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About us

 

The origins of the Thames and Docklands History Group dates back to the late 1970s and the creation of an active forum by those interested in the history, preservation and recording of Docklands.  

 

The last of London’s upriver docks and riverside wharves were scheduled for closure and much of the area was under threat of further dereliction. At the same time, numerous plans were being drawn-up to regenerate the area – a vast and potentially contentious undertaking. Within the area were many interesting buildings, related items of equipment and memories. To properly record these, the Docklands History Survey was set up in 1979 by a small group representing the Museum of London, the Greater London Council Historic Buildings Division, the National Maritime Museum and North East London Polytechnic. The small Docklands History Survey Steering Group was gradually enlarged to include representatives of local authorities, community groups and academia, as well as portworkers and individuals with specialist interests in the Port of London. From this quickly emerged the Docklands History Group (DHG).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially the DHG provided a medium for members to address current issues, discuss interests and learn more about the area’s complex histories. Once the Docklands History Survey Officer, Dr. Bob Carr, had been appointed, he gave regular updates on his work. In this period much new information about the historic features in Docklands was emerging so these meetings were always of great interest. DHG meetings were hosted by the team at the Museum of London – led by Chris Ellmers – responsible for collecting Port and river material and developing proposals for the creation of a Museum in Docklands. New discoveries by members of the DHG and the Docklands History Survey Officer often resulted in artefacts being collected for the proposed new Museum.  

 

As the DHG grew, the decision was made to have a regular programme of talks. This gave researchers an opportunity to share their work with other like-minded people. The establishment of the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) in 1981 dramatically increased the pace of change, making recording the area’s historic infrastructure even more critical. At the same time the LDDC began to engage with the Museum of London on the proposed Museum in Docklands and provided annual grants towards the work of curating its rapidly growing collections.  

 

Despite the increasing workload of the Museum of London’s Docklands team – which  included managing a large government funded Community Programme – they still organised and managed DHG monthly meetings. Eventually, the LDDC offered a building for the proposed Museum and assisted with development work.  This greatly increased demands on the Museum of London’s small development team for the new Museum and it became progressively difficult for it to continue to directly run the DHG. By then, however, there was tremendous enthusiasm within the DHG, and members resolved to establish it as a separate organisation with its own committee. When the new Museum in Docklands opened at West India Quay in 2003, the Group’s meetings very appropriately transferred there from the Museum of London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, DHG committee members could only serve for three years and could not rejoin for a year. As this created operational difficulties, the constitution was changed in 2011 to allow committee members to serve indefinitely, provided they were re-elected every three years. This constitutional change encouraged the committee to take a longer term view of its activities, including the organisation of annual conferences and the introduction of a new and comprehensive website. Between 2012 and 2023 the DHG held ten successful Annual Conferences, which included a total of 83 presentations – some of which have been published.

 

Across the same period, the DHG’s then Chairman, Edward Sargent FSA, developed and maintained its very informative public website. As well as providing full details of the Group’s activities, the website also contained links to 131 past talks, held between 1994 and 2020. Although by no way exhaustive, these provided an incredibly rich resource. Edward Sargent also developed an extended DHG mailing list of over 360 interested contacts. The latter has been supplemented by over 1,000 followers on the DHG Facebook Group developed by our Trustee, Peter Stone.

 

The DHG was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in July 2019, in accordance with Charity Commission regulations. In November 2023, DHG Trustees began a comprehensive Strategic Review of its operations. In November 2024 members formally agreed to change the name of the Group to the Thames and Docklands History Group – with the supportive strapline of London’s River, Port and People. Members also gave approval for an amended object for the Group, which better reflected its long established interest in the Tidal Thames and communities, as well as Docklands. The name and object change were approved by the Charity Commission in December 2024, with the existing Charity Number and constitution remaining unchanged.

 

As part of their Strategic Review, Trustees also approved a new logo and introduced a Quarterly Members’ Newsletter in November 2024 and are in the process of developing this new website.