Editing Isle of Dogs (section)

==History==
[[File:Stepney Civil Parish Map 1870.png|thumb|The Isle of Dogs was historically part of the Manor, Hamlet and Parish of Poplar.]]
[[File:Poplar Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|The wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar. The borough comprised Bow, Bromley-by-Bow and Poplar (including the Isle of Dogs).]]
[[File:Isle of Dogs from the air at night.jpg|thumb|The Isle of Dogs at night]]

===Origins===
The Isle of Dogs is situated some distance downriver from the [[City of London]].  It was originally marsh, being several feet below water at high tide.  In the Middle Ages it was made available for human habitation by a process known in the Thames estuary as [[Embanking of the tidal Thames#Inning|inning]].  The reclaimed land was below high water, protected by earthen banks.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Hobhouse|editor-first=Hermione|chapter=The Isle of Dogs: Introduction|title=Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|year=1994|location=London|publisher=British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp375-387}}</ref>  These banks if not properly kept up were liable to be breached.  This happened in 1448, drowning the land for 40 years.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Croot|first=Patricia|year=1997|title=Settlement, Tenure and Land Use in Medieval Stepney: Evidence of a Field Survey c. 1400|journal=The London Journal|volume=22|issue=1|pages=1–15|doi=10.1179/ldn.1997.22.1.1}}</ref>

In 1660, the river started to break through the neck of the peninsula, initiating [[meander cutoff]]. This was arrested by human intervention, but it left a 5-acre lake called [[Poplar Gut]].  It appears on [[John Rocque]]'s 1746 ''Map of London and ten miles around'', in the extract reproduced in this article.
{{main|Embanking of the tidal Thames#The great breach, or Poplar Gut}}

One road led across the Marshes to an ancient ferry, at Ferry Road. There was rich grazing on the marsh, and cattle were slaughtered in fields known as the ''Killing Fields'', south of Poplar High Street.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The western side of the island was known as ''Marsh Wall'', and the district became known as ''Millwall'' with the building of the docks, and from the number of [[windmill]]s constructed along the top of the flood defence.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Industry===
[[File:East Ferry Road.jpg|thumb|East Ferry Road, Isle of Dogs]]
In 1802, the [[West India Docks]] began to be developed on the Isle of Dogs. Beginning in 1812 the Poplar and Greenwich Ferry Roads Company installed tolls on the East Ferry Road. These proved to be unpopular and after many years of lobbying the Metropolitan Board of Works bought the company and abolished the tolls in 1885.<ref>{{cite web | author= Island History| url= https://islandhistory.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/east-ferry-road-the-oldest-road-on-the-isle-of-dogs/ | title = East Ferry Road – The Oldest Road on the Isle of Dogs | work = Isle of Dogs – Past Life, Past Lives| date=13 January 2020|access-date= 2020-06-18}}</ref>

The Docks brought with them many associated industries, such as flour and sugar processing, and also ship building. On 31 January 1858 the largest ship of that time, the [[SS Great Eastern|SS ''Great Eastern'']] designed by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott, Russell & Co, of Millwall.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} The {{Convert|211|m|ft}} length was too big for the river so the ship had to be launched sideways. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch this was the last big ship to be built on the Island and the industry fell into a decline. However, parts of the launching slipway and plate works have been preserved in situ and may be seen close to [[Masthouse Terrace Pier]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Docks===
[[File:Isle of dogs 1899.jpg|right|thumb|upright|1899 The Isle of Dogs, at the height of its Victorian commercial success]]
[[File:Heinkel over Wapping.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Heinkel He 111]] bomber over the [[Surrey Commercial Docks]] in [[South London]] and [[Wapping]] and the Isle of Dogs in the [[East End of London]] on 7 September 1940]] 
The [[urbanisation]] of the Isle of Dogs took place in the 19th century following the construction of the West India Docks, which opened in 1802. This heralded the area's most successful period, when it became an important centre for trade. The [[East India Docks]] were subsequently opened in 1806, followed by [[Millwall Dock]] in 1868.

By the 1880s, the casual employment system caused Dock workers to [[Unionization|unionise]] under [[Ben Tillett]] and [[John Burns]].<ref>John Burns is commemorated in the name given to a current [[Woolwich Ferry]]</ref> This led to a demand for ''6d per hour'' (2.5p), and an end to casual labour in the docks. After a bitter struggle, the [[London Dock Strike of 1889]] was settled with victory for the strikers, and established a national movement for the unionisation of casual workers.

The three dock systems were unified in 1909 when the [[Port of London Authority]] took control of the docks. With the docks stretching across from East to West with locks at each end, the Isle of Dogs could now almost be described as a genuine island.

Dock workers settled on the "island" as the docks grew in importance, and by 1901, 21,000 people lived there, largely dependent on the river trade on the Isle as well as in Greenwich and [[Deptford]] across the river to the south and west. The Isle of Dogs was connected to the rest of London by the [[London and Blackwall Railway]], opened in 1840 and progressively extended thereafter. In 1902, the ferry to Greenwich was replaced by the construction of the [[Greenwich foot tunnel]], and  [[Island Gardens]] park was laid out in 1895, providing views across the river. The London and Blackwall Railway closed in 1926. Until the building of the Docklands Light Railway in 1987, the only public transport accessing and exiting the Island consisted of buses using its perimeter roads. These were frequently and substantially delayed by the movement of up to four bridges which allowed ships access to the  West India Docks and Millwall Docks. The insular nature of the Island caused its separateness from the rest of London, and its unique nature.

During [[World War II]], the docks were a key target for the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Luftwaffe]] and were heavily bombed. A number of local civilians were killed in the bombing and extensive destruction was caused on the ground, with many warehouses being destroyed and much of the dock system being put out of action for an extended period. [[Unexploded ordnance|Unexploded bombs]] from this period continue to be discovered today.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|title=World War II bomb found at Canary Wharf|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6920474.stm|date=28 July 2007}}</ref>  [[Anti-aircraft warfare|Anti-aircraft batteries]] were based on [[Mudchute]] Farm; their concrete bases remain today.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mudchute in WWII|url=http://www.mudchute.org/about-us/mudchute-in-wwii|publisher=Mudchute Park & Farm|access-date=19 February 2013}}</ref>

After the war, the docks underwent a brief resurgence and were even upgraded in 1967. However, with the advent of [[containerization|containerisation]], which the docks could not handle, they became obsolete soon afterwards. The docks closed progressively during the 1970s, with the last &ndash; the West India and Millwall docks &ndash; closing down in 1980. This left the area in a severely dilapidated state, with large areas being derelict and abandoned.

==='Unilateral declaration of independence'===
Local residents resented the scarcity of schools and supermarkets and inadequate transport to neighbourhoods that did have them.<ref name="Mason">{{cite news|last=Mason|first=John|date=12 May 2004|title=Obituary: Ted Johns|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/may/12/guardianobituaries.politics|access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref><ref name="NYT"/>
On 1 March 1970 a group of activists led by Ted John and John Westfallen, in a reference to the [[Republic of Rhodesia]]'s recent [[unilateral declaration of independence]] or UDI,<ref name="Lemmerman"/> issued a UDI for the Isle of Dogs.  For two hours<ref name=Lemmerman/><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/146174/Ted-Johns.html Ted Johns] ''The Daily Telegraph'' (London). 14 May 2004.</ref> (though some reports say a day,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooke |first1=Mike |title=Even Thames Armada and sheep couldn't stop Docklands invasion of Isle of Dogs |url=https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/even-thames-armada-and-sheep-couldn-t-stop-docklands-invasion-3571848 |access-date=10 February 2021 |work=East London Advertiser |date=2 October 2017}}</ref> others a week<ref name="Mason" />) they blocked the two swing-bridges providing the only access to the area by road.<ref name="Lemmerman">{{cite web|last=Lemmerman|first=Mick|date=7 December 2013|title='It was all a bit of a joke' - the Isle of Dogs' unilateral declaration of independence|work=Isle of Dogs - Past Life, Past Lives: Two Hundred Years of Docks, Industry & Islanders|url=https://islandhistory.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/it-was-all-a-bit-of-a-joke/|access-date=6 January 2025}}</ref>  According to Johns the intent was semi-jocular<ref name="Lemmerman"/> and the purpose was only to achieve independence from the rest of London,<ref name="NYT"/> a right already enjoyed by the nearby [[City of London|City]]: it was the Press who dubbed him "President Ted of the Isle of Dogs'.<ref name="Harker">{{cite news|last=Harker|first=Joseph|date=11 February 1994|title=Notes & Queries|work=The Guardian|location=London|page=A4}}</ref>  Nevertheless, and though a body of local opinion resented the stunt,<ref name="Foster">{{cite book|last=Foster|first=Janet|year=1998|title=Docklands: Cultures in Conflict, Worlds in Collision|publisher=Routledge|page=47|isbn= 978-1857282733|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Docklands/hTgDEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22forests+of+canada%22+inauthor:janet+inauthor:foster&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover|access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="ITN">{{cite news|work=ITN Archive|title=A Very Strange Day in British History – The London Island that Declared Independence|year=1970|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbk4HQ6KVdI|access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref> it achieved wide national and international publicity.  It featured on the front page of the ''[[New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|date=10 March 1970|title=Dock Area in London Declares Its 'Independence'|work=New York Times|page=1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/10/archives/dock-area-in-london-declares-its-independence-defiant-dock-area-of.html|access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref> and Johns was interviewed by satellite by [[Walter Cronkite]] for ''[[CBS Evening News]]''.<ref name= "Lemmerman"/>  A new secondary school and improvements in public transport materialised.<ref name="Harker"/>  According to one source it even served as the catalyst for the eventual development of Canary Wharf.<ref name="Lemmerman"/>

[[Patricia Cornwell]]'s 2002 novel ''Isle of Dogs'' features an island off the coast of [[Virginia]] that declares UDI, "claiming its independence lies with those who set sail from the Isle of Dogs in 1607".<ref name="Cornwell">{{cite web|work=Hampshire County Council Library Service|title=Isle of Dogs|url=https://hampshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/WPAC/BIBENQ/138790993/22122605,8|access-date=6 January 2025}},</ref>

===London Docklands Development Corporation===
Successive [[UK Labour Party|Labour]] and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] governments proposed a number of action plans during the 1970s but it was not until 1981 that the [[London Docklands Development Corporation|London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC)]] was established to redevelop the area. The Isle of Dogs became part of an [[enterprise zone]], which covered 1.95&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of land and encompassed the West India, Millwall and East India Docks. New housing, office space and transport infrastructure were built. This included the [[Docklands Light Railway]] and later the [[Jubilee line]] extension, which eventually brought access to the [[London Underground]] to the area for the first time.

Since its construction in 1987–1991, the area has been dominated by the expanding Canary Wharf development with over {{Convert|437,000|m2|sqft}} of office and retail space having been created; 93,000 now work in Canary Wharf alone.<ref>[http://www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp?strSelectedArea=History Welcome to the Canary Wharf Group plc website<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203014042/http://www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp?strSelectedArea=History |date= 3 December 2007 }}</ref>

===Politics===
{{Main|1993 Millwall by-election}}
The Island achieved notoriety in 1993 when [[Derek Beackon]] of the [[British National Party]] became a councillor for Millwall ward, in a [[by-election]]. This was the culmination of years when race was a prominent issue in local politics, especially with regards to allocation of housing.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and its Quest for Legitimacy|last=Copsey|first=Nigel|year=2004|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4039-0214-6|pages=52–64}}</ref> Labour regained the ward in the full council election of May 1994, and held all three seats until a further by-election in September 2004.

===Incidents===
On 9 February 1996, the [[Provisional IRA|IRA]] [[1996 Docklands bombing|detonated a truck bomb]] near [[South Quay DLR station]] on the Isle of Dogs that killed two people and injured more than a hundred others.<ref>{{Cite web|title=80 Minutes: The Timetable of Terror|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/80-minutes-the-timetable-of-terror-1318333.html|last=Cusick|first=James|date=1996-02-11|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>