Napier Yard, Millwall

In 1837 the site of Napier Yard, in Millwall on the River Thames, London was bought by, the the marine engineer David Napier, after whom it became known. It was then still undeveloped except for a row of old cottages. However by 1843 it contained a workshop, a substantial classical-style villa, and some dwellings along Westferry Road. The works were in use until destroyed by fire in 1853, after which most of the yard was then leased to John Scott Russell for building the Great Eastern. Later the site was bought by the Millwall Ironworks, Ship Building & Graving Docks Company Ltd. Then it seems to have been wholly or partly unoccupied for some years after the collapse of that company. However, by the 1880s it was partly occupied by ship and barge builders, to whom building slips were leased by the Millwall Ironworks, successor to the earlier limited company.

The greater part of Napier Yard, which retained the old name, was occupied for many years from the mid-1880s by Joseph Westwood & Company, engineers and manufacturers of constructional iron and steelwork. Extensive building and rebuilding was carried out by Westwood's from 1885, but much of the site remained covered by jetties and building slips until 1900, when the ground was levelled and a river wall was constructed. Large steel-framed buildings were put up in the 1930s. Westwood's also occupied the former Millwall Ironworks premises in Westferry Road for many years.

From 1854 until 1859 the Millwall Ironworks and Napier Yard were dominated by the construction and fitting-out of the Great Eastern.

To facilitate the launch, special slipways were constructed and although the iron rails and decking were probably dismantled soon after the launch in January 1858, the main structure of the slipways remained. Napier Yard continued to be used for shipbuilding for some years, initially by Scott Russell, and there was still a small shipyard on part of the south end until the 1930s, occupied by Edwards & Company. In 1984, during site clearance at the former Edwards shipyard, part of the southern slipway was uncovered. The remains, comprising a section of the concrete and timber sub-structure, are now preserved on site for public display.