Victoria Dock, Liverpool facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Victoria Dock |
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Gateway to Victoria Dock
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| Location | |
| Location | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°24′56″N 3°00′05″W / 53.4155°N 3.0014°W |
| OS grid | SJ334914 |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1836 |
| Closed | 1988 |
| Type | Wet dock |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha), 3,559 sq yd (2,976 m2) (in 1859) |
| Width at entrance | 40 ft (12 m) (in 1859) |
| Quay length | 755 yd (690 m) (in 1859) |
The Victoria Dock was a special place for ships in Liverpool, England. It was part of the big Port of Liverpool, which is a busy area where ships load and unload goods. This dock was in the northern part of Liverpool's docks. It was connected to other docks like Trafalgar Dock and West Waterloo Dock.
History of Victoria Dock
Building the Dock
A clever engineer named Jesse Hartley designed the Victoria Dock. It opened in 1836, on the very same day as another dock called Trafalgar Dock. The dock was named after Princess Victoria, who later became Queen Victoria! This dock was one of the last ones built especially for old-fashioned sailing ships. At first, Victoria Dock had its own entrance directly from the River Mersey, but this was closed in 1846.
Changes Over Time
The dock was changed a bit in 1848 to make it work better. For many years, from 1844 to 1921, the height of the water in Victoria Dock was used as a special starting point. This measurement, called the Ordnance Datum, helped create maps and measure land heights across Britain. By 1858, many ships coming to Victoria Dock were trading with America. The dock wasn't updated with new technology until 1929.
Closing the Dock
In 1972, part of the dock was filled in. This was done to build a new terminal for ferries, which are boats that carry people and cars. The rest of the dock closed completely in 1988.
