Wapping Dock, Liverpool
Part of Liverpool Docks
Wapping Dock is a dock on the River Mersey and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the north, Queen's Dock to the south. King's Dock was originally located to the west, but has since been filled in.
The dock was opened in 1852. It was named after the road it runs alongside and which also gave its name to the Wapping Tunnel.
The large brick warehouse, built in 1856 along the eastern side of the dock, was designed by Jesse Hartley. The building is of a similar architectural style to the warehouses surrounding the nearby Albert Dock. When originally built, it was 232 m (254 yd) long and consisted of five separate sections.
Bombed in the May Blitz of 1941, the badly damaged southernmost section was not rebuilt, with only the supporting cast iron columns remaining in situ. The remainder of the building continued in commercial use, even after the dock closed in 1972. The warehouse was restored and converted into residential apartments in 1988 and is Grade II* listed
1856 'THE WAPPING DOCK WAREHOUSES.- The magnificent pile of warehouses at the east side of the new Wapping Dock is on the point of completion, and in a short time they will be thrown open for the general business of the port. These splendid warehouses, which have been erected under the management of Messrs. Jesse and J. B. Hartley, have cost about £88,000. They are built in the form of a parallelogram, and contain vaults, an area level with the dock quay, and five floors above. The length is 765 feet; breadth, 75 feet; height, 70 feet. The top floors have been constructed with a view to their becoming wool rooms. The superficial area of the warehouses is about 6300 square yards each floor. As the vaults extend wider than the building, their area is 8400 square yards. The total area of the several rooms is 40,000 square yards. The vaults are 8 feet 6 inches in height, and 100 feet wide. There is a covered cart-way, 20 feet high, and 23 feet wide, on the east side of the building. The height of the ground floor in 16 feet ; and that of the other floors ranges from 10 feet 6 inches to 12 feet. A double line of railways, with turn-tables throughout, will run along the ground flour, and these will communicate with each of the railways in Liverpool. There will be five double-purchase hydraulic quay cranes, one for each compartment; five hydraulic hoists, and ten hydraulic cranes. There is also a large cage, which ascends through the floor, with persons or goods, as needs be, for each compartment. Coinsiderable taste has been also expended on the gate towers, which are made of grey granite. These warehouses will enable ships to discharge their cargoes under cover, to be at once warehoused, to be put in carts or railway trucks, and forwarded to any part of the kingdom, altogether under shelter, and by the same machinery.'[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Liverpool Mercury, 3 May 1856