Canada Dock is a

dock A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...

on the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and part of the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks between ...

. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Canada Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall with three

branch dock A branch dock is a dock that forms part of a large harbour system of interlinked docks. Branch docks are terminal branches of a main floating dock. They are ''not'' isolated from the main dock by gates or locks and they share the same water le ...

s and a

graving dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

to the east. It is connected to

Brocklebank Dock Brocklebank Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle, connected to Langton Dock to the north and Canada Dock to the south. Carriers' Dock was originall ...

to the north and

Huskisson Dock Huskisson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, which forms part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Huskisson Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and two branch docks to th ...

to the south.

History

The dock was the last and biggest designed by

Jesse Hartley Jesse Hartley (21 December 1780 – 24 August 1860) was Civil Engineer and Superintendent of the Concerns of the Dock Estate in Liverpool, England between 1824 and 1860. Hartley's career Despite having no experience of dock building, Hartley was ...

, opening in 1859. In 1862, the Canada half-tide basin, which became Brocklebank Dock, was added by

George Fosbery Lyster George Fosbery Lyster FRSE (1821–1899) succeeded John Hartley as Engineer in Chief to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. He is usually referred to as G. F. Lyster. Life He was born on 7 September 1821 at Mount Talbot in County Roscommon in ...

. Canada Dock dealt in

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

being named after the main source of the trade,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Fire was the greatest concern and the dock was initially kept isolated from the rest of the dock system for safety reasons. However, a fire did occur in 1893 causing £50,000 of damage. The original river entrance also presented navigational difficulties, with the area affected by

silting Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

. Modifications to the basin took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, creating the

s and

. The removal of the problematic tidal basin only took place after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, following a complete rebuild. Further improvements took place during the 1950s and 1960s as the dock became a base for

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

companies such as

Harrison Line Harrison Line, officially ''T&J Harrison'', was a shipping line founded by the brothers Thomas and James Harrison in Liverpool, England in 1853. It ran both cargo and passenger services, starting with the import of French brandy from Charente. ...

. The dock was used as a

ro-ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usin ...

berth during the early 1990s.

Railway connections

The dock was connected to the national rail network by the Canada Dock Branch Line. The short branch line from Atlantic Junction, just west of

Kirkdale railway station Kirkdale railway station is a railway station in Kirkdale, Liverpool, England, located to the north of the city centre on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network. It acts as the interchange between the branches to Kirkby and Ormskirk; th ...

, into the dock was closed on 12 September 1982. The terminus was

Canada Dock railway station Canada Dock railway station was the passenger terminus of the Canada Dock Branch, situated near Canada Dock, Liverpool, England. History The station opened on 1 July 1870 as ''Bootle'', being renamed ''Canada Dock'' on 5 September 1881. The ...

. Although the branch line closed to passengers in 1941, it remained in use for goods. The Route Utilisation Strategy states that there should be no building on the short path of the old track in case it requires reinstating. From 1893, passenger services were also provided by the

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool which operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number ...

via Canada Dock (LOR) station until 1956.

Present

Canada Dock remains in use, handling general bulk cargoes and as a site for

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

processing and storage. Canada-Dock1

References

Sources

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External links

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Canada Dock

Canada Dock aerial photo
{{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks