Convoys Wharf

Convoys Wharf in Deptford is a former commercial wharf on the River Thames in London, currently awaiting redevelopment. It includes the site of Deptford Dockyard, built in the reign of King Henry VIII as one of the first Royal Dockyards. Convoys Wharf also covers most of the site of Sayes Court manor house and gardens, one-time home of the diarist John Evelyn. The current name of the site dates from 1984, when the Ministry of Defence sold the wharf and adjoining land to Convoys Ltd (newsprint importers). Convoys Wharf was subsequently taken over by News International, which used it to import newsprint and other paper products from Finland until early 2000. Having been sold by News International in 2008, it is now owned by Hutchison Whampoa Limited and is subject to a planning application to convert it into residential units, although a large part of the site has safeguarded wharf status. The area to the south-east, adjoining Watergate Street, was Palmers Wharf; while to the north-west is the Pepys Estate, a 1960s housing estate built on the site of the Royal Victoria Victualling Yard.