Canning Half Tide 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 par ...
, in
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 populat ...
,
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 ...
, is a
half tide dock
A half tide dock is a partially tidal dock. Typically the dock is entered at high tide. As the tide ebbs a sill or weir prevents the level dropping below a certain point, meaning that the ships in the dock remain afloat, although they still rise an ...
and is part of the
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of t ...
. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to
Canning Dock to the east and
Albert Dock to the south.
History
The dock was originally the site of the Gut, the entrance to the Dry Dock which was later to become
Canning Dock.
Canning Half Tide Dock was built 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 ...
between 1842 and 1844, also opening in 1844.
Originally having two
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 ...
entrances to the Mersey,
the north gates were sealed with a concrete dam in 1937. The south gates are modified to accommodate a valve to admit river water. To the outside of the river entrances are two
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
octagonal gatemen's shelters, also designed by Hartley.
An island built of
masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
, which has its own lighthouse, separates the river entrances.
Adjacent to the dock is the Pilotage Building, which opened in 1883
to manage the river's
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
boats. The building was converted in 1980 by the
Building Design Partnership
Building Design Partnership Ltd, doing business as BDP, is a firm of architects and engineers employing over 900 staff in the United Kingdom and internationally.
History
BDP was founded in 1961 by George Grenfell-Baines with architects Bill White ...
for use as a museum.
Both this building and the dock itself are now part of
Merseyside Maritime Museum.
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
Canning Half Tide Dock aerial photo
{{Port of Liverpool docks
Grade II listed buildings in Liverpool
Liverpool docks