Former Dock Manager'S Office And 1-14 Dock Offices

FORMER DOCK MANAGER'S OFFICE AND 1-14 DOCK OFFICES

Built in 1892 for the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, probably to designs by engineer James McConnochie, these former dock offices at Surrey Quays Road in Rotherhithe comprise three interlinking parts, each originally with separate functions: the Superintendent's Office with clock tower, the Janitor's House (together now known as the Dock Manager's Office), and a large open-plan General Office (now known as Nos. 1-14 Dock Offices).

EXTERIOR

The two-storey building is constructed of yellow stock brick with red brick detailing, arranged in a rough J-shape. Windows are two-by-two pane timber sashes with segmental arches, yellow brick keystones and red brick surrounds. Red brick rusticated quoins accent the building's corners.

Two main blocks front Surrey Quays Road, arranged either side of a prominent central clock tower. The tower features a pavilion roof with fishscale slate and weathervane above, and bracket cornice below. The ground and first floors have banded red brick rustication with red brick quoins above. The belfry contains stone arcading. A side entrance is marked by a stone wedge lintel.

The block to the left of the tower, the former Superintendent's Office, has a pitched roof. Its principal elevation comprises a central porch and large bay window to the left, both with hipped slate roofs and red brick banded rustication. Plaques are positioned to the right of the porch. The eastern return has a pedimented gable with a small keyed oculus flanked by two projecting end stacks. Projecting to the rear is a two-storey pitch-roofed wing, slightly set back with plainer fenestration detailing. This was originally the Janitor's House, separate with its own entrance on the north-east elevation, now opened up to form part of the main block while retaining the original entrance. At ground-floor level on the north-east elevation, horizontal strips of red brick banded rustication lie between each window. To the rear of the former Superintendent's Office, fenestration detailing is plainer, and an ornate cast-iron glazed porch covers the doorway to the right.

The block to the right of the tower is the former General Office, a two-storey workshop with a monitor roof (a raised ridge with clerestory windows). It comprises 14 bays separated by yellow brick pilasters with parapetted gable ends. Each bay contains a pair of small windows with red brick segmental arches on the first floor, interspersed roughly every fourth bay with plain red brick rectangular panels. A single-storey yellow brick continuous bay with entrances runs around three sides; this is of later date but with similar detailing. The gable end facing Surrey Quays Road bears a small carved stone dated 1892. Directly to the right is a single-storey square block, slightly set back, with a flat roof, brick parapet, and white painted timber lettering reading 'Dock Offices'. Similar lettering appears on the south-eastern gable end of the main workshop building, which also features a central projecting end stack.

INTERIOR

The interior has been considerably altered and the special interest lies primarily in the exterior. A few original features survive, including some door frames, altered panelled doors, and a staircase with cast-iron balustrade and timber handrail in the former Superintendent's Office.

HISTORY

A dock on the Rotherhithe peninsula was originally constructed at the end of the 17th century to relieve pressure on the Royal Dockyard at Deptford. Known as Howland Great Dock, it was designed by John Wells, built in 1696 and opened in 1700. As the largest of its kind, it accommodated 120 ships. By the mid-18th century it became known as Greenland Dock due to connections with the Greenland Whale Fishery. By the early 19th century, trade had shifted to Scandinavian and Baltic timber and Canadian grain. New docks were constructed from the early to mid-19th century under three separate companies, which amalgamated in 1864 to form the Surrey Commercial Dock Company. This company further extended the system with Canada Dock in 1874. At their height, the docks covered 460 acres and included nine docks, six timber ponds (mast ponds used to season timber for masts), and a canal, principally handling timber trade and storage.

The Dock Offices operated continuously with little alteration during the 20th century until the decline in timber demand for building construction led to closure of the commercial docks in 1969. The building subsequently lay unused until 1985, despite development proposals in 1972 for its adaptation for Goldsmiths College School of Art. The commercial docks, except for Greenland Dock and South Dock, were filled in at this time.

From 1981 the London Docklands Development Corporation redeveloped the infilled Surrey Docks site with housing and new roads. The former dock entrance road became Surrey Quays Road, providing greater access to the former Dock Offices. The LDDC restored the building in 1985 for its own use. Work included replacing the roof structure and coverings of the Superintendent's Office, clock tower and Janitor's House, underpinning the Janitor's House and the northern gable end of the General Office. A collection of single-storey rear ancillary buildings, including a two-storey fuel store on the southern elevation of the Janitor's House, were demolished and the garden re-landscaped. The LDDC occupied the former Superintendent's Office block until the 1990s, while the former General Office was partitioned into small units and separately leased.