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Royal Albert Dock

Royal Albert Dock

Where world-class sport meets working water.

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What We Do At Royal Albert Docks

Managing a Dock That Works Hard

Royal Albert Dock is home to some of the most varied and purposeful activity in the Royal Docks network, hosting everything from a 2,000 metre international rowing course and open water swimming to the vital infrastructure and crossings that keep vessels moving safely between docks.

Royal Albert Dock | Connaught Service Tunnel | Victorian History | Explore | Royal Docks waterways

Victorian Foundations

Beneath the Surface

Below the waterline, the historic Connaught Service Tunnel is part of the Victorian-era infrastructure that continues to underpin the network today, quietly doing one of the most essential jobs in the Royal Docks.

Connaught Bridge with its control tower spans Connaught Cut at Royal Albert Dock, with a small boat on the water below.

Connected Since 1880

Keeping the Connections Open

Above it, the Connaught Road Bridge and Footbridge carry road and pedestrian traffic between Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Docks. Alongside the historic Connaught Cut, the channel that has linked the two docks since Royal Albert opened in 1880.

Royal Albert Dock

Highlights

  • 2000m Rowing Course

    Home to the Royal Docks Adventure Watersports Centre, Royal Albert Dock offers a 2,000 metre international rowing course alongside a full programme of competitive and recreational watersport activity.

  • DRIM Culvert

    A key piece of subsurface infrastructure within the Royal Albert Dock, managing water flow as part of the wider dock drainage and water management network.

  • Connaught Road Bridge

    A cable-stayed swing bridge connecting Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Docks, the Connaught Road Bridge has carried traffic across the channel since around 1990.

  • Connaught Service Tunnel

    The Connaught Service Tunnel runs beneath the channel connecting Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Docks, providing vital access to the infrastructure below the waterway.

  • Connaught Cut

    The Connaught Cut is the historic passage linking Royal Victoria and Royal Albert Docks; a narrow channel that once saw ocean-going vessels pass with inches to spare, and which remains a key navigational feature of the Royal Docks today.

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Key Figures

Opened in
1880
by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Royal Albert Dock was the largest purpose-built dock in Britain at the time of its opening
Upto
deep and 1.75 miles long, making it one of the most ambitious dock engineering projects ever undertaken in London, built by over 3,000 workers using 70 steam cranes
London's
dock to be lit by electricity, a distinction that reflects the ambition and innovation that defined the Royal Albert Dock from the moment it opened
  • Opened in
    1880
    by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Royal Albert Dock was the largest purpose-built dock in Britain at the time of its opening
  • Upto
    deep and 1.75 miles long, making it one of the most ambitious dock engineering projects ever undertaken in London, built by over 3,000 workers using 70 steam cranes
  • London's
    dock to be lit by electricity, a distinction that reflects the ambition and innovation that defined the Royal Albert Dock from the moment it opened

Gallery

FAQs

We will keep this section updated, as new information comes available and we will show clearly what information has been added after the website was launched.

What is Royal Albert Dock and when was it built?

Royal Albert Dock opened on 24 June 1880, at a cost of around £2.1 million, and was once the largest of the three Royal Docks. Like the others, it went into steady decline from the 1960s onward and closed as a working dock in 1981.

What's there today?

The dock has been transformed since closure. London City Airport was built on its south bank and opened in 1987, offering a single runway close to central London. The University of East London opened its largest campus on the dock’s north side in 1999 London’s first new university campus in over 50 years. The London Regatta Centre, a rowing and watersports venue, opened nearby in 2000.

Can you still visit or use the water at Royal Albert Dock?

Yes, the dock remains an active part of the wider Royal Docks, with the London Regatta Centre hosting rowing, canoeing and other watersports events, alongside the university campus and airport that now define the area.

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