462 ST. KATHER1NE DOCKS. PART VIII. 



joining the east and west coasts of Scotland by the Forth 

 and Clyde Canal, and building bridges in the far north. 

 Rennie made harbours, built bridges, and hewed out 

 docks for shipping, the increase in which had kept pace 

 with the growth of our home and foreign trade. He was 

 followed by Telford, whose long and busy life, as we 

 have seen, was occupied in building bridges and making 

 roads in all directions, in districts of the country formerly 

 inaccessible, and therefore comparatively barbarous. At 

 length the wildest districts of the Highlands and the most 

 rugged mountain valleys of North Wales were rendered 

 as easy of access as the comparatively level counties in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of the metropolis. 



During all this while the wealth and industry of the 

 country had been advancing with rapid strides. London 

 had grown in population and importance. Many im- 

 provements had been effected in the river, but the dock 

 accommodation was still found insufficient ; and, as the 

 recognised head of his profession, Mr. Telford, though 

 now grown old and fast becoming infirm, was called 

 upon to supply the requisite plans. He had been en- 

 gaged upon great works for upwards of thirty years, 

 previous to which he had led the life of a working mason. 

 But he had been a steady, temperate man all his life ; 

 and though nearly seventy, when consulted as to the 

 proposed new docks, his mind was as able to deal with 

 the subject in all its bearings as it had ever been ; and 

 he undertook the work. 



In 1824 a new Company was formed to provide a 

 dock nearer to the heart of the City than any of the 

 existing ones. The site selected was the space between 

 the Tower and the London Docks, which included the 

 property of St. Katherine's Hospital. The whole extent 

 of land available was only twenty-seven acres of a very 

 irregular figure, so that when the quays and warehouses 

 were laid out, it was found that only about ten acres 

 remained for the docks ; but these, from the nature of the 



