Prince's DockAlthough many texts give the name without an apostrophe as ''Princes Dock'', this is an incorrect plural form. The dock is named for one prince; the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

, only. 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 the most southerly of the docks situated in the northern part of the Liverpool dock system, connected to Prince's Half-Tide Dock to the north. The dock is now in the buffer zone to one of Liverpool's

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Initially, William Jessop and John Rennie were consulted about the plans for the dock. The dock was built by John Foster, with construction starting around 1810. During the construction, Foster ordered many times more stone than was needed. Allegedly, Foster diverted it to his family's building company. He resigned when this was discovered. Princes Dock Liverpool opening 1821

The dock was named for the

. Still unfinished, it opened on the day of the Prince Regent's coronation as George IV on 19 July 1821. Access to the southern half of the dock system was via George's Basin, George's Dock and into Canning Dock. In 1865, the '' Mimosa'' set sail from Liverpool, containing 153 Welsh settlers destined for

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. It is currently thought that around 50,000 people in Patagonia today have Welsh heritage from the group of 153 settlers. A monument to the settlers was unveiled at Prince's Dock in 2015. In 1874 George's Basin was filled, and in 1899 George's Dock was filled and the site used to create what is now the Pier Head. On 12 June 1895 Liverpool Riverside Station was opened, situated between Prince's Dock and the River Mersey. In 1968 B&I Line (operator of the Liverpool - Dublin service) commenced a new car ferry service from Carriers' Dock further downriver. A passenger only service continued to use Prince's Dock until 1969. Ferry services from Prince's Dock finally ended in November 1981 when P&O Ferries closed their Liverpool - Belfast overnight service. The dock subsequently closed to shipping and was partly filled.

Redevelopment

Commercial redevelopment began when the dock was passed to the

Merseyside Development Corporation The Merseyside Development Corporation was a central government-appointed Development Corporation set up in 1981 by Margaret Thatcher's government to regenerate the Mersey docks of Liverpool, Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead. History The corpor ...

in 1988. Much of Prince's Dock's wharfage and

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

space has been replaced by: *Three blocks of office accommodation along the river front. *The £24 million Malmaison 128-room hotel. It opened in 2007 and is its owning company's first ever 'new build'. It stands alongside the existing Crowne Plaza hotel. *Three blocks of flats. The dock was partially filled in to inland canal boat depths precluding deep water vessels. The dock has been divided into two sections spanned by a pedestrian bridge that was designed by the

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

Centre for Architectural Research and Consultancy Unit (CARCU). By March 2009 work was completed on a £22 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 1.4 miles of navigable waterway. A new

lock Lock(s) or Locked 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 entertainme ...

and fixed bridge was built at the northern end of Prince's Dock. At the south end of the dock, a new canal tunnel was constructed which leads to the Pier Head. The tunnel is routed beneath St. Nicholas Place and the access road for the new cruise liner facility. From Prince's Dock, the extension passes the Pier Head and terminates at Canning Dock. In 2007, planning permission was secured for the £130million ''New World Square''. This was to have incorporated an eight-storey, five-star hotel, 385 apartments and space for shops and restaurants. However, planning permission for this development expired in 2010. In 2016, planning permission was granted for the 34-storey Lexington Liverpool.

Liverpool Cruise Terminal

Liverpool Cruise Terminal opened in 2007. As part of their plans to increase the number of visitors to Liverpool, the city council unveiled plans in September 2017 for a new cruise terminal that would be situated on the banks of the Mersey at Prince's Dock, where the wooden landing currently stage is. The plans would allow ships carrying up to 3,600 passengers to dock in Liverpool with the facilities including dedicated passport control and a cafe. It is hoped that a multi-storey car park and hotel will be built at Prince's Dock as part of the work.

Cultural references

Prince's Dock is mentioned in the novel '' Redburn, His First Voyage'' by

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

(1849):

"In magnitude, cost and durability the docks of Liverpool surpass all others in the world... for miles you may walk along that riverside, passing dock after dock, like a chain of immense fortresses. Prince's Dock, of comparatively recent construction, is perhaps the largest of all and is well known to American sailors from the fact that it is mostly frequented by the American shipping."

It is also mentioned in ''The English at the North Pole'', the first part of

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

novel '' The Adventures of Captain Hatteras'' (1864).

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

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Prince's Dock aerial photo
{{Liverpool B&S Liverpool docks Redevelopment projects in Liverpool