Dukes Dock
Encyclopedia
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 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....
and Wapping Dock
Wapping Dock
Wapping 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 Salthouse Dock to the north, Queens Dock to the south. Kings Dock was originally located to the west, but has since been filled in.The dock was opened in...
to the east. 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...
is located immediately north, although not directly accessible by water.
Opening in 1773, Dukes Dock was built privately as a Liverpool based facility for traffic using the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
The dock closed in 1972 and was partly filled in. Direct river access to the west is no longer provided, with the only remains of the river entrance being markings on the dock wall.
The water depth varies from around 6 feet up to 20 feet. The dock is sometimes used by sport scuba divers. Its water is clear and it has much underwater sealife. This section of the docks is owned and maintained by British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
. They have licensed Wowballing on the dock to entertain local children, adults and tourists alike.