VisitMyHarbour Chart (Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge)
Blackwall Reach runs from the Dome (O2 Arena) to Greenwich on a roughly southerly course.
Blackwall Lighthouse, RIGHT bankLighthouse E-clips copyright Mike Millichamp -
A tall brick hexagonal tower lighthouse with a traditional light and workshops (former buoy store) attached, situated on Trinity Buoy Wharf, River Thames opposite the London Millennium Dome. Built in 1863 by Trinity House this light was used for training purposes and was part of the training school and workshop facilities operated on this wharf. The site became redundant in 1988.
1999: North Greenwich to Canning Town.
1822: Anne Lister's Diary 1st September, on a steamer following the Royal Squadron of George IV at Blackwall -
Between Woolwich and Greenwich close to the river, on our left, opposite to Blackwall, 3 gibbets standing at a little distance from each other, the first showing the remains of one man, the others the remains of 2 men each. They were Malays (sailors) executed perhaps 8 or 10 years ago for murdering their captain.
These two A102 road tunnels link Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. It is a key link
between the north and south sides of the river and forms part of an important
route into central London from south-east London and Kent. The
southern approach takes traffic from the A2 trunk route.
1891: Work began on the western tunnel,
designed by Sir Alexander Binnie and built by S Pearson & Sons for the
London County Council at a cost of £1.4
million. It
was then the longest underwater tunnel in the world at 4,410 feet (1,344
m) long. It took six years to construct, using
tunnelling shield and compressed air techniques.
1897: 22nd
May: Western tunnel opened by the Prince of Wales.
1967: 2nd August: The Eastern tunnel was
opened, with fewer height restrictions and no sharp corners.
Today the
western bore is only used for north-bound traffic (and is not accessible
to high-sided vehicles). The southern portal
features a striking gateway built of red brick. The
tunnel itself has several sharp bends. Some
suggest these were built so that horses would not bolt once they saw the
daylight (motor vehicles were rare in 1897), though the bends may also
have been created so that the tunnel avoided the foundations of other
structures. The tunnel carries two lanes of
traffic, though higher vehicles need to keep to the left-hand lane so that
they do not hit the tunnel's inner lining.