Canning 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 southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock
Salthouse Dock
Salthouse 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 Canning Dock to the north, Wapping Dock to the south and Albert Dock to the west....
to the south and Canning Half Tide Dock
Canning Half Tide Dock
Canning Half Tide Dock on the River Mersey, Liverpool, England is a half tide dock and is part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Canning Dock to the east and Albert Dock to the south...
to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.
History
The dock was opened in 1737 as a protected tidal basin providing an entrance to Old DockOld Dock
The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steer's dock, was the world's first commercial wet dock.It was built on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, starting in 1709 and completed in 1715, by enlarging a previous natural tidal creek which was the "Pool" that Liverpool was named after...
. Having been subsequently enclosed as a wet dock three years earlier, in 1832 it was officially named after the Liverpool MP, George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
. To the east is the site of Old Dock, built in 1709, this was the world first enclosed dock. Canning Dock would have initially served ships involved in the trans Atlantic slave trade.
Access to the northern half of the dock system was via Georges Dock, George's Basin and into Princes Dock
Princes Dock
Princes Dock 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 Princes Half Tide Dock to the north...
. In 1899, both Georges Basin and George's Dock were filled in and the site 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....
.
Along with the Albert Dock
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
and others in the immediate vicinity, Canning Dock was abandoned as a commercial shipping facility in 1972 due to the rising cost of dredging and falling numbers in traffic.
It was restored in the 1980s and provides access to the Canning Graving Docks, which are part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum
Merseyside Maritime Museum
The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage...
.
Redevelopment
By March 2009 work was completed on a £22 million extension of the Leeds and Liverpool CanalLeeds 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.
From Princes Dock, the extension passes the Pier Head and terminates at Canning Dock.
The extension includes a small basin at Mann Island
Mann Island
Mann Island is a small area in Liverpool, England.It lies on the waterfront next to the River Mersey between the Albert Dock to the south and the Pier Head to the north.-History:...
, in the vicinity of the Pier Head, and 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...
providing access to Canning Dock.