The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its continuation. It maintains and supervises navigation, and protects the river's environment.
Former headquarters, Tower Hill
PLA boundary marker opposite Teddington
Former PLA Cold Store, Charterhouse Street, Smithfield
A PLA harbour master craft at Woolwich
The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary with the North Sea and including any associated docks. Once the largest port in the world, it was the United Kingdom's largest port as of 2020. Usage is largely governed by the Port of London Authority ("PLA"), a public trust established in 1908; while mainly responsible for coordination and enforcement of activities it also has some minor operations of its own.
Former Port of London Authority Building, 10 Trinity Square, Tower Hill
Legal Quays between Billingsgate Dock and the Tower of London in John Rocque's plan of 1746. Behind Legal Quays lay Thames Street, with its warehouses, sugar refineries and cooperages.
James Elmes' chart of the port, 1837, showing the enclosed docks at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign.
The London docks in 1882. The King George V Dock (and Tilbury Docks, much further downstream) had not yet been built.
