SOURCE: The Saturday Magazine, No. 117. Supplement, April, 1834
The WEST INDIA DOCKS, which were commenced in February, 1800, and partially opened on the 3rd of August, 1802, were the first, and are still the most extensive docks, not only in this port but in the world. They extend across the northern extremity of the Isle of Dogs, from Blackwall to Limehouse, having a communication with the river by spacious basins at either extremity. This great public establishment originally consisted of an export and import dock; but, in 1829, the south dock, a spacious canal for shipping of the largest class, which had originally been constructed to facilitate the navigation of the Thames, was purchased by the West India Dock Company for 120,000l. The north, or Import Dock, contains nearly thirty acres under water, being 870 yards long by 166 wide. The Export Dock is of the same length, but only 135 yards in width and comprises an area of about 25 acres The South Dock is 1183 yards (nearly three-quarters of a mile) long; it runs parallel to the others, and its lock-gates are 45 feet in width. The three docks are capable of admitting 650 vessels, of from 250 to 500 tons. The entire area occupied by the docks and warehouses consists of more than 295 acres, enclosed (with the exception of the South Dock,) by a lofty wall, five feet thick. When originally opened, such is the extent of the Import Dock, that although the water was admitted at an average rate of 800 gallons per second, the space was not filled to the required depth, about 24 feet, for 10 hours.
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