WI - The River Thames was Straightened

[Masked Grizzly]

In 1796 an architect by the name of Willey Reveley made four proposals to straighten the River Thames between Wapping and Woolwich Reach in east London, which were all rejected by Parliament. By eliminating one of the Thames's largest meanders, which bounds the Isle of Dogs in the west, south and east, this would have facilitated and simplified shipping up and down the Thames; and turn those obsolete river bends into giant wet docks for the ocean ships which were at that time clogging up the limited docking space.

As an added bonus, the river's straightened channel would improve the outflow of the heavily polluted waters of the Thames, which then still served as the receptacle of London's raw sewage - only after the Great Stink of 1858 would the government commission Joseph Bazalgette to build the sewerage system that is still largely in place today.

What if though one of the four proposals was approved by Parliament? - http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/dog-gone-forgotten-schemes-to-straighten-the-thames

 

[Escape Zeppelin]

I think 1796 is far too early for this to be accomplished as the demand vs expense simply wasn't there and the Isle of Dogs was farmland and kind of outside the city. Thirty to fourth years later though and it seems much more likely as both the city and shipping have exploded.

Plan 1 definitely seems the most realistic and they almost inadvertently nearly did the first plan in our history. By 1899 the West India Docks and canals cut through the Isle of Dogs in multiple places. I can see a slightly different and expanded cut that diverts much of the river and shipping through this new channel and makes Blackwall and Limehouse Reach into dockyards.

 

[Masked Grizzly]

I think 1796 is far too early for this to be accomplished as the demand vs expense simply wasn't there and the Isle of Dogs was farmland and kind of outside the city. Thirty to fourth years later though and it seems much more likely as both the city and shipping have exploded.

Plan 1 definitely seems the most realistic and they almost inadvertently nearly did the first plan in our history. By 1899 the West India Docks and canals cut through the Isle of Dogs in multiple places. I can see a slightly different and expanded cut that diverts much of the river and shipping through this new channel and makes Blackwall and Limehouse Reach into dockyards.

Have to admit it would have been interesting if some form of Plan 4 ended up being approved later on in addition to the OTL West India Docks, where the Isle of Dogs is left largely alone with two separate channels dug to create two vast docks on either side forming two islands at Rotherhithe and Greenwich. Resulting in the elimination of Greenwich Dock, and two much more extended Ratcliffe and Blackwater Docks.

Wonder though what would have become of the ATL Rotherhithe and Greenwich Islands as well as whether the three large horseshoe bends of the river would have eventually been filled in later on (rather then remain as permanent lagoons), after being used as huge wet docks connected to the new channel through locks.

All things considered there were even more outstanding proposals regarding the Thames, apparently during the 1930s an architect by the name of William Walcot wanted to amongst other things shift the Thames to Peckham across the bottom of the Greenwich Peninsula (akin to Reveley's schemes). - https://londonist.com/london/history/mad-idea-from-the-1930s-cover-over-the-thames

 

[Masked Grizzly]

Would also be interesting to see how it impacts the development of the East London Line since the proposed new channel through Rotherhithe would entail eliminating Surrey Quays station in favor of a new station further south with the line crossing the new channel via a bridge.