TILBURY LANDING STAGE 90 YEARS ON

More than two centuries have passed since the construction of London’s first purposebuilt docks. The opening of the West India Docks in 1802 heralded a period of considerable development which lasted throughout most of the 19th century.

Apart from the King George V Dock that opened in 1921, these developments culminated with the building of Tilbury Docks, 26 miles down the River Thames from the heart of London, which were officially opened on 17 April 1886.

A 700ft entrance lock and favourable tidal conditions in Gravesend Reach meant that the largest ships in the world at the time could be accommodated within the docks. Two berths for Orient Line and P&O Line ships were constructed in the docks’ tidal basin, each with rail connections with London.

By the 1920s the number of passengers coming through the docks was increasing, while larger ships were coming on the scene. It was decided that a dedicated passenger terminal should be built on the Tilbury riverside, and the Port of London Authority and the Midland Railway promoted a Bill in Parliament for the new landing stage. The Bill passed in 1922, with construction work due to start two years later, but by