30′23″N0°00′12″W / 51.5063°N 0.0034°W /51.5063; -0.0034 | |
Blackwall is an area ofPoplar,[2] in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets,East London. The neighbourhood includesLeamouth and theColdharbourconservation area.[3]
The area takes its name from a historic stretch of riverside wall built along an outside curve of theThames, to protect the area from flooding. Along with the rest of Poplar, Blackwall has its origin in theManor and Ancient Parish of Stepney. While mostly residential, thePoplar Dock andBlackwall Basin provide moorings for vessels.
The area's significance derived from its position on an outside curve of the Thames, where currents slowed down, making it a sheltered spot useful to a range of shipping activities. This sheltered position was enhanced by the presence of theBlackwall Rock reef, though this could also be a danger to shipping. A further advantage of the area was that it lay east of the Isle of Dogs, so loading and unloading here avoided that time and effort of sailing round that peninsula to London, while still being very close to the City of London.
The area developed on the riverside, next toPoplar's East Marsh and was known as Blackwall by at least the 14th century;[4] taking its name from the colour of the river wall, built - with its stairs - in theMiddle Ages. Having never been an administrative unit, the area lacks formal definition, but can be broadly described as the part of Poplar close to theThames on the north-east part of theIsle of Dogs peninsula extending eastward to the confluence of the Thames andLea.
Blackwall gives its name toBlackwall Reach, the stretch of the Thames east of the Isle of Dogs.[5]Blackwall Reach gives its name toBlackwall Point, the northern tip of theGreenwich Peninsula, south of the Thames inGreenwich (and not in Blackwall).
Blackwall was historically part of theHamlet of Poplar, an autonomous area of theManor and Ancient Parish of Stepney inMiddlesex. TheHamlet of Poplar became an independentparish in 1817. The civil parish of Poplar had avestry committee which organised services such aspoor relief and road maintenance.[6] Indeed, the wholeIsle of Dogs was until the late 20th century referred to as being in Poplar.[7] In 1965, theMetropolitan Borough of Poplar merged with its neighbours to form the newLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Blackwall Yard became a major sea hub, and the district was a significant part of thePort of London, and involved with important voyages for over 400 years. Shipfitting and repair was taking place by 1485[9] and shipbuilding would take place in the area later too. In 1576,Martin Frobisher left Blackwall and landed atFrobisher Bay onBaffin Island, claiming it for England (itsfirst overseas possession) in the name ofQueen Elizabeth I. Frobisher was funded by theMuscovy Company seeking theNorth West Passage.[10][11] In the early years of the 17th century the port was the main departure point of theEnglish colonisation ofNorth America and theWest Indies launched by theLondon Company. On 20 December 1606, three ships,Susan Constant,Godspeed andDiscovery, sailed from Blackwall, landing inVirginia on 26 April 1607 to establish the first permanent English settlement,Jamestown.[12]
TheEast andWest India Docks were constructed at the beginning of the 19th century.
Leamouth Wharf was the site of theSamuda Brothers,Orchard House Yard andThames Iron Works shipyards which were major centres of employment. In 1895,Arnold Hills the owner of the Thames Iron Works and foremanDave Taylor set up aworks team,Thames Ironworks F.C. The club would later be reformed asWest Ham United F.C.[13][14]
Until 1987, Blackwall was a centre of shipbuilding and repair. This activity principally includedBlackwall Yard, theOrchard House Yard and theThames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company which included land in both Blankwall andCanning Town, which is east of theLea in the old parish and borough ofWest Ham. The Blackwall Yard (two of whose former dry docks can still be seen around the present-dayReuters building) built the firstBlackwall Frigates.
TheLondon and Blackwall Railway was one of the earliest railway systems in London, operating from 1840. it was also one of the smallest, running from Fenchurch Street Station in the city to Blackwall, a journey of less than twenty minutes, but which was very important to connect to Gravesend passenger boats. Near theBlackwall railway station was built the Brunswick Hotel, located on the Greenwich Meridian line. In its early years, it apparently attracted a fairly elegant crowd, including William IV on an occasion connected with the opening or expansion of the burgeoning docks in the area. Its prime customer base was emigrants (mostly to Australia) who would wait here until they could board small steamers to take them to the large sea-going liners at Gravesend. In the days of sail, these passengers might have to wait for days or weeks until the winds were favourable; but by the end of the century the substitution of steam power and rail links on the south bank of the Thames greatly reduced the viability of the hotel. No evidence remains of either the hotel (demolished in the 1920s) or the railway station (demolished 1946); they stood between Jamestown Way and the Thames.
TheBlackwall Tunnel, opened in 1892–1897, carries road traffic under the Thames from Blackwall to theGreenwich Peninsula.[15][16]
TheBrunswick Wharf Power Station was built byPoplar Borough Council for theBritish Electricity Authority (BEA) in 1952, on the site of the former East India Export Dock. The power station was controversial due to potentialair pollution in a densely populated part of London.[17]
Coldharbour is said to be "the sole remaining fragment of the old hamlet of Blackwall" and "one of the last examples of the narrow streets which once characterised the river's perimeter".[18] It is today largely residential and no longer has any industrial and maritime activities. The Coldharbour Conservation Area, designated in 1975 and then expanded in 2008, has several listed historic buildings as well as engineering structures once part of the former docks.[19]
Northumberland Wharf is still retained as a workingwharf, this has special status by theMayor of London and thePort of London Authority (PLA) as asafeguarded wharf. It is run by Cory Riverside Energy who also managed the Reuse and Recycling Centre which is next to the wharf and for the transportation of waste by barge along the River Thames.[20][21]
The 1980s, Blackwall saw the area first redevelopment project, a luxury housing complex calledJamestown Harbour over theBlackwall Basin, designed by WCEC Architects for theWates Group and was completed by 1985. Jamestown Harbour was one of the first housing developments of theLondon Docklands. With its brick-built warehouse-style exteriors and distinctive blue and red balconies, it was designed to recreate the appearance of traditional river and dockside warehouses.[22]
In the 2000s, a residential developmentNew Providence Wharf began to be built, which was designed and built bySkidmore, Owings & Merrill andBallymore Group and saw theOntario Tower and Providence Tower (now theCharrington Tower) completed in 2007 and 2016 respectively.[23][24]
The formerLondon and Blackwall Railway ran fromMinories to Blackwall by way ofStepney, a distance of three and half miles. This was authorised in 1836 as "The Commercial Railway", running close toCommercial Road in theEast End of London to theBlackwall railway station.[25]
The areas major roads; theA1261 (Aspen Way) and the A102 Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road bring a significant degree of air pollution and community severance.[26]
London Buses routes D3 on west-east Blackwall Way, and D6, D7 and N550 on north-south Preston Road give local access to neighbouring Poplar,Leamouth, theIsle of Dogs andCanary Wharf.
TheThames Path (north bank)National Trail which opened in 1996 is connected to Blackwall, it enters the district at the South Dock Entrance and goes via Coldharbour and Blackwall Way and rejoins the River Thames at Virginia Wharf till theEast India Dock at Blackwall Point.[27][28]
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