Harrington Dock was a dock 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 ...

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 ...

. Situated in the southern dock system, it was connected to

Toxteth Dock Toxteth Dock was a dock on the River Mersey that was part of the Port of Liverpool. Part of the southern dock system, it was connected to Brunswick Dock to the north and Harrington Dock to the south. History The dock was originally opened ...

to the north and

Herculaneum Dock Herculaneum Dock was part of the Port of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. It was at the south end of the Liverpool dock system, on the River Mersey. To the north it was connected to Harrington Dock. The dock was named after the Herculaneum Pott ...

to the south.

History

The first dock on the site was known as Egerton Dock, named after the Dukes of Bridgewater, built between 1837-9. The first dock was small, with a -wide entrance, and intended for river and canal boats moving

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 ...

. In 1839,

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 ...

and his son were employed by a separate private company to design two further small basins on the site, known as Harrington Dock and Harrington Dry Basin. The name of the dock can be traced to the district of Harrington, intended for a planned overflow town for Liverpool which never came to fruition. The district of Harrington, itself, was named in honour of Lady Isabella Stanhope, daughter of

William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington General William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington (18 December 1719 – 1 April 1779) was a British politician and soldier. The son of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, he took up a military career and joined the Foot Guards in 1741, and ...

and wife of

Charles Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton (11 October 1748 – 31 January 1795) was a Member of Parliament, Member of the Parliament of Great Britain, British Parliament and a member of the peerage of Ireland. He was born on 11 October 1748 ...

who owned the former

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

of Toxteth Park. The dock was bought and opened in 1844, although not commercially successful. By 1858, the dock primarily traded with the west coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The land was eventually acquired by the Liverpool Dock Trust. Harrington Dock was enlarged by George Fosbery Lyster between 1875-83 and the new Harrington Dock was opened in 1882. A tunnel from the Garston and Liverpool Railway emerged at the dock, and the second

Herculaneum Dock railway station Herculaneum Dock railway station was the original southern terminus for the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Actually adjacent to Harrington Dock it was named after Herculaneum Dock, a somewhat larger dock beyond the end of the line. It was opened o ...

of 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 ...

was adjacent to the dock from 1896. The dock was further improved in 1898, by widening the entrances and deepening the dock. Harrington Dock was used by the

Elder Dempster Lines Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Founders Alexander Elder Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...

and its associated businesses. The dock closed in 1972 and has since been filled in. Most of the dock buildings still exist and are divided into small business units as part of Brunswick Business Park.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* {{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Merseyside