Port of Tilbury - 1375-852200

The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London.GeographyThe Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames, 25mi downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to 800yd. The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches: within the meander was a huge area of marshland. Gravesend on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers. There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet. The new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity.ConstructionThe original docks of London, all built close to the City, were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company (E&WIDC) at the beginning of the 19th century. With the coming of the railways and increasing ship size, location close to the centre of London became less important than access to deep water, unrestricted sites and reduction in time spent travelling up the winding Thames. The Company had long been in competition with their rival, the London and St Katherine Dock Company (L&StKDC), and had been doing all it could to dominate it. The opening of the Royal Albert Dock by the L&StKDC, with its deepwater quayage, in 1880 had given access to the Thames at Gallions Reach, 11mi by river below London Bridge and downstream of the then principal London docks. The E&WIDC were forced to retaliate.

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