Editing Isle of Dogs (section)

===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.