Waterloo Dock is 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 ...

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

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

and connected to

Princes Half Tide Dock Prince's Half-Tide Dock on the River Mersey, England, is a Half Tide Dock, half tide dock and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall, connected to East Waterloo Dock and West W ...

to the south. The site of Victoria Dock is located to the north.

History

The dock was 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 ...

and opened in 1834 as Waterloo Dock, named after the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. In 1843 an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

was built here for

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...

and

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

observations and to provide accurate time for ships'

chronometer A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

s. In 1866, when the dock was redeveloped, the observatory was relocated to

Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...

on the

Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...

. In 1868, Waterloo Dock was split in two separate basins; East Waterloo Dock and West Waterloo Dock. Initially planned eleven years earlier, the

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

entrance from the Mersey was finally opened in 1949. Construction was delayed due to 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 ...

. The dock closed to shipping in 1988. The entrance channel from the river and part of the dock has since been filled. In 2007, work began on a £20 million extension of the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

, providing a further of navigable waterway and encompassing Princes Half Tide Dock. A new -wide channel from

Trafalgar Dock Trafalgar Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Salisbury Dock to the north. The sites of two former docks are located in the v ...

to the northern end of West Waterloo Dock will be excavated as part of the canal route. The extensive

Waterloo Warehouse Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

has since been converted into residential apartments.

References

Sources

External links

*
East & West Waterloo Docks aerial photo

Waterloo Dock
{{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Merseyside

History

References

Sources

Further reading

External links