Commercial Dock Pier Showing the Scotch Derrick, 1937, in the foreground, Odessa Street to the right of the Derrick.
The Scotch Derrick, Commercial Pier, Rotherhithe in 2017
A simple crane that was frequently used in quarries, docks and boatyards. They are also called stiff-leg derricks. The difference between a crane and a derrick is that the jib (arm) can be raised or lowered on a derrick, rather than the jib remaining stationary. They were used for lifting and moving heavy loads, larger ones had control cabins and they were usually steam-powered. The Thames Path bears right here, just before the derrick, onto Odessa Street.
Deadman’s Dock, or Dodman’s Dock, was named after the shipbuilders Dudman & Company, who operated here at the end of the 18th century. It was bought from them by the Brighton and South Coast Railway Company in 1850. It was then owned by Southern Railway and eventually British Rail after nationalisation, until it closed in 1970. It is now the site of the Surrey Quays shopping centre.
Rotherhithe Street, Bellamys Wharf and Bullhead Dock were a sand and gravel unloading facility.
King and Queens Wharf (Bellamy's Granaries) from the Upper Globe Wharf to Dinorwic Wharf section in 1937
King and Queen Wharf, next door to Globe Wharf, was originally known as Bellamy’s Wharf and was built by French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars in the 1790’s. Bellamys Wharf and Bullhead Dock were a sand and gravel unloading facility.