CANARY WHARF THROUGH THE AGES WELCOME! THE 1600S – MARSHLAND The story of Canary Wharf is the story of London’s Docklands – full ondon has been a busy port since the Romans settled in Britain, of villains, ambition, setbacks and triumphs. L nearly 2000 years ago. But the Isle of Dogs wasn’t built upon until a long time after that. This is because the area was a marshland, You’ll meet kings and queens, sailors and pirates, captains of boats regularly flooded by the River Thames. Things slowly changed as to captains of industry. walls were built on the banks of the Thames to stop the flooding. It is also the story of the people who worked on the river and in the docks, those who built the famous towers and the people who work in them every day. By the Ships constantly sailed up and 1600s, nearly Inside, you will read the story of how Canary Wharf started. You’ll also get a down the river as London became two-thirds of behind-the-scenes glimpse of what happens in the buildings today. one of the most important trading England’s trade cities in the world. went through Perhaps we’ll see you at the Wharf one day. Page 12-17 the port of Page 4 Fold-out London Trade, ships Page 5 We hope you enjoy it! section of a and pirates! New docks bring tower and in a new era! The Canary Wharf Group Canary Wharf today! Page 8-9 A changing Docklands From the 13th century, landowners began building flood-protection walls. Made of mud and chalk, they were up to 4.6m high and needed constant repair. How many dogs In the late 1600s, windmills were Page 18-19 can you spot built on the western flood wall Wild herbs growing Canary in this and used to grind corn. The area on the marshland Page 6-7 Page 10-11 Wharf – the became known as Millwall. were made into book? Bombs and A new start people and medicines. gas masks! for the area their jobs THE RIVER THAMES The City No one knows where the name St Paul’s Canary Isle of Dogs comes from. Some 5 Cathedral 6 Tower of Wharf The O2 say it’s because King Henry VIII 7 London kept his hunting dogs here. 4 3 CHILD’S PLAY 8 London Eye 2 In the 1600s, only boys went to 1 Houses of school. Girls, if they did study, Parliament did so at home. And there were 9 no lie-ins either! Classes started at 1. Tower Bridge 6. Waterloo Bridge 6am in the summer and an hour 2. London Bridge 7. Hungerford later in the winter. But there was 3. Southwark Bridge Bridge Isle of Dogs still time for fun – some of the 4. Millennium 8. Westminster Animals grazed on games children played then, such Bridge Bridge the lush grass, before as Hopscotch and Blind Man’s 5. Blackfriars Bridge 9. Lambeth Bridge being taken to Bluff, are still played to this day. market in London. Published by The Canary Wharf Group plc. Written and designed for The Canary Wharf Group plc by B3 Creative Ltd; www.b3creative.com. Illustrations: Martin Hargreaves. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior CANARY WHARF: THROUGH THE AGES 3 consent of the copyright owner. © b3 Creative 2014 THE 1780S – THE BUSIEST THE 1800S – PORT IN THE WORLD BRAND NEW DOCKS! uring the 1780s, London was the world’s busiest port. The ith parliament’s approval, the first of the Isle of Dogs’ DRiver Thames near London Bridge was so crowded it Wdocks was completed in 1802. It was opened by Prime was said you could walk from one side of the river to the Minister, Henry Addington. To try to keep out river gangs other by hopping from ship to ship! Ships could wait for who stole goods, the docks were surrounded by a high wall HOOPS OF FUN! weeks to unload their cargoes. That meant precious food and a wide ditch with a moat. A favourite game for children in the 1800s was rolling a hoop. It doesn’t rotted, while many other goods were stolen by gangs of river The largest ship of the time Children as young as have as much variety as an iPad but pirates who went by names such as the Night Plunderers and was the SS Great Eastern. four were forced to at least the battery doesn’t run out! Heavy Horsemen. Something had to be done… Built on the Isle of Dogs and The new docks, such work long hours in TINKY launched in 1858, it was as West India Docks, dangerous factories. People came In 1851, there were 4000 S ! were named after the Unusual produce Over-crowded 211m long. That’s over twice Can you imagine that? to marvel at people living on the Isle The River Thames far-off colonies and came to London River Thames. the length of a football pitch! the new docks. of Dogs but not enough contained sewage and countries that goods from around the homes for them. By 1901, even dead bodies. The came from. globe, including the population had risen pineapples, ginger, whiff was so bad, you to 21,000! sugar and rum. could smell London from several miles away! In 1799, parliament agreed Criminals were hanged to building of a new dock at Execution Dock. They on the Isle of Dogs. Goods were left until the tide Armed men could be unloaded quickly had passed over them kept order. and safely. Plus, they would three times to make sure not be stolen nor left to rot. they were really dead! WHALE I NEVER! Oil from sperm whale’s blubber was SLAVES AND LONDON THE SLAVE TRADE TRIANGLE used to light factories and homes right INDUSTRY In the 1700s, London became Britain’s 1 Ships travel from Europe to Africa, where up until the 1900s. Boilers and Isambard Kingdom largest slaving port. Between 1618 and traders buy slaves with goods such as copper, tanks were built in Rotherhithe Brunel was one of 1730, it is estimated that up to one million paper, glass, guns and cloth. 2 Africans are where oil was extracted from huge Britain’s greatest Africans, including children, were trafficked shipped to the West Indies sheets of whale blubber. engineers. With his by London merchants. The sale of enslaved and Americas to work father, he built the people and the sugar they were forced to as slaves. 3 Goods first tunnel under produce created vast wealth in London. such as sugar, the Thames in 1843. 3 He went on to build But it was at a huge cost to those rum and cotton, 1 enslaved, who suffered awful produced by slaves, the ship SS Great misery and enormous hardship. are sold in Europe. 2 Whalebone was used to make Eastern (see above). tight corsets for dresses. Ouch! London Maritime Museum, Greenwich, © National 4 CANARY WHARF: THROUGH THE AGES CANARY WHARF: THROUGH THE AGES 5 Besides bombs, Londoners had to watch out for planes dropping incendiaries DID YOU (small fire bombs). KNOW? THE BLITZ During the Blitz, uring World War Two (1939-1945), German London Zoo had to aeroplanes bombed Britain – and one of the first put down all its D The mega-strong beam poisonous snakes and areas to be hit was the Isle of Dogs. The bombing was of a searchlight could insects in case they reach 4.5km! called the Blitz after a German word, “blitzkrieg”: it escaped! means “lightning war”. The Germans wanted to destroy the Docklands, its warehouses and its cargoes. The bombs also devastated factories and people’s homes. By the end of With their homes With factories and houses on destroyed, people the Blitz, in May 1941, thousands of Londoners had died and fire, temperatures reached had no water to many people had been made homeless and moved away. 1000°C – that’s hot enough wash, cook or even to melt aluminium! go to the toilet! Posters from the Twenty-eight bombs Fire spread quickly through Government reminded landed on St Paul’s the tightly packed factories people to recycle clothes Cathedral during the full of timber, paint, and grow their own food. Blitz but it survived. engines and flour. Dogs were heroes in the Blitz. They Children older than 16, helped sniff out including Boy Scouts people buried and Girl Guides, helped under rubble. as messengers On some Blitz nights, and as lookouts the Thames was at for fires. low tide – and that During the Blitz, meant firefighters could not get water to Families evacuated King George VI put out the fires. from their homes and the Queen visited the Docklands to show left notes on front Butter, sugar and oil, their support for local doors so they could that was shipped into people whose lives be contacted. the Docks, burned in had been affected by smelly puddles. the bombings. “I eat rations: baked beans and, if I’m lucky, half a sausage. We have Marmite, too! Our school gives us milk.” “I always carry my gas mask with me just in case.” Ration books contained tokens. SHRAPNEL People exchanged ANDERSON SHELTERS them for food, such A favourite Blitz game was People built Anderson shelters in their “Mum and Dad keep our as sugar, that was collecting shrapnel – fragments of back gardens to take cover from bombs air raid bag ready.