Limehouse Basin Facts for Kids

The Limehouse Basin is a cool spot in Limehouse, London. It's like a watery doorway that connects the Regent's Canal to the big River Thames. Boats can travel through the Limehouse Basin Lock to get from one to the other.

This basin is a special kind of dock that used to be much bigger, covering about 15 acres (61,000 square meters). It sits between the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) tracks and a historic street called Narrow Street. Right next to it is a nice little park called Ropemaker's Fields.

History of Limehouse Basin
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History of Limehouse Basin

The Regent's Canal Dock, 1828

The Limehouse Basin was built by the Regent's Canal Company. It was first known as the Regent's Canal Dock. This dock was a busy place where large ships and smaller boats called lighters would unload their goods. These goods were then put onto canal barges. The barges would carry them further along the Regent's Canal.

A Busy Coal Hub

When it first opened in 1820, the dock wasn't very successful. But by the mid-1800s, things changed. The dock and the canal became super important. They were used to bring huge amounts of coal to London. This coal powered many gasworks and later, electricity stations along the canal. It was also used by homes and businesses.

At one point, Limehouse Basin was the main entrance from the River Thames to the entire canal network in the country. It was a really big deal for transport!

Decline and Revival

The dock's importance started to fade when railways became more popular. Trains could carry goods faster and to more places. However, during World War I and World War II, canal traffic picked up again. This gave the Limehouse Basin a brief return to its busy days.

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) now runs on a bridge above the old wharves (loading areas) on the north side of the basin. This bridge was first built for the London and Blackwall Railway. Beyond these wharves, the Commercial Road Lock connects to the Regent's Canal.

The Accumulator Tower

To the east of the canal entrance, there's a cool octagonal (eight-sided) tower. This is a hydraulic accumulator tower, built in 1869. It replaced an older, pioneering one from the 1850s. This tower helped control the water pressure for all the machines around the basin. These machines were used to handle the coal.

The original steam engines and pumps that powered it are gone now. The building was later turned into a viewing platform. Today, the British Waterways Board owns it and the basin. It's a Grade II listed building, which means it's historically important. You can often visit it during the annual Open House Weekend in September.

Changes to the Locks

In the 1800s, as steam-powered ships got bigger, Limehouse Basin became too small for them. The way the basin connected to the River Thames and the Limehouse Cut was quite complicated.

Originally, the basin had three entrance locks to the Thames. These were used to separate big ships from smaller barges. The two smaller entrances upstream were later closed and filled in. In 1968, a new, short canal section was built. This reconnected the Limehouse Cut to the basin. Before this, the Cut had its own direct link to the Thames.

The basin stopped being used for commercial (business) traffic in 1969. Now, one part of the basin is still used by pleasure boats, like yachts and narrowboats.

Images for kids

Limehouse Basin , Canary Wharf in background, October 2015
Newcastle colliers, tough workhorses of the coal era, struggled to unload in the congested Thames (H. Carr: Shipley Art Gallery).
Ceremonial opening,The Times, 2 August 1820
Accumulator tower and chimney, with visitors
Morning Post 6 April 1835
S.S. Sviet, one of the first oil tankers, visited Limeihouse Basin 1886
Old Customs House, now a Gordon Ramsay gastropub
Sailing ships in Limehouse Basin 1924, Commercial Road lock in foreground
Limehouse Cut (left foreground) discharging into Limehouse Basin beside Victory Place, Thames in background
River entrance to Limehouse Marina with swingbridge, old customs house on left
From the west, 2004
DLR viaduct: Robert Stephenson and George Bidder's fine arches
Limehouse Basin lock (from river) built inside 1869 shiplock
Limehouse Basin lock and swing bridge, River Thames in background.
Marina office, Limehouse Basin
Birds in the Basin: four cormorants and some geese
Luftwaffe He 111 bomber, 1940, its wingtip pointing at Limehouse Basin
Limehouse Basin 1827 with shipping and barges; notice the sloping banks
Horwood's map 1819 (black arrow = Limehouse Basin, white = Limehouse Cut)
Artist's impression of Thames entrance, 1826 with its capstan-operated swing-bridge
Coal-whippers. Four men could lift 100 tons of coal a day.
The Basin's Thames entrance in 1850 with its protective timber structure
The London & Blackwall viaduct (1840), now carrying the DLR, crossing the Commercial Road Lock
Enlargement (top-hatted directors posing, early 1867). Note sailing ships — held back by temporary earth dam.
Limehouse Basin in its heyday. The new slantwise shiplock is in the centre; old ship and barge locks on left.
The north quay jetty drawn by Gustave Doré. Notice hydraulic cranes.
1880 Plan issued by Regent's Canal Company to advertise their dock. The old ship lock has been closed off.

Limehouse Basin facts for kids

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