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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 A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''anc ...
locations), and may also include
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships. Wharves are often considered to be a series of docks at which boats are stationed.


Overview

A wharf commonly comprises a fixed platform, often on
pilings A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a vertical structural element ...
. Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as interim storage: where it is sufficient a single wharf with a single berth constructed along the land adjacent to the water is normally used; where there is a need for more capacity multiple wharves, or perhaps a single large wharf with multiple berths, will instead be constructed, sometimes projecting over the water. A pier, raised over the water rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low. Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on flotation devices ( pontoons) to keep them at the same level as the ship, even during changing tides. In everyday parlance the term ''quay'' is common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland, whereas the term ''wharf'' is more common in the United States. In some contexts ''wharf'' and ''quay'' may be used to mean
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
, berth, or jetty. In old ports such as London (which once had around 1700 wharves) many old wharves have been converted to residential or office use. Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger".


Etymology


Wharf

The word ''wharf'' comes from the Old English ''hwearf'', cognate to the Old Dutch word ''werf'', which both evolved to mean "yard", an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard ( Dutch: ''scheepswerf'') or a lumberyard (Dutch: ''houtwerf''). Originally, ''werf'' or ''werva'' in Old Dutch (''werf'', ''wer'' in Old Frisian) simply referred to inhabited ground that was not yet built on (similar to " yard" in modern English), or alternatively to a '' terp''. This could explain the name Ministry Wharf located at Saunderton, just outside High Wycombe, which is nowhere near any body of water. In support of this explanation is the fact that many places in England with "wharf" in their names are in areas with a high Dutch influence, for example the Norfolk broads.


Staith

In the northeast and east of England the term ''staith'' or ''staithe'' (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used. The two terms have historically had a geographical distinction: those to the north in the Kingdom of Northumbria used the Old English spelling ''staith'', southern sites of the Danelaw took the Danish spelling ''staithe''. Both originally referred to jetties or wharves. In time, the northern coalfields of Northumbria developed
coal staith The Keelmen of Tyne and Wear were a group of men who worked on the keels, large boats that carried the coal from the banks of both rivers to the waiting collier ships. Because of the shallowness of both rivers, it was difficult for ships of any sig ...
s specifically for loading coal onto ships and these would adopt the ''staith'' spelling as a distinction from simple wharves: for example,
Dunston Staiths Dunston is particularly known for wooden coal staiths, first opened in 1893 as a structure for loading coal from the North Durham coalfield onto ships. In the 1920s, 140,000 tons of coal per week were loaded from the staiths, and they continued to ...
in Gateshead and
Brancaster Staithe Brancaster Staithe is a village on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. Brancaster Staithe merges with Burnham Deepdale, forming one village. Brancaster Staithe is in the civil parish of Brancaster, together with Burnham Deepdale a ...
in Norfolk. However, the term ''staith'' may also be used to refer only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships and barges.


Quay

''Quay'', on the other hand, has its origin in the Proto-Celtic language. Before it changed to its current form under influence of the modern French ''quai'', its Middle English spelling was ''key'', ''keye'' or ''caye''. This in turn also came from the Old Norman ''cai'' ( Old French / French ''chai'' "wine cellar"), meaning originally "earth bank near a river", then "bank built at a port to allow ship docking".CNRTL (French

/ref> The French term ''quai'' comes, through Picard or Norman-French, from Gaulish language, Gaulish ''caio'', ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Celtic ''*kagio-'' "to encompass, enclose". Modern cognates include Welsh ''cae'' "fence, hedge" and Cornish ''ke'' "hedge",


Gallery

File:Long wharf and shipping, by J.W. & J.S. Moulton.jpg, Stereoscopic view of Long Wharf in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
, United States, c. 19th century, jutting into
Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...
File:Boston Long Wharf 2.JPG, Modern view of Boston's Long Wharf (2006) File:Tokoinranta Helsinki.jpg, The shore of the Tokoinranta wharf in
Hakaniemi Hakaniemi (; sv, Hagnäs) is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It covers most of the neighbourhood of Siltasaari in the district of Kallio. Hakaniemi is located at the sea shore and is separated from the city centre by th ...
, Helsinki, Finland (2007) File:Wapping king henrys wharf 1.jpg, King Henry's Wharves, typical London wharves converted to apartments File:St Thomas Marriott Pacquereau Bay 1.jpg, Wharf by Marriott/Pacquereau Bay on St. Thomas File:tourist boat at sa calobra (majorca spain) arp.jpg, Tourist boat loading passengers at a small quay,
Sa Calobra Sa Calobra is a small village in the Escorca municipality on the northwest coast of the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca. The port village is a popular destination for coach trips and road cyclists. It is accessed by a single winding road, d ...
, Majorca, Spain


See also

*
Bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...
*
Canal basin A canal basin is (particularly in the United Kingdom) an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to al ...
* Dock (maritime) * Port *
Safeguarded wharf Safeguarded wharves are those wharves in London which have been given special status by the Mayor of London and the Port of London Authority (PLA) which ensures they are retained as working wharves and are protected from redevelopment into non-p ...


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Freight transport Coastal construction Port infrastructure