The great warehouse St Katherine's [sic] docks

An illustration of the interior of a warehouse at St Katharine's Dock, from ' London: a Pilgrimage' by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Doré, 1872. The St Katharine's Dock Company was formed in 1823 and the foundation stone laid in May 1827, the project engineer being Thomas Telford. The warehouses were built up to the edge of the quays so that there was no need for transit sheds. Consisting of six floors, the brick buildings were 470 feet long and 140 feet deep (143 x 43 metre).

Jerrold writes: 'The perspective of the great entrepot or warehouse before us is broken and lost in the whirl and movement. Bales, baskets, sacks, hogsheads, and waggons stretch as far as the eye can reach; and there is a deep murmur rising from the busy fellows within.' The major commodities handled by the Docks were wool and tea, but St Katharine's Dock also dealt in a whole range of luxury goods including shells (such as tortoiseshell and mother of pearl) and ostrich feathers.