Princes 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 the most southerly of the docks situated in the northern part of the Liverpool dock system, connected to Princes Half Tide Dock
Princes Half Tide Dock
Princes Half Tide Dock on the River Mersey, England, is a half tide dock and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, connected to East Waterloo Dock and West Waterloo Dock to the north and Princes Dock to the south. The dock opened in 1810 and...
to the north. The dock is now in the buffer zone to one of Liverpool's World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s.
History
The dock was built by John FosterJohn Foster, Sr.
John Foster Snr an English architect, father of John Foster Jnr. Senior Surveyor to the Corporation of Liverpool succeeding Henry Berry. In 1824 he was succeeded as Senior Surveyor by his son while Jesse Hartley replaced him as dock engineer at Liverpool Dock Trustees.During his time as dock...
, with construction starting in 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 was named after the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. It opened on the day of the Prince Regent's coronation as George IV in 1821. Access to the southern half of the dock system was via George's Basin, George's Dock
George's Dock
George's Dock was a dock, on the River Mersey, England, within the Port of Liverpool. It was connected to Canning Dock to the south and George's Basin to the north....
and into Canning Dock
Canning Dock
Canning Dock is a dock, on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.-History:The dock was opened in...
. In 1899, both George's Basin and George's Dock were filled in to create what is now the Pier Head
Pier Head
The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....
.
On 12 June 1895 Liverpool Riverside Station
Liverpool Riverside railway station
Liverpool Riverside was owned by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and located at Liverpool's Pier Head ship liner terminal. The station was specifically used for ship liner traffic, opening on the June 12, 1895....
was opened, situated between Princes Dock and the River Mersey.
In 1968 B&I Line (operator of the Liverpool - Dublin service) commenced a new car ferry service from Carrier Dock
Carrier Dock
Carrier Dock was a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It was situated in the northern dock system and connected to Brocklebank Dock to the west. The basin has since been filled in and the site redeveloped.-External links:*...
further downriver. A passenger only service continued to use Princes Dock till 1969.
Ferry services from Princes Dock finally ended in November 1981 when P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...
closed their Liverpool - Belfast overnight service. The dock subsequently closed to shipping and was partly filled.
Redevelopment
Much of Princes Dock's wharfage and warehouseWarehouse
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 has been replaced by:
- Three blocks of office accommodation along the river front.
- The £24 million MalmaisonMalmaison Hotel, LiverpoolThe Malmaison Hotel in Liverpool, England is an iconic eleven storey building located alongside Princes Dock in the city centre. Part of the luxury hotel chain Malmaison, the Liverpool hotel is the chain's first purpose built location...
128-room hotel. It opened in 2007 and is its owning company's first ever 'new build'. It stands alongside the existing Crowne PlazaCrowne PlazaCrowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
hotel. - Three apartment blocks (UK: blocks of flats).
- Planning permission has been secured for the £130million New World Square. This will incorporate an eight storey, five-star hotel, 385 apartments and space for shops and restaurants.
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
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
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
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 , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
, providing a further 1.4 miles of navigable waterway.
A new lock
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...
and fixed bridge was built at the northern end of Princes Dock. At the south end of the dock, a new canal tunnel was constructed which leads to the Pier Head
Pier Head
The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....
. The tunnel is routed beneath St. Nicholas Place and the access road for the new cruise liner facility.
From Princes Dock, the extension passes the Pier Head and terminates at Canning Dock
Canning Dock
Canning Dock is a dock, on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.-History:The dock was opened in...
.
Cultural references
Princes Dock is mentioned in the novel Redburn, His First VoyageRedburn
Redburn: His First Voyage is a novel by Herman Melville published on September 29, 1849, by Richard Bentley in London and on November 14, 1849, by Harper & Brothers in New York City.-Overview:...
by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
(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 Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
novel The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864).
See also
- Liverpool Canal LinkLiverpool Canal LinkThe Liverpool Canal Link is a £22m waterway link that connects the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at Liverpool, to the South Docks. The new link adds of navigable waterway to the canal system.-History:...
- Plot 3a Princes DockPlot 3a Princes DockPlot 3a Princes Dock is a 33-storey mixed use building that has been approved for construction alongside Princes Dock at the waterfront of Liverpool, England. If and when built, it will stand alongside the likes of 1 Princes Dock and Alexandra Tower...
- Alexandra TowerAlexandra Tower, LiverpoolAlexandra Tower is a residential tower located in the newly developed Princes Dock area of Liverpool, England. It was constructed between 2005 and 2008 and upon completion became the sixth tallest building in Liverpool...
- 1 Princes Dock1 Princes Dock1 Princes Dock is a 22-storey residential complex located alongside Princes Dock, Liverpool, England. It was topped off in 2006 and at 73m is the city's joint tenth tallest building. The building is home to 162 flats and 99 parking spaces...
- Princes Dock railway stationPrinces Dock railway stationPrinces Dock was a railway station on the Liverpool Overhead Railway, adjacent to the dock of the same name.It was opened on 6 March 1893 by the Marquis of Salisbury....