Albert Dock

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This article is about the dock in Liverpool. For the dock in London, see Royal Albert Dock.
Albert Dock at night
Albert Dock at night
Albert Dock.
Albert Dock.

The Albert Dock in Liverpool, England, was opened in 1846 by its namesake, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Based on plans submitted in 1839 by the civil engineers Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, for a combined dock and warehouse system, shipping entered the dock from either Canning Half Tide Dock to the North or Salthouse Dock to the east.

The Albert Dock was built entirely of cast iron, brick, and stone, with no structural wood; it was the first building in the UK to be built in such a manner. It was also the first fire-proof warehousing system in the world. In 1848 it was upgraded to feature the world's first hydraulic warehouse hoist system. The five Grade I buildings, covering 1.25 million sq ft, make the Albert Dock complex the largest set of Grade 1 Listed Buildings in the UK.[1]

The dock closed to shipping in 1972 and suffered from dereliction for a period until it was redeveloped in the early 1980s by Arrowcroft Group plc with funding from the Merseyside Development Corporation; this work, which was carried out by Tarmac Construction[2], involved a total structural refurbishment of all five buildings and included rebuilding a top corner of a warehouse which had been knocked off by a World War II bomb. The buildings now contain a variety of bars, restaurants and museums, as well as hotels and office space.

A panoramic view.
A panoramic view.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum occupies most of the north side of the dock. Albert Dock is also home to Tate Liverpool, the northern branch of the Tate Gallery. It is also home to the Virgin Media National Service Centre (formerly Telewest).

It is used as a ship dock once a year for the Liverpool Tall Ships festival.

The floating weather map of the British Isles
The floating weather map of the British Isles

For many years from 1988 to 1996 the ITV television show This Morning, hosted by Richard and Judy, was broadcast from studios in the dockside buildings. Weather presenter Fred Talbot used a floating map of the British Isles to describe the outlook. The map was eventually removed in 2003.

The Albert Dock inspired the remodelling of Buenos Aires's own dock, Puerto Madero.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Helen Carter (2003-03-07). Glory of Greece, grandeur of Rome ... and docks of Liverpool. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
  2. ^ Berry Ritchie, The Story of Tarmac Page 99, Published by James & James (Publishers) Ltd, 1999

[edit] External links

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Port of Liverpool docks
North docks
South docks
See also Port of Liverpool