Prince's Dock | |
---|---|
Prince's Dock, Liverpool Waterfront | |
Location | |
Location | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 53°24′32″N2°59′56″W / 53.40889°N 2.99889°W |
OS grid | SJ336908 |
Details | |
Owner | The Peel Group [1] |
Operator | Mersey Docks and Harbour Company |
Opened | 1821 [2] |
Type | Wet dock |
Joins | |
Area | 11 acres (4.5 ha), 3,889 sq yd (3,252 m2) [3] |
Width at entrance | 45 ft (14 m) [3] |
Quay length | 1,613 yd (1,475 m) [3] |
Prince's Dock [nb 1] [4] is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. 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 Sites.
Initially, William Jessop and John Rennie were consulted about the plans for the dock. [5] The dock was built by John Foster, with construction starting around 1810. [5] 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.[ citation needed ]
The dock was named for the Prince Regent. [6] Still unfinished, [5] 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. 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. [7]
In 1874 George's Basin was filled, [8] and in 1899 George's Dock was filled and the site used to create what is now the Pier Head. [9]
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. [10]
Commercial redevelopment began when the dock was passed to the Merseyside Development Corporation in 1988. [11] Much of Prince's Dock's wharfage and warehouse space has been replaced by:
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 [13] that was designed by the Liverpool John Moores University Centre for Architectural Research and Consultancy Unit (CARCU). [14]
By March 2009 work was completed [15] [16] on a £22 million extension of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, providing a further 1.4 miles of navigable waterway. [17] A new lock 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. [18] From Prince's Dock, the extension passes the Pier Head and terminates at Canning Dock. [17]
In 2007, planning permission was secured for the £130million New World Square. [19] This was to have incorporated an eight-storey, five-star hotel, 385 apartments and space for shops and restaurants. [20] However, planning permission for this development expired in 2010. [21]
In 2016, planning permission was granted for the 34-storey Lexington Liverpool. [22]
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. [23]
Prince's Dock is mentioned in the novel Redburn, His First Voyage by Herman Melville (1849): [24]
"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 novel The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864). [25]
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.
Alexandra Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. Alexandra Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and three branch docks to the east, with the southern branch mostly filled in.
Langton Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle, connected to Alexandra Dock to the north and Brocklebank Dock to the south. Langton Dock locks provide a working connection to the river; one of the two remaining operational river entrances in the northern dock system.
Nelson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, connected to Bramley-Moore Dock to the north and Salisbury Dock to the south.
Salisbury Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and is connected to Nelson Dock to the north, Trafalgar Dock to the south and inland to Collingwood Dock.
Collingwood Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, and is connected to Stanley Dock to the east and Salisbury Dock to the west.
Stanley Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool and is part of the northern dock system. The dock is connected to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the east and Collingwood Dock to the west.
Waterloo Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Princes Half Tide Dock to the south. The site of Victoria Dock is located to the north.
Prince's 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 Prince's Dock to the south.
Canning Dock on the River Mersey is part of the Port of Liverpool in Northern England. The dock is in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and with access to the river via the Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.
Coburg Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Queens Dock to the north, Brunswick Dock to the south.
Brunswick Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Coburg Dock to the north, Toxteth Dock to the south.
Toxteth Dock was a dock on the River Mersey that was part of the Port of Liverpool. Part of the southern dock system, it was connected to Brunswick Dock to the north and Harrington Dock to the south.
Harrington Dock was a dock on the River Mersey and part of the Port of Liverpool. Situated in the southern dock system, it was connected to Toxteth Dock to the north and Herculaneum Dock to the south.
Duke's Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock and Wapping Dock to the east. The Albert Dock is located immediately north, although not directly accessible by water.
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.
The George's Basin was a dock on the River Mersey, England, within the Port of Liverpool. The basin surface covered 3 acres (1.2 ha) and was surrounded by George's Dock to the south, Prince's Dock to the north and the Mersey to the west.
The Liverpool Canal Link is an English waterway link that connects the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at the Liverpool Pier Head, to the city's South Docks. It cost £22m and was opened in March 2009. The new link adds 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of navigable waterway to the canal system.
Sandon Dock was a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. Situated in the northern dock system, it was east of Sandon Half Tide Dock, to which it was once connected.
Chester Basin was a tidal basin on the River Mersey, in Liverpool, England. The basin was situated between the Pier Head and Manchester Dock.