The Alfred Dock originally had three river entrances. In the view can be seen the river wall leading to the northern passage. In the distance is the Seacombe Ferry Landing Stage
Alfred Dock is named after Queen Victoria's second son Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh 1844 1900
An early view of the One O'clock gun firing. The gun originally stood stood on the river wall not far from the Seacombe Landing Stage The One O'clock gun was used by ships captains to set their chronometers for accurate navigation
During the 1920’s the Alfred Dock River entrances and passages to the East Float were reconstructed to allow larger vessels that were coming into service access to the Birkenhead Docks The Alfred Dock modifications cost the Dock Board's around £1,300,00 The dock covers an area of 8 acres 3276 yds
A busy scene at the entrance to the Alfred Dock. In the river a Blue Funnel vessel waits to enter the Birkenhead Docks. In the distance to the right the Mammoth makes its way down river The Alfred Dock's Southern entrance was filled in a number of years ago.
The Blue Funnel vessel the Philoctetes entering the northern river passage to the Alfred Dock. On the right a accumulator tower that powered the opening and closing of the dock gates for many years Philoctetes Built 1920. Scott's S. B. & E. Co., Greenock Broken up 1948
HMS Conway entering Alfred Dock, at Birkenhead. The vessel was constructed entirely of wood. Her sister ships were HMS Rodney and HMS London HMS Nile launched 28:6:1839; 4,375 Tons: 8-10 inch guns; 82-30 pdr; crew 850 24:7:1876 renamed HMS Conway; 14:4:1953 ran aground Menai Straits Anglesey broke her back
HMS Phaeton entering the passage into the Alfred Dock. The vessel was converted at Birkenhead into a training ship for boys. She was later renamed Indefatigable II, and was moored off Rock Ferry on 15:1:1914 HMS Phaeton launched 27:2:1883; Barquentine rigged; 3600 tons; 10-6 inch guns; 3-3 inch guns; 10 Nordenfelds guns; 4 torpedo tubes; 18 knots
A tug waits with the Blue Funnel vessel the Diomed at the northern entrance to the Alfred Dock, as a gig-boat takes a line to a shore-gang waiting on the river wall Diomed Built 1922. Workman Clarke, & Co., Belfast Broken up 1952
The tall-ship Pommern leaving the Birkenhead Docks. During the 1920’s and 30s a number of sailing ships made visits to Merseyside with various cargo. 1925 Gustaf Erikson, Mariehamn, Åland. Pommern Ex Mneme Built. 1903 J. Read & Co., Ltd. Glasgow
The tug Poolgarth tows the newly constructed Seacombe landing stage through the Alfred Dock at Birkenhead. This stage was to be used until it was replaced in 2000 In the 1920's and 30's the Seacombe ferry terminal buildings and approaches were rebuilt at a cost of £98,443
A tug assists the Nubian as the vessel leaves the Alfred Dock at Birkenhead. In the distance can be seen the central accumulator tower that powered dock gates and bridges In June 1920 a coaster crashed into a dock gates causing water to burst out into the Mersey and engulf a number of flats and barges
The Ascania berthed in the Alfred Dock. On the right of the view the Dock Board’s 25 ton Floating Crane Titan waits to enter the East Float The Dock Board operated five floating cranes, Titian, Samson, Hercules, Atlas and Mammoth
The Ascania barges and small craft fill the southern corner of the Alfred Dock. In the foreground two of the barges built of Ferro concrete with hulls are protected by wooden fenders Due to a steel shortage during WWII Ferro concrete was used to build barges
The City Of Winnipeg waits in the Alfred Dock to enter the East Float. While alongside the vessel a small gig boat prepares to take a line to a shore-gang waiting on the quayside City Of Winnipeg Built 1910. . Workman, Clark, Belfast Acquired 1914. Sold 1934
The Blue Funnel vessel Theseus waits in the Alfred Dock. The Blue Funnel vessels began using the Vittoria Dock in 1909. The dock facilities and cargo handling were up-dated in 1966 The Alfred Dock use to have dockside sheds on the north and south sides. The has 511 yds. of quayside
A vessel makes its way from the Alfred Dock into the East Float past a raised Bascule Bridge on Tower Road that links Birkenhead and Seacombe In January 1929 a new 870 ton Bascule Bridge between Alfred Dock and the East Float was swung into position
The Astyanax waits in the Alfred Dock. A gig boat waits at the head of the southern passage into the East Float. Today the southern passage has been filled in and the bridge removed Astyanax Built 1906. Scott's S. B. & E. Co., Greenock Sold 1930
An aerial view of the head of Wallasey Pool in the 1920’s. Bidston Dock was opened in 1933 adjacent to the Penny Bridge. The dock was filled in 2003. The open land alongside the head of Wallasey Pool covered an area of 134½ acres in 1927
The Zinna alongside the Bidston Iron Ore Berth. Iron ore was off loaded on to railway wagons and transported to John Summers Iron Works at Shotton in North Wales REA Ltd. The specialists in bulk Handling operated the facilities on the North side of the Bidston Dock
A view looking across the West Float; and in the distance the three raised jibs of the Iron Ore handling facilities on the north side of Bidston Dock. The iron ore cranes have since been demolished William Cubbin Ltd. Repaired and maintained tugs & barges. Founded 1902 The Yard, The West Float, Wallasey Bridge Road
The Penny Bridge Toll House stood on the Poulton side of the bridge. A wooden bridge had been built across the head of the Wallasey Pool in 1843. The Penny Bridge took its name from the toll of One Penny, first charged in 1896
In 1926 the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board opened the new Penny swing bridge. This views shows the approach road to the bridge from Poulton Construction work began on the swing bridge in February 1924
Looking the west across the newly opened Bidston Dock During the Great Depression of 1930-33 many of the Liverpool Steamship companies laid up vessels. Bidston Dock was opened in 1933 at a cost to the Dock Board of £700,000
In 1947 the Elder Dempster’s Aba was sold to Bawtry SS Co., of Liverpool and renamed the Matrona, seen here lying on her portside in Bidston Dock Matrona Ex Aba Built 1918. Barclay Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow
In this view of the Matrona the Docks Board have attached frames to the side of the vessel, and have placed winches on the quayside to pull the vessel upright The Matrona capsized after her ballast of pig-iron was removed
The Matrona being winched upright. The Dock Board later used the same methods to raise the Empress of Canada in Gladstone Dock in 1953 The Matrona was broken up at Barrow-In-Furness in 1948
The Anchor Line vessel Circassia berthed on the south side of the Bidston Dock. The Anchor Line's Glasgow via Liverpool to Bombay service closed in 1966 Circassia Built 1937 Fairfield S. B. & E. Co., Govan
The Duke Street Bridge spans the passage between the East and West Floats. In the distance the Duke Street Wharf, which was used as a coaling berth for ships for many years The Duke Street passage between the East and West Floats, is 98ft wide and the sill 3in above the Bay Datum
The Dock Master and his family stand outside the dock office. The building stands a short distance to the west of the Duke Street Bridge The West Float covers an area of 52 acres 319 yds, and over 2 miles of quayside. 1927
The hydraulically powered Duke Street swing bridge. In the 1930’s the Dock Board replaced a number of the Birkenhead Dock estate swing bridges with the Bascule Bridges A plaque on the present Duke Street Bridge reads Manufactured And Erected by Sir William Arrol & Co., Ltd., Glasgow 1931
A shunting engine makes its across the Duke Street bridge. There used to be a number of small shunting firms employed around the Birkenhead Docks Joseph Perrin & Sons Ltd. Started 1891 shunting with the Birkenhead, an 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive The engine shed was close to the Egerton Bridge
A ship takes on coal at the Duke Street wharf. Bunkering coal was a dirty and noisy task for those employed at the wharf and those living in the nearby streets Coal was brought into the Duke Street Wharf by rail from the mines in North & South Wales
This view shows the original swing bridges that spanned the passages between the East Float and Alfred Dock. To the right stands the central hydraulically tower with its ornate brickwork The central hydraulically tower was built in 1863 G. F. Lyster was the Dock Engineer from 1861 to 1897
The Birkenhead central Hydraulic Tower and the buildings with its castellations are very similar to buildings, that the dock engineer Jesse Hartley had designed in Liverpool for the Dock Board The central Hydraulic Tower was damaged during a air-raid on the Port of Liverpool in the early 1940's Catalogue Number: Birkenhead Docks 34
The Leicestershire alongside Mortar Quay in the East Float. The wharf takes its name from the production of mortar on the site during the construction of the East Float opened in 1860 The Leicestershire Built 1909. Harland & Wolff, Ltd. Belfast Sold 1930
Alfred dock was partially empty today. Sorry about pictures, only had my phone on me.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Most interesting! I wonder if they are draining it prior to infilling? That would enable Peel-Vomit Holdings to make MORE money ! I hope they remember to take the tug out first.
Might just be inspecting, there are quite a few blocks popped out the wall around the spoil area. Its been like this for a few days, there are some ships further up the dock system which presumably can't get out. I'm curious about the tug unless they are using its pumps to empty further - I don't know how far a low tide would empty the dock.
The Wirral Waters scheme doesn't show any infilling of the Alfred Dock, ridiculously it will be our only proper general sea-going dock left on the Wirral which at one time had one of the largest docks in Europe.
Quote
ALFRED RIVER ENTRANCE – TEMPORARY CLOSURE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, owing to essential engineering work, Alfred River Entrance shall be closed to outward and inward bound vessel movements on the 1436 HW on Monday 20th July 2015.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
And that's what happens when you let idiots like John Prescott stand on the back of wagons and vowing not to let containerisation into Merseyside docks and then blindly follow him into oblivion. Mind you he's ok now.
I can't understand the council going along with infilling docks left right and centre. The surrounds of docks are classed as prime development areas and we seem to be minimising the amount of dockland???
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
And that's what happens when you let idiots like John Prescott stand on the back of wagons and vowing not to let containerisation into Merseyside docks
I wonder if it's because his hometown is Hull and a dock rival?
He was a seamans union official and worked in the Liverpool offices, that's where he got his phone call and that's where he did all his gobbing off from at that time. It's Felixstowe which said they'd take on the containers and it's now thriving by the way.
Not defending John Prescott as it wasn't the right decision at the time, however, as things have worked out ... Felixstowe handles the largest number of containers in the UK, but Liverpool handles 25% more tonnage than Felixstowe these days.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
My husbands job took him there in 1987 after the Merchant Fleet started to collapse. We spent 12 yrs in Felixstowe and watched the docks develop and expand.
This article from 2013 reports on 70 million container from Felixstowe docks. Amazing. To coin a phrase from one of the dockers down there "we work hard and then play hard" .... with a sense of pride , I would add.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Can you put your links up please DD, so we can read them ?
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
I used 2013 final figures as 2014 not been finalised as yet (although the 3-monthly reports are available). If you really want to dig through the zipped multiple excel spreadsheets they are HERE (the basic tonnage per port data is in port0301.xls)
Here's the order biggest to smallest (with a few rounded figures added).
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Thought I would update these figures for 2014. Liverpool has retained its same ranking, same proportion (6.2%) and roughly the same tonnage as 2013.
Grimsby & Immingham (59mt) London (44mt) Tees and Hartlepool (40mt) Southampton (37mt) Milford Haven (34mt) Liverpool (31mt) Felixstowe (28mt) Dover (28mt) Forth (25mt) Belfast (17mt) Clyde (16mt) Bristol (11mt) Hull (11mt) Rivers Hull and Humber (10mt) Port Talbot (9mt) Medway (8mt) Sullom Voe (7mt) Manchester (7mt) Tyne (7mt) Glensanda1 (6mt) Heysham (4mt) Aberdeen (4mt) Harwich (4mt) Portsmouth (4mt) Holyhead (4mt) Warrenpoint (3mt) Newport (3mt) Larne (2mt) Cairnryan (2mt) Plymouth (2mt)
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Yep, a load of scrap metal doesn't half weight a lot. When's the last time you saw vessels anchored up and queuing to get into the locks and loads of dockers going to and from the dock gates to get to work? I talk as I see not as I read. Last time I was down Harwich there were loads of container vessels donking in and out of Felixstowe.
