Red Lion Wharf, Northfleet, Gravesend, Gravesham, Kent, UK, 1951 (b/w photo)

Photographer, John Laing and Son Ltd; Builder, John Laing and Son Ltd; Laing workers preparing the dry dock at Red Lion Wharf, Gravesend, for the first phase in the construction of the cooling water intake caisson for Coryton Oil Refinery The first stages in the construction of the cooling water intake caisson were carried out at the Red Lion Wharf dry dock, Gravesend. Before work could begin, the site had to be prepared. A thick layer of mud which had been deposited by the tide was removed and the entrance to the dock was closed. On 30th November 1951, when the first construction phase was complete, the caisson was towed across the Thames to Tilbury Docks. Construction of the caisson was completed at Tilbury, and it was finally transported to Coryton in March 1952.