Alexandra Dock is a

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

on the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river 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 h ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and 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 ...

. It is situated in the northern dock system in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

. Alexandra Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and three

branch dock A branch dock is a dock (maritime), dock that forms part of a large harbour system of interlinked docks. Branch docks are terminal branches of a main floating dock (impounded), floating dock. They are ''not'' isolated from the main dock by loc ...

s to the east, with the southern branch mostly filled in. Alexandra dock 2017

History

The dock was built by

George Fosbery Lyster George Fosbery Lyster FRSE (1821–1899) succeeded John Hartley as Engineer in Chief to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. He is usually referred to as G. F. Lyster. Life He was born on 7 September 1821 at Mount Talbot in County Roscommon ...

between 1874 and 1882. During its construction, the dock was known as Atlantic Dock for about a year. Opened in 1881 and named in honour of

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

, the dock has three branch docks and is connected to

Hornby Dock Hornby Dock was a dock located on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It was situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. It connected to Gladstone Dock to the north and Alexandra Dock to the south and encompassed a ...

to the north and Langton Dock to the south. Initially, access was through Langton Dock and the problematic Canada Basin. Prior to the construction of

Seaforth Dock Seaforth Dock (also known as the Royal Seaforth Dock) is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operate ...

, Alexandra Dock was involved in the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

. The

grain silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

s had a 110,000 ton capacity, with floor space for a further 20,000 tons. The dock also had

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

facilities, which were provided by Union Cold Storage, for imported frozen meat. When built, the cold store was the largest in Europe with a capacity of . The facility was built at the end of No. 3 Branch Dock, and allowed direct transfer to ships in No. 2 Branch Dock. The dock was served by

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

Alexandra Dock railway station and the

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool that operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number o ...

Alexandra Dock (LOR) railway station Alexandra Dock was a station located on the Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool that operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened i ...

. Latterly, its main export is recycled

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

History

References

Sources

External links