Proposed docks in the Port of London, 1796.

Plan of the proposed docks showing 'the line of a canal with a collateral cut on Surrey Side of the River Thames'. Large docks are laid out with mooring for colliers (coal ships), and for 'vessels with naval stores and hazardous merchanise'. The Thames was one of the busiest waterways in the world, bringing cargo from all corners of the globe. Illustration from the 'Report from the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Best Mode of Providing Sufficient Accommodation for the Increased Trade and Shipping of the Port of London', produced by the House of Commons and published in London in 1796.