Gladstone 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

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

. The dock is connected to

Seaforth Dock Seaforth Dock (also known as the Royal Seaforth Dock) is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operated ...

to the north and what remains of

Hornby Dock Hornby Dock was a dock located on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It was situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. It connected to Gladstone Dock to the north and Alexandra Dock to the south and encompassed a ...

to the south. Part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock is operated by the

Mersey Docks and Harbour Company The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed nort ...

History

The dock is named after Robert Gladstone, a merchant from Liverpool and second cousin of Prime Minister

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. Designed in the first decade of the twentieth century, construction was eventually completed in 1927 and consisted of of

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

s and extensive

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

space. The

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, ...

was completed in 1913, before the rest of the dock became operational. At long and wide it was designed to take the largest trans-Atlantic steamers. The graving dock has since been converted into a wet dock (Gladstone Number 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 ...

). Gladstone Dock lock entrance is one of the two remaining operational river entrances in the northern dock system. Measuring long, wide and deep; was wider, longer and deeper than the Panama Canal locks at the time of opening. The Panama Canal and Gladstone locks could accommodate a maximum size of container ship of 4,500-5,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs). The lock provided maritime access to the container terminal of the adjacent

Royal Seaforth Dock Seaforth Dock (also known as the Royal Seaforth Dock) is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operat ...

, which opened in 1972. However in 2016 the Panama Canal locks will were enlarged to a size larger than the Gladstone locks: long, wide and deep, accommodating vessels with capacities of up to 14,000 TEUs, depending on the vessel design. Rather than enlarge the Gladstone locks to match the size of the Panama locks, the Port of Liverpool built an in-river berth, in the tidal river, serving a new container terminal called

Liverpool2 Liverpool2 is a container terminal extension adjoining the River Mersey in Seaforth, Merseyside. The extension, built by Peel Ports, officially opened on 4 November 2016 and is an expansion of the Seaforth Dock container terminal. Developmen ...

. Container ships unable to enter the Gladstone lock will need to use the adjacent in-river berthing at Liverpool2. Liverpool2 solved the problem of the disruption of enlarging the Gladstone locks, and also giving container handling expansion. Simultaneously the NY-NJ port in the USA deepened its access channel and raised the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the large vessels transiting the Panama Canal. The expansions at Liverpool and New York means larger ships can operate between the two ports. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the liner RMS ''Aquitania'' was undergoing repairs in Gladstone Graving Dock. As a result, she was converted in situ for war service. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, ASW ships, Atlantic convoy escorts and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s were based in the dock. In 1942 the National Fire Service opened a fire station on Fort Road having a berth for some of its fireboats adjoining the NW Wall of the Dock, this remained open until 1946. On 25 January 1953, the liner RMS ''Empress of Canada'' caught fire and capsized in Gladstone Number One Branch Dock. She was refloated the following year and towed to Gladstone Graving Dock to be made watertight, in preparation for being scrapped in Italy. Transatlantic passenger services continued to use the dock until all such services from Liverpool were discontinued in 1971. The main line

Gladstone Dock railway station Gladstone Dock railway station was a station in Bootle, Lancashire, England, located on the North Mersey Branch The North Mersey Branch (NMB) is a railway line that connected the Liverpool and Bury Railway at Fazakerley Junction with . ...

closed to passengers on 7 July 1924 while 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 ...

station Gladstone Dock (LOR) closed in 1956. A new biomass terminal was built at the docks opening in 2015 with a second phase completed in 2016. Up to 10 trains per day will transport the biomass to power stations.

Current use

As part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock's principal uses are: importing

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

for the adjacent Hornby Dock coal processing facility, importing biomass from North America at the biomass terminal and exporting

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 ...

to the Far East. Gladstone Dock is also used by

P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...

for their regular passenger and freight services from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Gallery

Atlantic Companion 2015.jpg, Gladstone Lock, arrival Atlantic Container Line vessel (2015) GladstoneLock.jpg, Gladstone Lock (2009) Gladstone graving dock.jpg, Former Gladstone

(2017) Gladstone branch Dock 1.jpg, Gladstone branch Dock No.1 (2018) Liverpool Biomass Terminal with vessel.jpg, Biomass terminal at Gladstone branch Dock No.1 (2018)

References

External links

Port of Liverpool
* {{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks

History

Current use

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links