Custom House, City of London

The Custom House, on the north bank of the Thames in the City of London was formerly in use for the collection of customs duties. It was in use for many centuries and rebuilt on a number of occasions.

Until 1814 the Custom House stood in the parish of All Hallows Barking, immediately to the east of the present site.

The site was long known as "Wool Quay", and, from the medieval period, a custom house was necessary there to levy the duty payable on exported wool. Such a building is recorded as early as 1377. The quay and the buildings on it were privately owned. Around 1380, one John Churchman built a custom house there to collect dues for the City of London, and in 1382 the crown came to an agreement to use its facilities.

Churchman’s custom house remained in use until 1559, the freehold passing through various hands. Its replacement was erected under the direction of William Paulet, Marquess of Winchester, the Lord High Treasurer. A print from 1663 shows it as a three-storey building, with octagonal staircase towers. This structure was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.

The post-fire replacement was on a rather larger scale, to the designs of Christopher Wren. The original estimate was for £6,000, but the eventual cost was more than £10,000. The new building was short- lived: in January 1715 a fire, which began in a nearby house, damaged the it beyond repair, and a new, larger structure was built to the designs of Thomas Ripley, “Master-Carpenter” to the board of Customs. This necessitated the acquisition of ground to the north, fronting onto Thames Street, and the east. The main body of the new building, however, had the same plan as Wren’s, and may have re-used its foundations, but was of three, rather than two storeys.

With the growth of trade, the opening of the docks, and the increases in duties during the Napoleonic wars, larger premises became necessary in the early nineteenth century. To meet this need, a new building was begun to the designs of David Laing in October 1813, on a site immediately to the west of Ripleys's building, where Bear Quay, Crown Quay, Dice Quay, and Horner's Quay had once been. Laing had held the position of surveyor to HM Customs since 1810. On 12 February 1814 the old building was destroyed by fire, resulting in the explosion of gunpowder and spirits. As a result, papers were retrieved from as far as Hackney Marshes.

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