Thames Refuse

The 1998 built Cory Environmental tug Regain heads under London Bridge with four lighters carrying empty refuse containers.

 

Cory Environmental started life in 1896. The Company was then called William Cory and Son Ltd and was an amalgamation of eight companies in one of London’s most important industries – the coal trade. The Company’s assets were considerable. They included:

 

· 13 wharves on the Thames

· two floating derricks

· leased depots in the Victoria, Albert and Tilbury docks

· four tug bunkering stations

· yards and works at Charlton, Erith, Brentford, and Rochester

· 2,500 railway wagons

· 42 coal depots

· 25 stables, which housed the Company's 350 horses

 

William Cory & Son handled over five million tonnes of coal, coke and patent fuel each year. The goods were transported into London and the south east by barges on the Thames and the Medway, and by wagons on the rail system. In addition, hay was brought into the capital from the surrounding countryside.

 

It was here that a prime opportunity to utilise barges that had emptied their load in London was identified, giving an early insight into Cory’s future business. Every tug leaving London on the Thames left with a cargo of rubbish from London's streets, for ultimate disposal on the marshlands of Kent and Essex. Cory Environmental is currently the largest lighterage operator on the upper reaches of the Thames but has expanded to provide environmental services across the UK.

 

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