Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of Rotherhithe, west of Cubitt Town, and has a long shoreline along London's Tideway, part of the River Thames. It was part of the County of Middlesex and from 1889 the County of London following the passing of the Local Government Act 1888, it later became part of Greater London in 1965.
Millwall had a population of 23,084 in 2011 and includes Island Gardens, The Quarterdeck and The Space.
History
Millwall is a smaller area of land than an average parish, as it was part of Poplar until the 19th century when it became heavily industrialised, containing the workplaces and homes of a few thousand dockside and shipbuilding workers. Among its factories were the shipbuilding ironworks of William Fairbairn, much of which survives as today's Burrells Wharf. It was in this era also that Millwall F.C. was founded, in 1885, as Millwall Rovers. First nicknamed 'the Dockers' before becoming 'the Lions', the team moved south of the river to New Cross in 1910, however a set of amateur football pitches remain, adjoining Cubitt Town alongside the City Farm that was added in the 20th century.
Originally known as Marshwall, the area acquired its new name with its breakaway from its former parish of Poplar. The replacement was due to the large number of windmills built on the river wall in the 19th century. Improvements led by the Lord Mayor William Cubitt in reinforcing the land solved the periodic flooding caused by major snow melt and spring tides. Corn and wheat were brought along the River Thames to be ground into flour there.
On 31 January 1858, the largest ship of that time, the SS Great Eastern, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched from Napier Yard, the shipyard leased by Messrs J Scott Russell & Co. The 211 metre (692 ft) length was too wide for the river, and the ship had to be launched sideways. A section of the concrete and timber substructure from the launch site is now preserved on-site for public display at the modern Napier Avenue. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch, this was the last ship of such a size to be built on the island, though other builders such as Yarrows and Samuda Brothers continued building warships on the island for another 50 years. They are commemorated in the names of the Samuda Estate on Manchester Road, and Yarrow House on Stewart Street.
In the 1860s the large Millwall Dock was built, extending from the Thames at Millwall into the centre of the Isle of Dogs. The spoil from the dock was left as the Mudchute.
During the 19th century, the area now called Island Gardens was referred to as North Greenwich, for the North Greenwich railway station that was opened in 1872 to connect with the ferry that was the forerunner of the Greenwich foot tunnel. The Greenwich peninsula, previously East Greenwich, is now also known by this epithet for the North Greenwich tube station.
Like other parts of the Isle of Dogs, substantial redevelopment has been more or less ongoing since the 1980s, resulting in modern industrial and commercial buildings and hastily constructed contemporary housing beginning to predominate over the remaining early 20th century "two up, two down" semi-detached and terraced homes that housed the dock workers, often overcrowded with occupants. The loss of the docks, the German campaign of bombings in the area, and the gradual disappearance of the manufacturing and distribution industries led to a fall in population during the mid-20th century and ongoing problems for local workers who relied on shipping and manufacturing for employment.
The post-World War II period saw the area become a focus of regeneration programmes on the former industrial land in Millwall. Initially led by Poplar Borough Council (eventually absorbed into Tower Hamlets) and London County Council, regeneration efforts focused on council house building until the 1980s when the London Docklands Development Corporation was created and development shifted to private, even luxury, office and residential buildings. During this period the area's population increased significantly following the above-mentioned mid-century drop.
The area is home to a number of council estates including West Ferry Estate, Millwall Estate, Masthouse Terrace, Herperus Crescent Estate and Chapel House Street Estate. The Barkantine Estate, commissioned by the London County Council with the first section opened in 1968, dominates a swathe of the northern section of Millwall.