Royal Victoria Docks

Know London

The Royal Victoria Dock was opened in 1855, on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaidstow Marshes, and was the first dock built expressly for steam ships, the first to be planned with direct rail links onto the quay and also the first dock to use hydraulic power to operate its machinery.

Royal Victoria Dock was one of the three Royal Docks built at this time which, as a whole made up the largest area of impounded water in the world.

The dock was an immediate commercial success, as it could easily accommodate all but the very largest steamships. By 1860, it was already taking over 850,000 tons of shipping a year - double that of the London Docks, four times that of St Katharine Docks and 70% more than the West India Dock and East India Docks combined.

It was badly damaged by German bombing in World War II but experienced a resurgence in trade following the war. However, from the 1960s onwards, the Royal Victoria experienced a steady decline - as did all of London’s docks - as the shipping industry adopted containerisation, which effectively moved traffic downstream to Tilbury. It finally closed to commercial traffic along with the other Royal Docks in 1980.

The dock has experienced major redevelopment under the London Docklands Development Corporation.  The dock itself still exists and is accessible to ships, although it is now primarily used for water sports.  Most of the original warehouses on the waterfront have been demolished but the historic 19th century K-S and W Warehouses - both now listed buildings - have been preserved.

The dock area is dominated by the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, built on the north quayside and opened in November 2000.  It hosts the annual London Boat Show, with visiting vessels moored alongside the waterfront exhibition centre.