Dagenham Docks, Dagenham, Greater London
In 1887, Samuel Williams, a barge builder, purchased 30 acres of land at Dagenham Breach. This was new land created when part of the lake was filled in. By 1891 the company had built a deep-water timber dock. They also built a railway connected to the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line and two new jetties that created a tidal quay. In 1911 the last great ship built on the River Thames, the battleship HMS Thunderer, was fitted out here. Samuel Williams and Co. joined forces with John Hudson and Co. to form a successful shipping company. Some of the land beside the dock was used for their shipping and haulage business. Some was sold to organisations such as Union Cable Company and Ford Motor Company who built factories there.
