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Deptford Dockyard 1698

The Headquarters of the Navy under William III (William of Orange)

Prior to the industrialisation, dockyards such as Deptford represented important economic centres. As the closest to London, it was first established by Henry VIII in 1513 and incorporated key administrative offices, as well as housing large numbers of workers associated with the trades of a shipyard. Men's occupations included mastmakers, riggers, anchorsmiths and sailmakers. Women also formed a large part of the workforce, traditionally employed as color makers - responsible for manufacturing flags - but also alongside the men as ropemakers. source

methodology

This map shows an overlay of the historic Deptford Dockyard, displaying docks, buildings, gardens, canals and extensive walls in their present-day location. The original manuscripts were compiled under the guidance of Edmund Dummer, head surveyor of the Navy and contain a wealth of information referring to building materials and other architectural information, as well as a detailed map. source

The data was digitised from scans of the 1698 folios, outlining improvements made over the previous 10 years. Descriptions and numbering of the map items has been preserved according to the Dummer documents. Noteworthy is also the shoreline of the River Thames, which has visibly receded since the 17th Century.