Grimsby Dock Tower is a hydraulic
accumulator tower
A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weight, ...
and a maritime landmark at the entrance to the
Royal Dock, Grimsby, in
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...
, England. It was completed on 27 March 1852, based on
William Armstrong's idea of the
hydraulic accumulator, with the purpose of containing a reservoir at a height of , that was used to provide
hydraulic power to power the machinery of the
Grimsby Docks.
The extreme height of the tower was necessary to achieve sufficient pressure, and as a result of this, the tower can be seen for several miles around, even far inland on the north bank of the
River Humber in villages such as
Patrington.
History and design
The tower was built to provide water pressure to power the hydraulic machinery (for cranes, lock gates and sluices) at the Grimsby Docks. The tower was built to carry a tank above the ground with a direct feed into the machinery. Small pumps topped up the tank as the hydraulic machinery drew off water. The tower system was brought into use in 1852 working the machinery of the lock gates, dry-docks and fifteen quayside cranes, and also to supply fresh water to ships and the dwelling houses on the dock premises. The water was obtained from a well, in diameter and deep, with a boring of in diameter to the chalk rock in the centre, situated near to where the ''
Grimsby Evening Telegraph'' has its present offices. The well was also fed by seven borings of in diameter, at intervals in a length of , which discharged into the well by a brick culvert in diameter.
Water was conveyed from the well to the tower in a cast-iron pipe thirteen inches in diameter when it was then forced into the tank by two force pumps, each of ten inches in diameter, worked by a duplicate, horizontal engine of twenty-five horse power. All the engines, pumps and pipes and the whole of the machinery were made by Mr Mitchell of the
Perran Foundry, Cornwall.
During the building of the tower,
Armstrong developed another system using
weighted accumulators, which at once was found to have great advantages. The working hydraulic pressure was greater, permitting more compact and cheaper machinery and everything was at ground level. The first such installation was at
New Holland dock and pier, actually brought into use more than a year before the Grimsby system.
Architectural design, construction and opening
The tower was designed by
James William Wild
James William Wild (9 March 1814 – 7 November 1892) was a British architect. Initially working in the Gothic style, he later employed round-arched forms. He spent several years in Egypt. He acted as decorative architect to the Great Exhibition ...
who based its appearance on that of the
Torre del Mangia on the
Palazzo Pubblico in
Siena. It was built under the supervision of
J. M. Rendel, who was the civil engineer in charge of construction of the Royal Dock.
The ground floor of the tower was lined with pink, white and blue drapery when
Queen Victoria came with Prince Albert to visit the dock and 'open' the tower in October 1854. Her Majesty gave permission for Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal to accompany Rendel in the hydraulic lift to the gallery running around the tower above the water tank, from which a clear view of Grimsby,
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...
and the mouth of the
River Humber is obtained.
The tower is high, wide at the base, and tapers gradually to below the first projection; its walls are thick and narrow to at the
string course
A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
under the
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s. The bricks of this plain brick tower were made from clay obtained from excavations in the marsh adjoining the docks, and are set in blue lime mortar. Hoop iron bond is used in the walls to a considerable extent. The foundation of the tower is a solid masonry wall built upon a
timber bearer piling. Approximately one million bricks were used in its construction.
Local legend has it that the tower was built on a foundation of
cotton wool
Cotton wool consists of silky fibers taken from cotton plants in their raw state. Impurities, such as seeds, are removed and the cotton is then bleached using hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite and sterilized. It is also a refined product ( ...
; the story likely has its origins in the profitable import of cotton to
West Yorkshire which gave an impetus to the building of the
Royal Dock
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
and the tower.
Later use
The Dock Tower continued to provide water for hydraulic working until 1892 when the erection of the
hydraulic accumulator tower on the opposite pier approximately to the North West of the Dock Tower took over - water in this structure was pressurised by a 300-tonne weight. Present dock and lock machinery are powered by electric or electro-hydraulic energy.
During the
Second World War, there were plans to demolish the tower, as it acted as a beacon for German
Luftwaffe aircraft heading towards
Liverpool. Later, a
plaque was placed on the bricks paying tribute to the
minesweeper crews of the war.
The tower's lift is no longer in operation with access to the top via a spiral staircase in one corner of the building. The second balcony is currently used for the transmission and reception of radio signals.
The tower is
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and is the subject of a Preservation Order.
Model
There is a model of the Grimsby Dock Tower entirely constructed of
Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
, at
Legoland
Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park com ...
in Windsor. While the tower itself is correct, a large building has been incorrectly added to the base of the tower.
See also
*
Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, also based on the ''Torre del Mangia''
*
Hydraulic engine house, Bristol Harbour
References
{{coord, 53.5831, -0.0703, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Towers in Lincolnshire
Buildings and structures in Grimsby
Towers completed in 1852
Hydraulic accumulators
Water towers in the United Kingdom
Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire
Port of Grimsby
1852 establishments in England