Glasson Dock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glasson Dock
Glasson Dock shown within Lancashire
OS grid reference	SD443561
District	City of Lancaster
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LANCASTER
Postcode district	LA2
Dialling code	01524
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Lancaster and Wyre
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°59′53″N 2°50′58″W / 53.997925, -2.849315

Glasson Dock, also known as Glasson, is a village in England, south of Lancaster, at the mouth of the River Lune.

Due to the difficulty of navigation up the Lune to the docks in Lancaster, it was decided in 1779 by Lancaster port commission to build a dock at Glasson. The port commission purchased land in 1780, and completed the dock in 1787 under the supervision of Thomas Morris. As the ships using the dock did not require significant amounts of local labour, the settlement around the dock did not grow significantly. The docks were connected by a branch to the Lancaster Canal in 1826, after which some expansion did occur. Many of the buildings in the village were built in the 19th century, including the church (Christ Church), which was built in 1840, although expanded in 1931-2. A shipyard and Customs House were built in 1834, a Watch House in 1836, and a Dry Dock in 1841. The shipyards were largely concerned with ship repair rather than shipbuilding, eventually closing in 1968, with the dry dock filled in a year later.^[1]

The quay was connected to the railway network in 1883, operating until the closure of passenger sevices on 5th July 1930. Goods traffic continued until 7th September 1964. The trackbed of the disused branchline is now a linear park and cycleway.^[1]

Prior to becoming a dock, Glasson was the site of small farming and fishing community, known as Old Glasson and Brows-saltcote. Directly across the river from Glasson lies the village of Overton.^[1]

A limited amount of commercial traffic still uses the dock, with outbound shipments including coal for the Isle of Man and the Western Islands of Scotland, and incoming cargoes including animal foodstuffs and fertilizer, which are stored in the sheds located on the dock side.^[1]

1 Entering the dock
2 Gallery
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Entering the dock

Glasson Dock

legend

River Lune

Dock gates

Glasson Dock

Lock

Tithebarn Hill swing bridge

Marina

Scotforth Road bridge

Lancaster Canal

Entering the dock by boat is limited to short periods of time. The River Lune up to the dock entrance contains very little water at low tide, and the channel varies its course from time to time. Mooring below the dock entrance is not possible, and the dock gates are only opened for a period starting 45 minutes before high water and ending at high water. The entrance to the dock is controlled by traffic lights, and travelling down river is only safe for an hour immediately after high water.^[2]

The dock is connected by a lock to the marina, which has mooring facilties for 220 boats, and a wide range of boating services including chandlery, facilities for the repair of boats, a wet dock, slipway and a hoist with a capacity of 35 tons for cranage.^[3]