Trinity Buoy Wharf
Encyclopedia
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
, is the site of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's only lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
, by the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and Bow Creek
Bow Creek
Bow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lea and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in east London....
, at Leamouth
Leamouth
Leamouth is the area to the west of the mouth of the River Lea at the River Thames at . The northern part of the area lies within a meander of the Lea; the southern part is bounded in the west by the former East India Docks, on two sides by the Lea and by the River Thames to the south...
. The lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
no longer functions, and is the home of various art projects such as Longplayer
Longplayer
"Longplayer" is a piece of music that is designed to last for one thousand years. It started to play on 1 January 2000, and if all goes as planned, will continue without repetition until 31 December 2999, at which point it will restart....
. It is sometimes known as Bow Creek Lighthouse.
In 1803, the site came to be used by The Elder Brethren of Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
, and the seawall here was reconstructed in 1822, built by George Mundy of Old Ford. The site was used as a maintenance depot, and storage facility for the many buoys that aided navigation on the Thames; and the wharf for docking and repair of lightships.
The original lighthouse was built by the engineer of Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
, James Walker, in 1852. and was demolished in the late 1920s. The surviving lighthouse was built in 1864-6 by James Douglass
James Nicholas Douglass
Sir James Nicholas Douglass, FRS, , was an English civil engineer, a prolific lighthouse builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse, for which he was knighted....
for Trinity House. It was used for lighting trials for Trinity House's lights around England & Wales. Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
also carried out experiments there. The pair continued to be used for training prospective lighthouse keepers.
In December 1988, the Corporation of Trinity House closed the wharf, and the area was acquired by the London Docklands Development Corporation
London Docklands Development Corporation
The London Docklands Development Corporation was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its eighteen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an area of in the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and...
. In 1998, Urban Space Holdings Ltd took control of the site on a long lease. The site has been, and continues to be, developed as "a centre for the arts and cultural activities". Enhancements include studio space (including unusual architecture based on used shipping containers) and exhibition space.
Urban Space Holdings have used the area to develop 'Container City
Container City
Container City is a trademark of "Urban Space Management". It is principally a means of utilising standard shipping containers, at the end of their life, to produce flexible accommodation and offices at low cost....
' in 2001, a studio and office complex made from recycled sea shipping containers. The original project was made from 80% recycled material. "Container City 1" took 5 months to complete, taking 4 days to install. The Container City project proved very popular and in 2002 "Container City 2" was completed delivering a further 22 studios across 5 floors in a with a brightly coloured ziggurat
Ziggurat
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...
design. A further extension to the Container City Complex was the "Riverside Building" located next to the Thames facing The O2
The O2 (London)
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
dome. This was yet another architectural design providing an additional 22 studio spaces.
On 30 November 2005, the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
opened Fine Art studios at the wharf, and on the 25th September 2009 the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
opened two dance studios at the Institute of Performing Arts Development in The Chainstore at Trinity Buoy Wharf.
Faraday School, a not-for-profit primary school run by the New Model School Company Limited, opened in September 2009.
External links
- Trinity Buoy Wharf page
- Engineering Timelines - Trinity Buoy Wharf (1822 and 1851–1852)
- The Long Player project
- Institute for Performing Arts Development
- Faraday School at the New Model School Company Limited's website