Manchester docks

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Manchester Dock 9 (top left) at the beginning of the 20th century. Dock 8 is to the right, and the ship canal is in the foreground. Manchester Dock No 9.jpg
Manchester Dock 9 (top left) at the beginning of the 20th century. Dock 8 is to the right, and the ship canal is in the foreground.

Manchester docks were nine docks in Salford, Stretford and Manchester, at the eastern end of the Manchester Ship Canal in North West England, [1] [2] [3] which formed part of the Port of Manchester from 1894 until their closure in 1982. They marked the upper reaches of the ship canal, [4] and were a destination for both coastal and ocean-bound vessels carrying cargo and passengers, often travelling to and from Canada. [5]

Contents

Manchester docks were divided into two sections; the larger Salford docks to the west of the Trafford Road swing bridge and Pomona docks to the east. Each section consisted of four docks in total, the largest being to the west; Dock 5 at Pomona was never fully completed. Of the eight working docks only one, Dock 1 at Pomona, was within Manchester itself. [1]

In the 1970s the docks began a rapid decline, largely due to containerisation. The increasing size of freight-carrying ships meant they could no longer navigate the Manchester Ship Canal and this, combined with increased trading with Europe and the East, saw use of Manchester Docks decrease. In 1982, the remaining docks closed and the area became derelict. [6] Salford City Council bought the docks in 1984 using a derelict land grant and their redevelopment as Salford Quays began 1985, transforming the area for commercial, residential and leisure use. [6]

Salford docks

1924 map of Manchester docks Salford docks 1924.jpg
1924 map of Manchester docks

The Salford docks are the western (downstream) block, made of four large docks running ENE from the canal, numbered 9, 8, 7 and 6, the last three off a turning basin. They have now been redeveloped into Salford Quays [ citation needed ].

The smaller basins into which the docks have been divided are all named after North American lakes, reflecting the area's strong trading links the docks had with North America. [3]

Upstream of Dock 6 there is a triangular depression in the canal wall on a similar alignment to the other docks: this was originally a second navigable channel under a fixed road bridge. At the end of the 19th century the channel was infilled above the bridge and the remainder retained as a wharf. Later this arm was further truncated into the vestige seen today.

While Dock 9 was being built there were plans to construct a further dock (Dock 10) downstream of, and parallel to, Dock 9. Maps from 1921 still show the proposed dock, but it is omitted on later editions.

Pomona docks

Modern office development at Pomona docks in Trafford. Little remains to show that this was once a busy working waterfront. Pomona docks today.jpg
Modern office development at Pomona docks in Trafford. Little remains to show that this was once a busy working waterfront.
Dock 3, entrance to the Bridgewater Canal locks Pomona Locks- 5301.JPG
Dock 3, entrance to the Bridgewater Canal locks

Pomona docks was a set of five docks on the Manchester Ship Canal. Unlike the former docks in what is now Salford Quays, there has been little redevelopment.

Dock 5, Ordsall Dock, was a rectangular dock on the opposite bank to the other docks, and was situated directly opposite docks 3-4. Docks 4-2 left the canal at an angle, running east from the canal, each around 200 yards (180 m) long, whilst Dock 1 (mostly in the City of Manchester) was somewhat longer at 233 yards (213 m), and ran almost parallel to the canal in a NE direction.

The official terminus of the canal is several hundred metres further up the canal, at a point where it is crossed by a footbridge. Between the four main docks and Pomona docks was a swinging road bridge. In the 1960s its openings and closings were announced by a man blowing a hunting horn.

The Pomona docks were built on the site of the Pomona Gardens, [8] named after the Roman goddess Pomona. The swinging roadbridge separating Salford Quays from Pomona docks is now permanently closed, and only small pleasure craft can pass under it into Pomona docks. The gardens gave their name to a public house at Cornbrook. The area is served by the Pomona tram stop on the Manchester Metrolink.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Pomona docks". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved on 20 August 2009.
  2. "A walk through Pomona forgotten corner of Manchester". 4 April 2006. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Salford Quays Heritage Trail" (PDF). Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  4. "Manchester Ship Canal Introduction" . Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  5. "Manchester Liners and Docks" . Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Salford Quays Milestones: The Story of Salford Quays" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  7. Manchester Evening News Syndication. Salford Past.
  8. Ashton, Geoffrey Lost Rivers of Manchester. Willow Publishing, Altrincham, 1987, ISBN   0-946361-12-6

53°28′00″N2°16′32″W / 53.4666°N 2.2755°W / 53.4666; -2.2755