Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Great British Story - A history of Greenland Dock

BBC News

Brilliant short video about the history of Greenland Dock

The Great British Story looks at how London's Docklands have been transformed over several centuries of history.

Presenter Peter Snow talks to historian Fiona Rule about how Greenland Dock on the east side of the Rotherhithe peninsula was transformed in the late 17th Century.

The dock was a monumental achievement for its time and developed as a centre for the whaling trade.

It became an early template for London's super-sized docklands that spread across east London in the 19th Century.

The Great British Story - London's Docklands is broadcast on Tuesday, 12 June on BBC One London at 22:35 GMT and nationwide on the iPlayer thereafter.

The whole episode (dealing with all of London's Docklands) can be seen on BBC iPlayer (and is well worth watching if you have iPlayer, which you can load free of charge):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01jxrhv/The_Great_British_Story_Regional_Histories_Londons_Docklands/