Peter Batten goes to the Dogs…

Have you ever been to the Isle of Dogs? No, it is not a French penal colony somewhere in the Caribbean. It is actually a part of London, which I have visited many times because my father was born there. Several of my relatives lived all their lives on the Island.

Where is it? If you have watched East Enders on television you will have noticed on the opening map that the River Thames flows around in a big loop, enclosing an area shaped rather like a tongue. That area is the Isle of Dogs, also known as Millwall. In the 16th century, when Henry VIII had a magnificent palace at Greenwich, opposite the southern tip of that tongue, his dogs were housed on the marshy land across the river. Hence the name, or so it is suggested. Little changed until the end of the 18th century, when the port of London began to expand rapidly. First, a channel was cut through the northern end of the tongue, in order to save time sailing around it. This was later converted to become the South West India Dock. Then, in 1799, the West India Dock Company was formed. It immediately proceeded with the creation of a huge dock in the middle of the Island, which was soon in operation. Later, in 1868, the Millwall Docks were built on waste land to the south of the West India Dock.

So, in less than 100 years, the Island was transformed, with 600 ships docking in the West India Dock alone. The social transformation was even greater. Many of the men who built the docks stayed on to work as stevedores. A whole service industry grew up for the repair and modification of ships. Food supplies were needed for the ships. Seamen sought entertainment and sometimes lodging while in dock. But, above all, whole families moved to the Island in search of work.
The story of these families and their struggle to find homes and work is not always a happy one. It culminated in the horrors of the WW2 Blitz, when the Island was an obvious target for German bombs. The biggest problem was isolation. Bus services to the Island from the northern end were limited and were frequently interrupted by the raising of bridges to allow boats to enter the docks. At the southern tip there was just a pedestrian tunnel to Greenwich. A journey to the Island from my home in Bermondsey, across the river, usually involved three changes of bus. As a result, those living on the Island found it very difficult to take work in other parts of London. They were virtually trapped.

Today all is transformed. The northern end of the Island is dominated by the Canary Wharf development, which will soon be extended further south. The biggest change is in access. The Docklands Light Railway has made visiting the Island very easy, while those who live there can travel swiftly to jobs in the City and to all parts of London. Unfortunately a new social division has been created. Most of the former wharves on the riverfront have been replaced by expensive flats for people on high salaries, while an increasingly mixed community of quite poor families lives in social housing in the southern part of the Island.

If you have never been to the Island I would recommend a visit via the Light Railway. You can wander among the bankers in the mini-Manhattan of Canary Wharf or go south to the Island Gardens to have a cup of tea or an ice cream while looking across the river to the beautiful buildings of Greenwich.

For information about the Island’s history go to The Island History Trust at http://www.islandhistory.org.uk, or write to Island History Trust, Dockland Settlement, 197 East Ferry Road, London, E14 3BA. Tel: 020 7987 6041