Gladstone Dock
Encyclopedia
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
on the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and part of the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile 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 the river...
. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
. The dock is connected to the Royal Seaforth Dock to the north and what remains of Hornby Dock
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 sloping quayside.Opened in 1884, Hornby Dock marked the...
to the south. Part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company , formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board , owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England...
.
History
The dock is named for Robert Gladstone, a merchant from Liverpool and second cousin of Prime Minister William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. Designed in the first decade of the twentieth century, construction was eventually completed in 1927 and consisted of three miles (5 km) of quays and extensive warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
space.
The graving dock was completed in 1913, before the rest of the dock became operational. At 1,050 ft long and 120 ft (36.6 m) wide it was designed to take the largest trans-Atlantic steamers
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
. The graving dock has since been converted into a wet dock (Gladstone Number Three Branch Dock).
Gladstone Dock lock entrance
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
is one of only two remaining operational river entrances in the northern dock system. Measuring 1,070 ft long and 130 ft (39.6 m) wide, it provides maritime access to the container terminal of Royal Seaforth Dock, which opened in 1972.
At the outbreak of the First World War, the liner RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage to New York on 30 May 1914...
was undergoing repairs in Gladstone Graving Dock. As a result, she was converted in situ for war service.
During the Second World War, ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
ships, Atlantic convoy escorts and minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s were based in the dock.
In 1942 the National Fire Service opened a fire station on Fort Road and had a berth for some of its fireboats adjoining the NW Wall of the Dock, this remained open until 1946
On 25 January 1953, the liner RMS Empress of Canada caught fire and capsized in Gladstone Number One Branch Dock. She was refloated the following year and towed to Gladstone Graving Dock to be made watertight, in preparation for being scrapped in Italy.
Transatlantic passenger services continued to use the dock until all such services from Liverpool were discontinued in 1971.
The main line Gladstone Dock railway station
Gladstone Dock railway station
Gladstone Dock railway station was a station in Bootle, England, located on the North Mersey Branch. Situated west of Rimrose Road within the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Estate, it was named after the nearby Gladstone Dock. It opened on 7 September 1914 and closed on 7 July 1924.Although closed...
closed to passengers on 7 July 1924 while the Liverpool Overhead Railway
Liverpool Overhead Railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
station Gladstone Dock (LOR) closed in 1956.
Current use
As part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock's principal uses are: importing coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
for the adjacent Hornby Dock coal processing facility and exporting scrap metal
Scrap Metal
Scrap Metal were a band from Broome, Western Australia who played rock music with elements of country and reggae. The members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. The band toured nationally as part of the Bran Nue Dae musical and with...
to the Far East.