Port of Tilbury - Docks Expansion

Docks Expansion

In 1909 Tilbury, along with the upstream docks, became part of the newly-established Port of London Authority (PLA).

In 1921, and again in 1929, the PLA carried out major improvements. These included a new lock 1,000 feet (300 m) long and 110 ft (34 m) wide, linking the docks directly to the Thames to the west at Northfleet Hope, and a third dry dock, 752 ft long (229 m) and 110 ft wide (34 m).

During the 1960s, at the time when the upstream docks were closing, the PLA further extended the Tilbury dock facilities. Between 1963-1966 a huge fourth branch dock, running north from Main Dock for nearly a mile, was constructed. The tidal basin was closed and eventually filled in. In 1969 a £6m riverside grain terminal on Northfleet Hope (at the time the largest in Europe) was brought into use. By the early 1980s Tilbury was the last set of enclosed docks in operation by the PLA.

The first container service began in 1970, and Tilbury was soon to become the largest container port in the UK; in 1978 a deep water riverside berth was opened for large container ships on reclaimed land at Northfleet Hope.