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Port of Tilbury

The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London.

Port of Tilbury
Container ship Carpathia unloading at Northfleet Hope terminal
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
CountryUK
LocationTilbury, Essex
Coordinates51°27′36″N 0°20′42″E / 51.46°N 0.345°E / 51.46; 0.345
Details
Opened1886
Owned byForth Ports
No. of berths34
Statistics
Website
https://forthports.co.uk/tilbury-london/
Port of Tilbury
Port of Tilbury
Location within Essex
OS grid referenceTQ639761
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceEssex
FireEssex
AmbulanceEast of England
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°27′36″N 0°20′42″E / 51.46°N 0.345°E / 51.46; 0.345

Geography edit

The Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames, 25 miles (40 km) downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to 800 yards (730 m). The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches: within the meander was a huge area of marshland. Gravesend on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers. There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet at the mouth of the Ebbsfleet River. The new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity. The original docks consisted of a tidal basin on Gravesend Reach opposite Northfleet, connected by a lock to a main dock with three side branches named East, Central and West Branch docks. Between the tidal basin and Main Dock were two dry docks.

History edit

Construction edit

The original docks of London, all built close to the City, were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company (E&WIDC) at the beginning of the 19th century. With the coming of the railways and increasing ship size, proximity to the centre of London became less important than access to deep water, unrestricted sites and reduction in time spent travelling up the winding Thames. The company had long been in competition with its rival, the London and St Katherine Dock Company (L&StKDC). The opening of the Royal Albert Dock by the L&StKDC, with its deepwater quayage, in 1880 had given access to the Thames at Gallions Reach, 11 miles (18 km) by river below London Bridge and downstream of the then principal London docks. The E&WIDC were forced to retaliate.[1]

In July 1882, an Act of Parliament allowed the latter to construct the docks at Tilbury. The construction encountered difficulties when the contractors, Kirk & Randell unexpectedly encountered blue clay and claimed extra costs. The Company had them ejected from the site in 1884, triggering expensive legal action.[2] For a while the East & West India Company continued construction with their own workers until the firm of Lucas and Aird was engaged to complete the work.[3] The first vessel entered the docks on 17 April 1886.[4] This was the Glenfruin carrying the official party for the opening ceremony.[5] The opening of the dock took place at the beginning of the steamship era, and its location soon proved to be advantageous.[6]

 
A map of the town from 1946
 
Ship discharging at Tilbury Grain Terminal
 
Tilbury Docks, June 2017

Docks expansion edit

In 1909 Tilbury, along with the upstream docks, became part of the newly established Port of London Authority (PLA).[7]

In 1921, and again in 1929, the PLA carried out major improvements. These included a new lock 1,000 feet (300 m) long and 110 ft (34 m) wide, linking the docks directly to the Thames to the west at Northfleet Hope, and a third dry dock, 752 feet (229 m) long and 110 feet (34 m) wide. These works were carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine.[8]

During the 1960s, at the time when the upstream docks were closing, the PLA further extended the Tilbury dock facilities. Between 1963 and 1966 a huge fourth branch dock, running north from Main Dock for nearly 1 mile (1.6 km), was constructed. The tidal basin was closed and eventually filled in. In 1969 a £6 million riverside grain terminal on Northfleet Hope was brought into use.[9]

The PLA funded a new £30 million container port which opened in 1967. Labour issues prevented full service from starting until April 1970, although United States Lines reached an agreement with the union to begin service in 1968.[10]

Near the Dockmaster's office, on New Lock, is a memorial to Captain Peter de Neumann, GM, who was killed there in an accident on 16 September 1972.[11] In 1978, a deep water riverside berth was opened for large container ships on reclaimed land at Northfleet Hope.[6]

In 1992 the port was privatised and became part of the Forth Ports organisation, the PLA retaining the role of managing the tidal Thames.[12]

Rolf Harris visited the Docks in 2004 during a TV episode of Rolf on Art, when he recreated J. M. W. Turner's famous painting The Fighting Temeraire.[13]

On 25 January 2012 Otter Ports Holdings Ltd, owner of Forth Ports, acquired from DP World Limited ("DP World") and Associated British Ports Ltd ("AB Ports") the 67% ownership of Tilbury Container Services Ltd ("TCS") not already owned by Forth Ports in a cash transaction. Forth Ports had been a one third shareholder in TCS since 1998 along with partners DP World and AB Ports. TCS is located within the Port of Tilbury, which is wholly owned by Forth Ports.[14][15]

In October 2019, 39 people were found dead in a truck at nearby Grays. The truck was moved to the Port of Tilbury the next day, so that more investigations could be undertaken. After that, the bodies were moved to Broomfield Hospital.[16][17]

Port of Tilbury recently announced a joint development with Tarmac, a partnership which will see the UK's largest construction materials aggregates terminal (CMAT) built on a 152-acre site. The joint development of the CMAT is expected to see most operations established by the end of 2020.[18]

London Cruise Terminal edit

 
Tilbury International Cruise Terminal, viewed from the water in 2015

One of the shipping lines using the docks was the P&O. Tilbury became the only port in the PLA to serve ocean liners, when, in 1916, it opened berths specifically for the P&O within the dock complex. With the need for expanded facilities, a large new passenger landing stage was constructed in the Thames jointly by the PLA and the London Midland and Scottish Railway, with rail connections. It was opened in May 1930 by Ramsay MacDonald.[19]

Tilbury operated as London's passenger liner passenger terminal until the 1960s. For many people Tilbury was their point of emigration to Australia under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Australian Government. The 'Ten Pound Poms' as they were known in Australia, embarked on to ships such as RMS Mooltan and set off for a new life. Tilbury was also a port of entry for many immigrants; among them being a large group of West Indians on HMT Empire Windrush in 1948.[20][21]

The passenger landing stage was reopened by the Port of Tilbury group, as the London Cruise Terminal in 1995.[22] The historic passenger terminal building has been rebuilt and refurbished over the subsequent years and is now called the "London International Cruise Terminal". The old station building (no longer served by a railway connection) has been refurbished to house a new luggage retrieval hall.[23]

Other port activities edit

The Port of Tilbury Police, among the oldest of such forces in the UK, are responsible for the security of the Port.[24]

The port is also a base of operations of Thurrock Sea Cadets, who operate out of TS Iveston (a Coniston class former minesweeper).[25]

Seafarers welfare charity, Apostleship of the Sea, which provides practical and pastoral support to seafarers, has a port chaplain based at the port.[26]

Tilbury Docks in film edit

The Docks were used as the setting of John Wayne's smuggler-busting operation in Brannigan (1975).[27] The Docks stood in for Venetian waterways during the boat-chase scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).[28]

A scene from the Jude Law film Alfie (2004) was filmed there;[29] as were scenes from Batman Begins (2005).[30] In Paddington (2014), the scene where Paddington arrives on a boat was filmed at the Port of Tilbury.[31]

References edit

  1. ^ The rivalry between the two companies 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Stone, Peter (2017). The History of the Port of London: A Vast Emporium of Nations: A Vast Emporium of All Nations. Pen and Sword. p. 146. ISBN 978-1473860377.
  3. ^ "Tilbury Dock". Port Cities. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  4. ^ Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 918.
  5. ^ Catton, Jonathan, ed. (2011). Port of Tilbury 125 Timeline. Port of Tilbury, London.
  6. ^ a b Timeline of Tilbury Docks
  7. ^ "The Port of London". The Times. No. 38921. 31 March 1909. p. 10. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  8. ^ (PDF). Sir Robert McAlpine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  9. ^ McCutcheon, Campbell (2013). Port of Tilbury in the 60s and 70s. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445622798.
  10. ^ Levinson, Marc (2008). The Box. Princeton University Press. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-0691136400.
  11. ^ "The Man from Timbuctoo". Rochford district history. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Forth Ports bids pounds 131m for Tilbury". The Independent. 8 September 1995. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Can you tell who it is yet? Rolf's art goes on sale". The Guardian. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  14. ^ Acquisition of Tilbury Container Terminal Archived 2 August 2012 at archive.today
  15. ^ "Port of Tilbury". Forth Ports. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Investigation launched after 39 people found dead in lorry container | Essex Police". Essex.police.uk. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Essex lorry deaths: Police escort ambulances to remove bodies for post-mortem | UK News | Sky News". News.sky.com. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Port of Tilbury begins new partnership with Tarmac". Walker Morris. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Port of Tilbury Restores Historical Landmark". Port of London Authority. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  20. ^ UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960. Ancestry.com in association with The National Archives.
  21. ^ Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). "Afro-Caribbean communities". Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 11–14.
  22. ^ . Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  23. ^ "London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury undergoes transformation".
  24. ^ "Webster, W. H. A. (1930). The Port of London Authority Police. The Police Journal, 3(2), 244–253". doi:10.1177/0032258X3000300209. S2CID 148785579. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ Navy News, 2004 Iveston’s Indian Summer.
  26. ^ "Contact our chaplains". Apostleship of the Sea. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  27. ^ "Filming in Thurrock". Thurrock Heritage Files. Thurrock Council. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  28. ^ Reeves, Tony. . The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. Titan. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
  29. ^ "Tilbury: Alfie comes to Essex". Clacton and Frinton Gazette. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2007.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ Reeves, Tony. . The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. Titan. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
  31. ^ "Paddington". Movie Locations. Retrieved 30 November 2019.

Sources edit


External links edit

  • Newsreel 1933, Locomotive been shipped from Tilbury Docks

port, tilbury, port, river, thames, tilbury, essex, england, principal, port, london, well, being, main, united, kingdom, port, handling, importation, paper, there, extensive, facilities, containers, grain, other, bulk, cargoes, there, also, facilities, import. The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex England It is the principal port for London as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper There are extensive facilities for containers grain and other bulk cargoes There are also facilities for the importation of cars It forms part of the wider Port of London Port of TilburyContainer ship Carpathia unloading at Northfleet Hope terminalClick on the map for a fullscreen viewLocationCountryUKLocationTilbury EssexCoordinates51 27 36 N 0 20 42 E 51 46 N 0 345 E 51 46 0 345DetailsOpened1886Owned byForth PortsNo of berths34StatisticsWebsitehttps forthports co uk tilbury london Port of TilburyPort of TilburyLocation within EssexOS grid referenceTQ639761Unitary authorityThurrockCeremonial countyEssexRegionEastCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPoliceEssexFireEssexAmbulanceEast of EnglandList of places UK England Essex 51 27 36 N 0 20 42 E 51 46 N 0 345 E 51 46 0 345 Contents 1 Geography 2 History 2 1 Construction 2 2 Docks expansion 3 London Cruise Terminal 4 Other port activities 5 Tilbury Docks in film 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksGeography editThe Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames 25 miles 40 km downstream of London Bridge at a point where the river makes a loop southwards and where its width narrows to 800 yards 730 m The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches within the meander was a huge area of marshland Gravesend on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet at the mouth of the Ebbsfleet River The new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity The original docks consisted of a tidal basin on Gravesend Reach opposite Northfleet connected by a lock to a main dock with three side branches named East Central and West Branch docks Between the tidal basin and Main Dock were two dry docks History editConstruction edit The original docks of London all built close to the City were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company E amp WIDC at the beginning of the 19th century With the coming of the railways and increasing ship size proximity to the centre of London became less important than access to deep water unrestricted sites and reduction in time spent travelling up the winding Thames The company had long been in competition with its rival the London and St Katherine Dock Company L amp StKDC The opening of the Royal Albert Dock by the L amp StKDC with its deepwater quayage in 1880 had given access to the Thames at Gallions Reach 11 miles 18 km by river below London Bridge and downstream of the then principal London docks The E amp WIDC were forced to retaliate 1 In July 1882 an Act of Parliament allowed the latter to construct the docks at Tilbury The construction encountered difficulties when the contractors Kirk amp Randell unexpectedly encountered blue clay and claimed extra costs The Company had them ejected from the site in 1884 triggering expensive legal action 2 For a while the East amp West India Company continued construction with their own workers until the firm of Lucas and Aird was engaged to complete the work 3 The first vessel entered the docks on 17 April 1886 4 This was the Glenfruin carrying the official party for the opening ceremony 5 The opening of the dock took place at the beginning of the steamship era and its location soon proved to be advantageous 6 nbsp A map of the town from 1946 nbsp Ship discharging at Tilbury Grain Terminal nbsp Tilbury Docks June 2017Docks expansion edit In 1909 Tilbury along with the upstream docks became part of the newly established Port of London Authority PLA 7 In 1921 and again in 1929 the PLA carried out major improvements These included a new lock 1 000 feet 300 m long and 110 ft 34 m wide linking the docks directly to the Thames to the west at Northfleet Hope and a third dry dock 752 feet 229 m long and 110 feet 34 m wide These works were carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine 8 During the 1960s at the time when the upstream docks were closing the PLA further extended the Tilbury dock facilities Between 1963 and 1966 a huge fourth branch dock running north from Main Dock for nearly 1 mile 1 6 km was constructed The tidal basin was closed and eventually filled in In 1969 a 6 million riverside grain terminal on Northfleet Hope was brought into use 9 The PLA funded a new 30 million container port which opened in 1967 Labour issues prevented full service from starting until April 1970 although United States Lines reached an agreement with the union to begin service in 1968 10 Near the Dockmaster s office on New Lock is a memorial to Captain Peter de Neumann GM who was killed there in an accident on 16 September 1972 11 In 1978 a deep water riverside berth was opened for large container ships on reclaimed land at Northfleet Hope 6 In 1992 the port was privatised and became part of the Forth Ports organisation the PLA retaining the role of managing the tidal Thames 12 Rolf Harris visited the Docks in 2004 during a TV episode of Rolf on Art when he recreated J M W Turner s famous painting The Fighting Temeraire 13 On 25 January 2012 Otter Ports Holdings Ltd owner of Forth Ports acquired from DP World Limited DP World and Associated British Ports Ltd AB Ports the 67 ownership of Tilbury Container Services Ltd TCS not already owned by Forth Ports in a cash transaction Forth Ports had been a one third shareholder in TCS since 1998 along with partners DP World and AB Ports TCS is located within the Port of Tilbury which is wholly owned by Forth Ports 14 15 In October 2019 39 people were found dead in a truck at nearby Grays The truck was moved to the Port of Tilbury the next day so that more investigations could be undertaken After that the bodies were moved to Broomfield Hospital 16 17 Port of Tilbury recently announced a joint development with Tarmac a partnership which will see the UK s largest construction materials aggregates terminal CMAT built on a 152 acre site The joint development of the CMAT is expected to see most operations established by the end of 2020 18 London Cruise Terminal edit nbsp Tilbury International Cruise Terminal viewed from the water in 2015One of the shipping lines using the docks was the P amp O Tilbury became the only port in the PLA to serve ocean liners when in 1916 it opened berths specifically for the P amp O within the dock complex With the need for expanded facilities a large new passenger landing stage was constructed in the Thames jointly by the PLA and the London Midland and Scottish Railway with rail connections It was opened in May 1930 by Ramsay MacDonald 19 Tilbury operated as London s passenger liner passenger terminal until the 1960s For many people Tilbury was their point of emigration to Australia under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Australian Government The Ten Pound Poms as they were known in Australia embarked on to ships such as RMS Mooltan and set off for a new life Tilbury was also a port of entry for many immigrants among them being a large group of West Indians on HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 20 21 The passenger landing stage was reopened by the Port of Tilbury group as the London Cruise Terminal in 1995 22 The historic passenger terminal building has been rebuilt and refurbished over the subsequent years and is now called the London International Cruise Terminal The old station building no longer served by a railway connection has been refurbished to house a new luggage retrieval hall 23 Other port activities editThe Port of Tilbury Police among the oldest of such forces in the UK are responsible for the security of the Port 24 The port is also a base of operations of Thurrock Sea Cadets who operate out of TS Iveston a Coniston class former minesweeper 25 Seafarers welfare charity Apostleship of the Sea which provides practical and pastoral support to seafarers has a port chaplain based at the port 26 Tilbury Docks in film editThe Docks were used as the setting of John Wayne s smuggler busting operation in Brannigan 1975 27 The Docks stood in for Venetian waterways during the boat chase scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 28 A scene from the Jude Law film Alfie 2004 was filmed there 29 as were scenes from Batman Begins 2005 30 In Paddington 2014 the scene where Paddington arrives on a boat was filmed at the Port of Tilbury 31 References edit The rivalry between the two companies Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Stone Peter 2017 The History of the Port of London A Vast Emporium of Nations A Vast Emporium of All Nations Pen and Sword p 146 ISBN 978 1473860377 Tilbury Dock Port Cities Retrieved 30 November 2019 Weinreb et al 2008 p 918 Catton Jonathan ed 2011 Port of Tilbury 125 Timeline Port of Tilbury London a b Timeline of Tilbury Docks The Port of London The Times No 38921 31 March 1909 p 10 Retrieved 3 August 2019 A portrait of achievement PDF Sir Robert McAlpine Archived from the original PDF on 8 May 2016 Retrieved 24 April 2016 McCutcheon Campbell 2013 Port of Tilbury in the 60s and 70s Amberley Publishing ISBN 978 1445622798 Levinson Marc 2008 The Box Princeton University Press pp 203 205 ISBN 978 0691136400 The Man from Timbuctoo Rochford district history Retrieved 30 November 2019 Forth Ports bids pounds 131m for Tilbury The Independent 8 September 1995 Retrieved 30 November 2019 Can you tell who it is yet Rolf s art goes on sale The Guardian 17 June 2006 Retrieved 30 November 2019 Acquisition of Tilbury Container Terminal Archived 2 August 2012 at archive today Port of Tilbury Forth Ports Retrieved 3 August 2014 Investigation launched after 39 people found dead in lorry container Essex Police Essex police uk 25 November 2019 Retrieved 30 November 2019 Essex lorry deaths Police escort ambulances to remove bodies for post mortem UK News Sky News News sky com 25 October 2019 Retrieved 30 November 2019 Port of Tilbury begins new partnership with Tarmac Walker Morris 31 January 2020 Retrieved 11 February 2020 Port of Tilbury Restores Historical Landmark Port of London Authority 16 December 2013 Retrieved 30 November 2019 UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878 1960 Ancestry com in association with The National Archives Childs Peter Storry Mike eds 2002 Afro Caribbean communities Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture London Routledge pp 11 14 London Cruise Terminal History Archived from the original on 31 May 2016 Retrieved 7 January 2012 London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury undergoes transformation Webster W H A 1930 The Port of London Authority Police The Police Journal 3 2 244 253 doi 10 1177 0032258X3000300209 S2CID 148785579 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Navy News 2004 Iveston s Indian Summer Contact our chaplains Apostleship of the Sea Retrieved 30 November 2019 Filming in Thurrock Thurrock Heritage Files Thurrock Council Retrieved 29 September 2018 Reeves Tony Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations Titan Archived from the original on 24 December 2015 Retrieved 26 December 2007 Tilbury Alfie comes to Essex Clacton and Frinton Gazette 17 August 2004 Retrieved 26 December 2007 permanent dead link Reeves Tony Batman Begins The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations Titan Archived from the original on 23 April 2019 Retrieved 26 December 2007 Paddington Movie Locations Retrieved 30 November 2019 Sources editWeinreb Ben Hibbert Christopher Keay John Keay Julia 2008 The London Encyclopaedia 3rd ed Pan Macmillan ISBN 978 1 405 04924 5 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port of Tilbury nbsp Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Tilbury Docks Newsreel 1933 Locomotive been shipped from Tilbury Docks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Port of Tilbury amp oldid 1176720184, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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