In 1803, the site began to be used by the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, now known as Corporation of Trinity House. The seawall was reconstructed in 1822 by George Mundy of Old Ford. The site was used as a maintenance depot, and storage facility for the many buoys that aided navigation on the Thames; and the wharf for docking and repair of lightships. The original lighthouse was built by the engineer of Trinity House, James Walker, in 1852, and was demolished in the late 1920s. A second lighthouse, which survives, was built in 1864–66 by James Douglass for Trinity House. It was used to test lighting systems for Trinity House's lights around England and Wales. Michael Faraday carried out experiments there. Both lighthouses were also used for training prospective lighthouse keepers.
In December 1988, Trinity House closed the wharf, and the area was acquired by the London Docklands Development Corporation. In 1998, the LDDC set up the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust with a 125-year lease to hold the land for the people of London. Urban Space Holdings Ltd took control of the site on a long lease. The site has been, and continues to be, developed as "a centre for the arts and cultural activities". Enhancements include studio space and exhibition space. Urban Space Holdings used the area to develop "Container City" in 2001, a studio and office complex made from recycled sea shipping containers. The original project was made from 80% recycled material. "Container City 1" took 5 months to complete, taking 4 days to install. The Container City project proved very popular and in 2002 "Container City 2" was completed delivering a further 22 studios across 5 floors in with a brightly coloured ziggurat design. A further extension to the Container City Complex was the "Riverside Building" located next to the Thames facing The O2 dome. This was yet another architectural design providing an additional 22 studio spaces. In November 2005, the University of East London opened Fine Art studios at the wharf; and in September 2009 the university opened two dance studios at the Institute of Performing Arts Development in The Chainstore at the wharf. Faraday School, a not-for-profit primary school run by the New Model School Company Limited, opened in September 2009. The wharf is also the home of Thames Clippers who have offices and base all their boats on the pier there. In April 2013 the former Cory Environmental Thames Lighterage tug Swiftstone moved to Trinity Buoy Wharf from Greenwich, and the trust's volunteers began a full restoration of the vessel which can be seen underway at the year Thames Barge Driving event. In 2016 the trust acquired two historic tugboats, the Knocker White and the Varlet from the Museum of London Docklands. Both vessels are listed by National Historic Ships on the National Register of Historic Vessels.
