Dogs, Isle of, or Stepney-Marsh

DOGS, ISLE of, or Stepney-Marsh, in the parish of Stepney, union of Poplar, Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 5 miles (E. S. E.) from St. Paul's Cathedral, London. This isle, which is situated in the river Thames, between Limehouse and Blackwall, is supposed to have obtained its present appellation from its having been the place where the king's hounds were anciently kept. It comprises an area of about 836 acres, and at the southeastern point is a ferry over the Thames to Greenwich. A ship canal was constructed across the isle from Limehouse to Blackwall, with a view to shorten the passage of vessels, by avoiding the circuitous curve of the river between those places; but the project was not attended with success, and the canal now forms an appendage to the West India docks. There are mills for extracting oil from linseed, and for making oil-cake for fattening cattle; a manufactory for iron steam-boats and chain-cables, and another for the making of smelling salts. The site of an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Mary, is now occupied by a farmhouse, called the chapel-house. There is a place of worship for Independents. St. Edward's Roman Catholic chapel, at Millwall, was consecrated, with much pomp, in Sept. 1846; it accommodates 4000 persons.