Norway Dock, at the top, under construction in early 1811. The dock to its south was Greenland Dock, before it had been extended to twice its original length. |
Norway Dock was the first of the docks to be constructed by the Commercial Dock Company to extend its capacity for handling timber. Its principal source of timber was the Baltic, a trade that continued to flourish throughout the early 20th Century. It was completed in 1811, and at that time was referred to simply as "No.2" dock (Greenland Dock being now being referred to as "No.1" instead of Greenland). It was not until the 1860s that the docks were once again given more memorable names and the name Greenland Dock was restored and the title Norway Dock employed.
Norway Dock, with Lady Dock on the other side of the bridge, both floating timber. 1876. |
When it was complete, Norway dock was connected to Greenland Dock, with no independent access to the Thames. All vessels using Norway Dock would first enter Greenland Dock and then enter through Norway Cut, the connection passage between the two.
Its function was a reflection of the changing times. Greenland Dock had been established in 1699 as a safe haven and repair station for ships returning to the Thames after their travels. It later became a whaling dock. But the purchase of Greenland Dock by the Commercial Dock Company, its construction of Norway Dock, the establishment of the East Country Dock Company and the construction of their own dock, all over the same period, were all about the Baltic and Canadian timber trade. The timber trade was exploding in the early 19th Century, supplying the building trade and other industries. By the 1870s the Surrey Commercial Docks were handling and storing over 80% of the Port of London's timber imports, both hardwoods and softwoods.
Timber handling at the Surrey Commercial Docks, 1930s |
A succession of other timber ponds were added on, each connected to its predecessor by a cut - No.4 in 1812 (which later became Acorn Pond), No. 5 by 1827 (later Lavender Pond) and finally and much later, the small No. 6 pond by the 1861 (Globe Pond). The building of Lady Dock had to accommodate Commercial Dock Road (now Redriff Road), which passed over the cut between Norway Dock and Lady Dock. The other cuts were crossed by foot bridges. By 1932 Acorn and Lavender Ponds had been deepened to serve as docks and were provided with timber sheds. The map at the end of this post, which dates to 1876, shows how they all fitted together.
In 1850 the Commercial Dock Company bought the East Country Dock, made major changes to it, and re-opened it in 1855, eventually renaming it South Dock. At this time it was connected to Greenland Dock, making it a part of the linear network of docks owned by the Commercial Dock Company. Lavender Pond was provided with a lock and a lift bridge to connect it to Russia Dock and the Grand Surrey Canal.
In 1860 Lavender Pond was provided with its own lock entrance out onto the Thames. Lavender dock has an interesting story of its own and will be discussed in a later post.
By 1929 A.G. Linney could see the writing on the wall for the peaceful outlier ponds: "Globe Pond has disappeared, filled in. Acorn Pond remains, as yet not much diminished, though the coming changes have removed a portion of that, too. The glory of this great trinity of water spaces, where the rafts of pitch, waney and Oregon pine float and sway, is dying before the remorseless hand of necessity. I sadly realize that within some few months the grass-banked rim of Lavender Pond and Acorn Pond will vanish." He also describes numerous breeds of gull, ducks, herons, coots, snipes, kingfishers and swans as well as carp.
Today Norway Dock is occupied by the development known as The Lakes. The residential buildings themselves, erected between 1988 and 1996 by Shepheard Epstein and Hunter, are nothing special in architectural terms but the terraced and particularly the semi-detatched houses are novel in being built out into the large shallow body of water that was formerly Norway Dock. The dock was filled in after the closure of the Surrey Commercial Docks in 1969, but was re-excavated when The Lakes were conceived, to create a scenic and shallow water feature for the residents for whom it was designed. Norway Dock is also overlooked by Finland Quay, an apartment complex that was built in 1987-9 by Richard Reid.
Golfish in Norway Dock in the 1990s |
Norway Cut swing bridge |
Globe Pond today |
And in 1906, with Greenland Dock the long thin dock at the right, and Norway, Lady, Acorn, Lavender and Globe extending to the left of the picture along the top |
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