Located just beyond Tower Bridge, there is evidence of there having been a dock here since 1125. In Elizabethan times the area was thriving with busy wharves, a monastery and later a hospital. When the Industrial Revolution came London's trade increased significantly and in the early 19th century the dock was expanded and improved enormously at the cost of well over £1 million. With six storey warehouses and huge vaults, St. Katherine Dock thrived handling valuable cargoes from all over the world such as sugar, rum, tea, spices, perfumes, ivory, marble, wine and brandy. This continued well into the first half of the 20th century, but with the two world wars it became used almost entirely for military war purposes and then became severely damaged during The Blitz. Much of its restoration mirrors the architecture that previously stood on the site. Today the dock houses luxury warehouse apartments, smart restaurants and shops, and its marina houses up to 200 luxury yachts and historic barges,