A watercolour of shipping at Tilbury by the marine artist William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931). Far more modern than the inner London docks, Tilbury was an unusual mixture of the largest steamers and small lighters and tugs. 26 miles downstream from London Bridge, the docks were opened in 1886 by the East and West India Dock Company as part of the intense rivalry between the dock companies. For many decades the Tilbury Docks were underused, but they are now the most important port on the Thames.