Central Liverpool: The South Docks

	The Albert Dock The Albert Dock consists of superbly redeveloped warehouse buildings and dockland area. This view of the north-west corner of the dock features, in the centre, Tate Liverpool, the largest modern art gallery in the UK outside London. The warehouses were designed by Jesse Hartley and Phillip Hardwick and opened in 1845. The fireproof design was a reaction to the enormous losses previously sustained in warehouse fires. The design also allowed direct loading and unloading between ships and warehouses for first time in Liverpool. Built to last at a staggering cost (then) of over £700,000, the buildings were nevertheless threatened with demolition in the 1970s. Their rescue marked a turning point for Liverpool, which seemed then to be locked into a bottomless decline.
The Turning Point for Liverpool, edited from the BBC News Channel [Conservative minister Michael Heseltine highlighted urban deprivation in Liverpool following the Toxteth riots in 1981 and was instrumental in the reversal of the city's fortunes by persuading the private sector it was in their interests to help finance the regeneration of the inner city. Later he recalled of his visit at that time:] 'The Mersey, its lifeblood, flowed as majestically as ever down from the hills. Its monumental Georgian and Victorian buildings, created with such pride, still dominated the skyline. The Liver Building itself, the epicentre of a trading system that had reached out to the four corners of the earth, stood defiant and from my perspective very alone [...] everything had gone wrong.' [...] Millions of pounds subsequently poured into the area. The Merseyside Development Corporation, established by Mr. Heseltine, spent more than £200m redeveloping the Albert Dock. [Margaret Thatcher comments in her memoirs:] 'For the most part [...] his efforts had only ephemeral results'. Although, in a somewhat backhanded compliment, the former prime minister adds: 'I would not blame him for that - Liverpool has defeated better men than Michael Heseltine.' [I'll resist the temptation to comment.]
	The Albert Dock The north-east corner of the dock features, on the left, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which tells the story of Liverpool's seafaring heritage.
The Albert Dock area in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) For the security of the shipping in the port, and for the greater facility of loading and unloading merchandise, an immense range of docks and warehouses, extending along the bank of the river, has been constructed, on a scale of unparalleled magnificence; forming one of those characteristics of commercial greatness in which this town is unrivalled. The docks are of three kinds, the wet, the dry, and the graving, and there are also half-tide docks. The wet docks are principally for ships of great burthen, employed in the foreign trade, which float in them at all states of the tide, the water being retained by gates: the dry docks, so called because they are left dry when the tide is out, are chiefly appropriated to coasting-vessels; and the graving docks, admitting or excluding the water at pleasure, are adapted to the repair of ships, during which they are kept dry. The Old dock, which was the first of the kind constructed in England, was opened in 1710, and closed in 1826, when its site, being filled up, was appropriated to the erection of the custom-house, and other offices connected with the trade of the port. The Canning dock, which was a dry dock till 1832, was constructed under the authority of an act passed in the 11th of George II, and was deepened nine feet in 1842: it is now capable of receiving the largest vessels frequenting the port, but is chiefly occupied by coasting-vessels, which bring corn, provisions, and slate, and convey back the produce of the West Indies, the Mediterranean, Portugal, and the Baltic; it has a quay 500 yards in length, and communicates with two graving docks. The Salthouse dock, so named from some salt-works formerly contiguous to it, was constructed about the same time as the Canning dock; it was rebuilt and deepened in 1842, and is now used by vessels in the Levant, West India, and Irish trades. The quay is 730 yards in extent, and is provided with convenient warehouses, with arcades for foot passengers on the east side, and extensive sheds on the west side. George's dock, constructed in the 2nd of George III, at an expense of £21,000, was originally only 246 yards in length, and 100 yards in breadth, with a quay 700 yards in extent, but it has been enlarged, and the quay is now 1000 yards in length. On the east side is a range of extensive warehouses, in front of which is an arcade for foot passengers; at the north and south ends of the dock are handsome cast-iron bridges; and a parade is continued westward for a considerable distance. This dock has a communication with the two preceding docks, and also with the Prince's dock, by basins, which preclude the necessity of returning into the river. The Albert dock, between the Salthouse dock and the river, was commenced in 1842, and opened with much ceremony by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, on the 31st of July, 1846. The water space is 7¾ acres; the quay length, 885 yards. The warehouses erected upon the margin, five stories in height, are entirely constructed of stone, brick, and iron, are vaulted throughout, and are perfectly fire-proof; they occupy an area of 4½ acres, and have an aggregate area of floor accommodation equal to 21½ acres. The dock has a commodious halftide basin, with double entrance gates, which allow vessels arriving, and vessels departing, to pass at the same time. The total cost was £800,000. The Duke's dock, between Salthouse and the King's docks, is a small one belonging to the trustees of the late Duke of Bridgewater, for the use of flats, with commodious warehouses. The several carriers by water have also convenient basins on the river, for their barges, with quays for loading and unloading goods.
	Canning Half Tide Dock In the foreground here is the Canning Half Tide Dock (Hartley 1842-4) with the entrance to the Albert Dock on the right, the Pump House in the middle and the Radio City Tower to the left.
	The Albert Dock Gates A glimpse of Wallasey Town Hall above the Albert Dock gates. My thanks to Don Garton for this picture.
	The Yellow Duckmarine The amphibious Yellow Duckmarines (currently four of them), named with a nod in the direction of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, provide one of the best guided tours of central Liverpool and the South Docks. A road tour of interesting parts of the town is followed by a swan-startling splash-down in the Salthouse Dock and a voyage around several of the other docks. The tour I was on was hosted by a scouse comedy duo class-act of courier and driver, though I can't imagine what some of our foreign friends (apart from the Aussies) made of it. The 'Ducks' (known originally as DUKWs: D = 1942, U = utility or amphibious, K = 6 wheel drive and W = twin rear axles) were built in the USA during World War II to move men and materials ashore where no port facilities existed. They saw action in 1943 during the invasion of Sicily and then during the D-Day landings and the Normandy campaign. They continued in service after the war with many armies, the British finally retiring theirs in 1974.
	Canning Half Tide Dock Imagination required now. Canning Half Tide Dock and the adjacent Albert Dock are located at the mouth of the former tidal creek known as The Pool (from which Liverpool partly gets its name via the Anglo-Saxon, the remainder meaning thick and muddy, hopefully not intended to refer to the inhabitants). Across Strand Street, the Pool was converted into the first commercial enclosed wet dock in the world, completed in 1715 but now filled in. Upstream, the Pool followed the route of Paradise Street, Whitechapel, Old Haymarket and Byrom Street, at the start of which a bridge was constructed in the mid-17th century. To the west was the mediaeval town with its castle, while the higher ground to the east was the virtually uninhabited Great Heath, and, to the south-east, the hunting estate of Toxteth Park.
The Pool and environs in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The first of [the] docks, opened in 1715, was made out of the mouth of a tidal creek re-entering from the estuary, the upper reaches of which were at the same time filled in. This creek, known as the Pool, curved inland in a north-easterly direction along the line of the modern Paradise Street, Whitechapel, and the Old Haymarket for a distance of nearly half a mile. It was fed by two streamlets, one coming from Everton at the northern end of the ridge, while the other ran a more rapid course from a marshy expanse, called the Mosslake, which lay halfway up the slope to the south-east, between the modern Hope Street and Crown Street. The latter stream fed the chief water-mill of mediaeval Liverpool. At the inner or north-eastern end of the Pool there was a stretch of wet ground known as the Moor Green; the path which led to it from the village (the modern Tithebarn Street) was known as Moor Street until the 16th century. This 'moor' may have given its name to the great Liverpool family of Moore, More, or de la More. Between the Pool and the Mersey a small peninsula was thus inclosed, roughly triangular in shape, with its base to the north and its apex overlooking the mouth of the Pool. The peninsula sloped gently from each side and from the level ground on the north, reaching its highest point, about 50 ft. above sea level, near the apex of the triangle, at the top of the modern Lord Street. This point was the obvious site for the erection of the castle; while the whole peninsula formed a natural fortress, easily defensible except on the north until the age of artillery, when it was commanded from the ridge behind. The Pool divided into nearly equal halves the total area of the township, which amounted to 1,858 acres, and almost exactly corresponded to the modern parish. Until the middle of the 17th century all the houses and all the cultivated lands lay to the north of the Pool and of the stream which ran into it from the Mosslake, while the southern half of the township as far as the wall of Toxteth Park (marked by the modern Parliament Street) lay waste.
	The Mersey Bar Lightship The Mersey Bar lightship 'Planet' in Canning Half Tide Dock. When in service from 1961 to 1972, it used to mark the start of the shipping lane into the Mersey out past the Mersey Bar sandbanks and was the first indication that returning sailors had of their approach to Liverpool. From 1972 to 1983, it was moved to the English Channel, off Guernsey. It was the last manned lightship in UK waters, with a crew of seven on two week shifts.
	The Mersey Bar Lightship The Mersey Bar lightship in Canning Dock. I couldn't resist this view with the Pier Head buildings behind.
	The Museum of Liverpool across Canning Dock
	Salthouse Dock The waterfront buildings seen across Salthouse Dock have recently become one of the most famous views of Liverpool. The dock took its name from a nearby salt refinery that processed rock salt from Cheshire. It was Liverpool's second dock, completed in 1753, and is the oldest still in existence.
	The Pumphouse The Pumphouse, formerly the Albert Hydraulic Power Centre, was built in 1878 to provide high pressure water for hydraulic dock gates, bridges, lifts and cranes. Hydraulic systems were introduced by Jesse Hartley, who had observed William Armstrong's hydraulic crane at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1847. The building has now been restored somewhat unsympathetically as a pub, but the exterior provides a great dockside location to sit with a drink.
	Canning Dock, the Pumphouse and the Dock Traffic Office The north-east corner of the Albert Dock buildings with the Dock Traffic Office to the left and the Pumphouse to the right.
	The Dock Traffic Office The Dock Traffic Office, with its Greek temple-like frontage, was built in 1848 by Philip Hardwick. The portico is actually made of cast iron, the pillars being in two sections each and the architrave above a single casting.
	The Piermaster's House This house, completed in 1853, is situated by the entrance to the Albert Dock, where the piermaster could keep his eye on the comings and goings.
	Wapping Dock and Warehouses The Wapping Dock warehouses were also designed by Jesse Hartley and opened in 1856. They bear a strong resemblance to his Albert Dock buildings and are now luxury apartments.
The Wapping Dock area in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The King's dock, constructed in the 25th of George III., is 270 yards in length and 95 in breadth, and is partly appropriated to vessels from Virginia and other parts, laden with tobacco, which is exclusively landed here. The new tobacco warehouses extend the whole length of the quay, on the west side, and cover an area of more than four acres; the old warehouses, on the opposite side, have been converted into sheds for the security of merchandise. Across the entrance is a handsome swivel bridge of cast-iron. This dock has a communication on the south with a dry dock and two graving docks, one of which has gates 70 feet wide for the accommodation of steamers of the largest class. The Queen's dock, constructed at the same time, is 470 yards long and 227 in breadth, with a spacious quay, and is chiefly occupied by vessels employed in the Dutch and Baltic trades; at the south end it communicates with a small dock called the Union dock, which is also connected with the Coburg dock. This last was made by placing gates 70 feet wide, on to the entrance to an old dry basin; these gates are wider than those at any other port, and are adapted for steamers of the largest size. On the south of the Union dock is a dock of greater dimensions than any of the preceding, named the Brunswick dock, which is peculiarly fitted for vessels laden with timber, having a half-tide basin on the west. It is also furnished with two spacious graving docks, into which vessels can enter at any. state of the tide; each graving dock is capable of containing three large ships. To the south of the Brunswick dock, which was completed in 1832, is the Toxteth dock, chiefly used by vessels with cargoes of mahogany: this small dock, and the land for 600 yards further to the south, including the new Harrington docks, are proposed to be formed into a dock for the further accommodation of the timber trade, under an act obtained in the year 1846. Under this act, likewise, it is intended to form a dock at Wapping, having a water area of 5 acres 235 yards, and a basin adjoining, having a water area of 1 acre 1671 yards; and to make an addition of 1 acre 3412 yards to the water area of the Salthouse dock. These works will connect the King's dock, Queen's dock, and other docks on the south, with the docks north of the Salthouse; in other words, will form a link uniting the whole south range of docks with the north range, and thus prevent the necessity of a vessel's passing out into the river in order to remove from one division to the other. The same act authorizes the formation of a dock with a water space of more than 3½ acres, at Nova Scotia, between the Canning and George's docks.
	Wapping Hydraulic Tower and Policeman's Lodge Hartley's fanciful Wapping Hydraulic Tower (left) and Policeman's Lodge (right). The tower (of 1856) provided power to operate the hydraulic lifts in Wapping Warehouse (centre). The Policeman's Lodge is constructed of intricate granite masonry recalling dry stone walling and is like a giant surreal chess piece.
	The Echo Arena and Convention Centre This complex, opened in 2008, features the Echo Arena with a capacity of up to 11,000 and the BT Convention Centre including a 1,350 capacity auditorium. In the foreground is miniscule Duke's Dock.
	The Echo Arena and Convention Centre The view from the south-east. The complex is one of the most sustainable venues in Europe. Features control light, temperature and electricity usage and harvest rainwater for toilet flushing, while a crop of tidal turbines on the river generate the electricity supply. The design, by architects Wilkinson Eyre, has been awarded a string of environmental and architectural accolades.
	The Anglican Cathedral and Wapping Warehouses The view of the Anglican Cathedral from the Mersey Ferry shows just how much it dominates the skyline of the city. It quite dwarfs the huge Wapping Dock warehouses in the foreground.
	The Liverpool Marina at Coburg Dock A haven for the many who now use the River Mersey for leisure. This part of the Marina is the old Coburg Dock, dating from 1823, which links through to the larger Brunswick Dock (1832) to the south. The skyline is dominated by the Anglican Cathedral and Cain's brewery building to its right.
	The Liverpool Skyline from Brunswick Dock Featuring, from left to right, Cain's Brewery, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Anglican Cathedral.