Denmark House, 15 Tooley Street, London Borough of Southwark

Reference           Royal Academy No 1602 1907 - Shipping Offices 15, Tooley Street

LISTING TEXT - Offices. 1908. By SD Adshead. For the Bennet Steamship Company. Brick and artificial stone. Roof parapeted. 5 storeys with one-window range to Tooley Street and 3-window range to triangular plaza on return. Entrance to party wall under elaborate cartouche. Squat stone pilasters to ground-floor plate-glass windows. Upper-floor windows paired sashes, those to 3rd floor with shallow balcony enclosed by metal railings and floating cornices; stylized swags flank each window pair. Top storey with panels in in contrasting colour; pedimented dormers. Above the cornice, in centre of long return, an elaborate carved plaque crested by a steamship and held in place by a pair of putti. INTERIOR: not inspected. Listing NGR: TQ3291880309

The Bennet Steamship company sailed from Goole and London to Boulogne. It was at its height during the inter-war period when it had a staff of almost 400 in Boulogne and almost as many in England. Cargoes handled by the company in its century of trading varied enormously. The first consignment for Goole 100 years ago included seven cases of silks from Lyons, and other cargoes included fruit, flowers and vegetables. In 1926 Bennett steamers crossed the Channel 534 times to carry 8,000 Citroën and Renault cars, mostly for use as London taxis. John Bentley Bennett, son of the founder and managing director of the shipping line, died in 1946 after which the firm was taken over by the General Steam Navigation Company