Geoff Lunn – författare

With its vast system of enclosed docks and one and a half thousand working wharves, London was once the world's greatest port. Ships arrived from far and near, at the rate of 1,000 movements each week, requiring a workforce of 100,000. A revolution in cargo handling led to radical changes in the size and design of ships and London's port would never be the same again: most of the docks and wharves closed for business; the shipping scene moving downriver where new larger ships could berth; upriver quaysides were re-invented as locations for expensive commercial and residential properties.This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through a period of change from the latter years of London's docks up to the present day. With its wealth of illustrations, it demonstrates how the Port of London has re-emerged as a premier British port, equipped to handle the most sophisticated modern ship, with further expansion planned. Recent decades have been a memorable era for everyone connected with the port.

Until the middle of the twentieth century, the Port of London was the busiest in the world. A long, slow decline set in, as ships grew larger and numerous seamen's strikes and the advent of containerisation decimated the docks. Everything moved downriver and the Port of Tilbury grew to cope with the demand, while the docks in London itself declined and were closed. Some have been filled in, others converted to other uses, with London City Airport and Canary Wharf being built on converted docklands. Geoff Lunn tells the story of the Port of London, from the Pool of London to Tilbury and Gravesend, using a combination of images, both old and modern. Inside are views of the redevelopment and changing face of the docklands areas.