Manchester 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 par ...

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 a 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 ...

. The dock was not part of the interconnected dock system, but was connected directly to the river.

History

In the 1780s, the docks at Liverpool were expanding, and the Manchester Basin was built to the north of the

Canning Dock Canning Dock on the River Mersey is part of the Port of Liverpool in Northern England. The dock is in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and with access to the river via the Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. T ...

. It was a

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

basin which was linked directly to the river, and was not linked directly to the other docks. The benefits of turning it into a proper dock were soon realised, and an entrance lock was constructed between 1810 and 1815, by John Foster, Sr., after which it was known as the Manchester Dock. The dock was an important gateway for the export of coal and manufactured goods, and for the import of corn and cotton. With the formation of the

Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...

in 1845, the dock was used to hold their barges, and later those of the Great Western Railway, who transferred goods between the dock and their rail terminal at

Morpeth Dock Morpeth Dock is a dock at Birkenhead, Wirral Peninsula, England. The dock is situated between the River Mersey and Egerton Dock. History Built between 1844 and 1847, it is named after Lord Morpeth, the 7th Earl of Carlisle, who was the First ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

. The Liverpool Docks were controlled by the Docks Committee between 1825 and 1857. During this period, the total area of the docks was increased from 82 to , and the length of the quays was by 1857. Most of the increase was achieved by the construction of new docks, but they also purchased the Manchester Dock in 1851. Control of the docks passed to the

Mersey Docks and Harbour Board The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed north ...

in 1858. By the 1920s, the dock traffic waned. Manchester Dock and the adjacent Chester Basin were dangerously subsiding because of excavation works for the Queensway Tunnel which ran underneath the site. Both docks were filled in by 1936, using rubble obtained from the construction of the tunnel. The area later became a car park, sealing the remains under a protective layer of tarmac.

Excavation

In 2006/7, the dock was excavated as part of a major construction project for the new

Museum of Liverpool The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum of ...

and 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 ...

link to the Canning and Albert Docks. These excavations also exposed the neighbouring Chester Basin, and have provided important archaeological information as the entrance lock is one of the oldest in the whole Liverpool Docks complex. Most other locks of a similar age have either been destroyed or extensively modified.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks Transport in Liverpool Canals in England Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Merseyside Manchester Dock 1785 establishments in England

History

Excavation

References

Sources

Further reading

External links