Cyprus and Gallions

Post to the west Royal Albert
Post to the north Beckton
Post to the east Gallions
Post to the south North Woolwich



Albert Island
This appears to be the land which lies between the Royal Albert Dock and the River – and the two entrances to the docks – one to the Royal Albert and one to the George V.  Anyway it is about to be regenerated!

Basin Way
Blocks of flats built on what were warehouses and railway lines.

Cyprus Place
Cyprus originated as a housing estate between Beckton and North Woolwich built from 1881. Its street names commemorate places in the news thus Cyprus Place. Cyprus, as the estate was called, was squalid development because of its lack of main drainage. Following bombing housing was replaced by pre-fabs. The area was later rebuilt.
40 The Ferndale. This is now a general store following conversion and a row with the planners. The pub dated from the 1880s and other shops stood alongside it.
Trees and grass now lie between the road and the Docklands Light Railway Line

Dockland Street
This was previously Dock Street which was straight. The right hand turn dates from the 1960s.
North Woolwich Secondary School. Opened in 1891 and closed in 1962. This school was in Kent and administered by Woolwich Council.

Docklands Light Railway
There are two Docklands Light Railway lines on this square.
The line which runs alongside Hartman Road to George V Station is part of the Woolwich Arsenal extension to the railway, opened in 2005.
The line which runs parallel to Royal Albert Way is on the Beckton Extension opened in 1994.  It is on the line of the Great Eastern Railway to Gallions.

Felixstowe Court
New housing on the site of the Harland and Woolfe Ship Repair yard.  The main part of the yard is in the square to the south

Gallions Road
This road has now been cut off from access to Woolwich Manor Way. It dates from the building of the docks and ran between railway lines towards the river, including Gallions Station and Hotel.

Gallions Roundabout
Storm water pumping station. This was built 1975-8 by Mason, Pittendrigh & Partners, to drain the surface water from Beckton marshes before redevelopment with housing and industry. It has a brick-clad steel superstructure with a precast pleated roof and a travelling crane. It is roughly circular and has electrically driven pumps, having a total capacity and is fully automatic.

King George V Dock
The King George V Dock was built as was part of the 1910 ‘improvements’. It was begun by Sir Frederick Palmer, the Port of London Authority's first Chief Engineer and completed by Sir Cyril Kirkpatrick.  The Contractors were S.Pearson & Sons, & Sir William Arrol & Co.  It was planned as one of two by the London and India Dock Co., in 1901 and the PLA took over the proposals in 1909. Only one of the docks was built. It has 64 acres of water and Concrete quay walls 2 miles long. It was opened in 1921 by King George V. On the north side were six transit sheds and on the south ‘dolphins’ - jetties parallel to the quay so that lighters could go between the ships and the quay. On the north side these sheds were built in pairs to provide warehouse space on the upper floor for tobacco. Each transit shed should have had its own approach road and three rail tracks behind but there were limitations of space. The whole north side and dry dock, were demolished for London City Airport
Dock Offices Building. Designed and built in 1931 by Sir Edwin Cooper in yellow brick with top-lighting.
Dockmaster's Office, by Sir Edwin Cooper. Tiny 1922-4.
Custom House Office.
Hydraulic plate girder swing bridge. This ran between Peninsula Road, Gate 15 and Woolwich Manor Way over the Adelaide Cutting, The Shaw Saville offices were nearby
Entrance. The depth and size of the entrance locks were suitable for the largest ships that came to London in the mid-20th. The Gallions Reach entrance accommodated the 35,655 ton Mauretania in 1939.  This entrance still functions.

Pier Road
5 Pier Parade. North Woolwich Library. In an old shop premises. Claims to be open.
George V station, This Docklands Light Railway Station lies between London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal Stations. It opened in 2005 and until 2009, it served as a temporary terminus for the King George V branch of the DLR but the terminus is now Woolwich Arsenal. It is named after nearby King George V Dock.
St. John the Evangelist. This included a vicarage and boys and girls schools. It was don the corner with Woodman Street. The church opened in 1872 as a mission of St Mark, Victoria Docks. A separate parish was formed in 1877. It was burnt down during an air raid in 1940, and services were subsequently held in the former infants’ school hall. A new church, on a different site, was consecrated in 1968.

Royal Albert and Victoria Docks Cut
This is an open surface water drain with timber clad sloping walls which runs parallel and north of the north side of the docks. It discharges into both a pipe and a culvert which discharge into the Thames. It was divided in half by the DLR embankment,

Royal Albert Basin
This is the water area which lay between what were two original entrances to the dock and the dock itself.  It was opened in 1880 and had transit sheds on both sides of the dock.
Gallions Point Marina. This is in Royal Albert Basin and has been there since the 1980s

Royal Albert Dock
This square covers only the eastern end of the dock. The Dock was built in 1875-80 for the London and St Katharine Company with Alexander Rendel as engineer. It was intended as a ship canal running to the older Victoria Dock, with a quay along it where ships could berth.  To the west of the north quay, is an uninterrupted straight line of quay walls for over a mile. There were no warehouses but instead there were transit sheds and designed so that one shed would serve one berth. Cold stores were later

Royal Albert Way
The LDDC built roads through the Royal Docks to link to the A13 and the new Limehouse Link. This included a 1 mile dual carriageway was built along the north side of Royal Albert Dock from a new roundabout at the Gallions Pumping Station. For some of the length the DLR runs between the two carriageways. Roundabouts were built to serve development sites and site the DLR stations
Cyprus Station. This station is on the Beckton Extension of the Docklands Light Rahway lying between Beckton Park and Gallions Reach Station. The DLR runs in the middle of the road which as built with it at the same time. The road here has climbed to road level, but drops down for the Station which is beneath a roundabout in a cutting with pedestrian access at surface level under the elevated roadway.
Royal Docks Road
The LDDC built roads through the Royal Docks to link to the A13 and the new Limehouse Link. The first built, in 1986, was Royal Docks Road, running south from the A13 to a new roundabout at the Gallions Pumping Station.
Gallions Reach Station.  This station is on the Beckton Extension of the Docklands Light Railway lying between Cyprus and Beckton Stations.

Rymill Street
Oasis Academy. This secondary school was launched by the academy provider, Oasis, in conjunction with Newham council in 2014 with just 82 students.

University Way
University of East London. Docklands campus. This was the first new university campus; in London for fifty years. The university itself was created in 1992 from three technical colleges. The campus was rapidly built on a tight budget using recycled materials and is squeezed onto a narrow strip between the DLR Beckton line and the Albert Dock. Aerocraft land noisy alongside the seminar rooms.  Most of the campus consists of brightly coloured cylindrical blocks by Edward Cullinan. Phase one dates from 1997 for 2,400 students in eight departments, with accommodation for 384.  A wall of teaching buildings lies parallel to the dock, with coloured free-standing cylinders for residences. The west block has library, lecture theatre and administration, and the larger east block has studios and workshops for the art, design and engineering departments.
The Children’s Garden Early Years Centre. Landscaped educational garden built of untreated larch and recycled materials.

Woodman Street
Part of the street was once Elizabeth Street
Royal Oak Pub. A Truman’s pub built in 1872 with still extant Truman’s tiled signage.  The upper floors were lost in the Second World War bombing but it continued as a single storey pub.
Fight for Peace. International organisation providing young people with martial art training.
Woodman Community Centre. Local authority community centre with a small hall, kitchen and garden. It is managed by Beckton and Royal Docks Community Neighbourhood team.
The Storey Centre. Newham Pupil Referral Unit.
Storey Primary School. This school dated from 1911 and is now closed
Joinery. This was present in the 1960s
Gospel hall. Woodman Street mission hall, was a brick building from the late 19th'. It was registered for worship in 1952
Primitive Methodist church. This originated about 1867 when Services were held in a cottage, then in a shop, and later in an archway between two houses, ingeniously fitted up by the superintendent of the 8th London circuit. In 1880 a brick church was built on the corner with Storey Street. It was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War, and was not rebuilt.

Woolwich Manor Way
Was previously called Manor Way or East Ham Manor Way and was an old military road used by the Royal Arsenal as a road and to the north west was used as a store for old ordnance.  Old cannon etc. were used to repair the road.
Bascule lifting bridge over George V entrance. Built 192l but destroyed by a V2 in 1944 and rebuilt. It was replaced by LDDC in 1990 to a wider width by Taylor Woodrow Construction. However it has retained its original red brick parapets. It is named after the Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave and now continues over the entrance to the Albert Dock where there was previously a swing bridge over the entrance lock.
St.John’s Chapel. In this area and recorded in 1224.
Manor Road Station. This station was on the west side of East Ham Manor Way. It was totally demolished and 1887 it was resited on the east side of East Ham Manor Way.  (now Woolwich Manor Way)
Manor Way Station. This station dated from 1881 and was built by the London and St.Katharine’s Dock Company as Manor Way Station on the Gallions Bridge east of the road bridge.  It had two platforms, with a wooden street level building and access to the trains was via stairs roofed with corrugated iron. A footbridge linking the platforms was removed. In 1926 when the road was widened it was replaced by another plainer wooden building. In 1940 the station it was closed but the building remained there for another thirty years
Manor Way Signal Box. This was tucked away against the parapet on the north side of the street level building, but high enough to give the signalman a clear view of the track on the opposite side of the bridge.

Sources
Bird. Geography of the Port of London
British History on Line. East Ham. Web site
Bygone Kent 
Dockland
Docklands History Survey
Essex Review. Web site
Forgotten Stories. Web site.
LDDC Completion Booklet
London’s Business cavalcade 
London Railway Record
Newham walks,  
Old Plaistow,
PLA Magazine
Wikipedia. As appropriate