Wikipedia

Gloucester Docks

Gloucester Docks is a historic area of the city of Gloucester. The docks are located at the northern junction of the River Severn with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Gloucester is Britain's most inland port.[1]

Gloucester Docks
Location
LocationGloucester, England
Coordinates51°51′45″N 2°15′07″W / 51.86250°N 2.25194°W / 51.86250; -2.25194
OS gridSO 8274 1824
Details
OwnerGloucester City Council
OperatorGloucester Docks Estate Co.
Opened1812; 214 years ago (1812)

The docks include fifteen Victorian warehouses, that are now listed buildings.[2] It also contains the Gloucester Waterways Museum (opened in 1988) and the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum (opened in 1990). The Robert Opie Collection of Advertising and Packaging (now the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill, London) was also here from 1984 until 2001.

Every year since 2007, Gloucester Docks has been home to the Tall Ships Festival.[3]

History

edit

Early history

edit

The earliest reference to a quay at Gloucester was in 1390, though there is known to have been one since Anglo-Saxon times.[2] In 1580, Gloucester received a charter from Elizabeth I as a customs port with a customs house being built on the riverside quay.[4] By 1780, as many as 600 boats were berthing at Gloucester every year,[2] despite vessels only being able to navigate the upper reaches of the River Severn at spring tides.[5]

19th century expansion

edit

In 1793 the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal Company received an Act of Parliament authorising the building of a new dock and ship canal cutting off the winding section of the River Severn. It was originally intended to rejoin the river at Berkeley Pill, the mouth of the Little Avon River. Work started in 1794 and by 1799 the basin had been completed along with a lock to allow access to the Severn, but only four miles of the canal had been completed when the money ran out.[2] Eventually the direction of the works was taken over by Thomas Telford and the route shortened to join the Severn at Sharpness, incidentally involving a change of name of the company, and the canal eventually opened in 1827.[6]

In 1812, the lock started operating, allowing boats to access the new basin from the river to tranship cargo. Shipbuilding facilities, including a rope walk, and a dry dock were added in 1814 and 1818 repectively. By 1824, traffic had increased to the point where the company constructed a second quay on the east side of the basin and an arm off the basin to remove the barge traffic from the quays.[2] The barge arm was specified by Telford to be only 10 ft (3.0 m) deep and the quay walls were only 2 ft (0.61 m) high to facilitate unloading from the smaller craft.[7]

The coming of the railways

edit

20th century decline

edit


21st century regeneration

edit

The Mariners Chapel

edit
The Mariners' Chapel

In 1848, work started on a simple chapel, designed by John Jaques, a local architect. The chapel was dedicated, on 11 February 1849, to cater for the spiritual needs of dock-workers and seamen using the port. The building just consists of a nave and bell-tower. Owing to the proximity of Reynolds warehouse, the chancel is at the west end, rather than the conventional east end. The chapel is a Grade II listed building.[8]

In 1884, an old cheese warehouse was acquired and converted into a meeting place and coffee bar. It was used a school room teaching reading and writing to the largely illiterate boating commmunity.[9]

Ships

edit

Historic vessels based at Gloucester Docks include:

  • Queen Boadicea II, a steel hulled passenger ship, one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk.[10]
  • SD No 4, a Dutch built steam dredger used for dredging the basin and canal. Preserved in working order at the Waterways Museum.[11]
  • Severn Progress a tug built for the Severn & Canal Carrying Company. After a period working on the restoration of the Kennet and Avon Canal, she is now preserved in working order at the Waterways Museum.[11]
  • Sabrina No 5, an unpowered barge preserved by the Waterways Museum and adapted for use an education centre.[11]
  • Northwich, a horse drawn narrow boat from the Fellows Morton & Clayton fleet. Preserved at the Waterways Museum.[11]
  • LV 14 Sula, a 1958 lightvessel now preserved as holiday accommodation.[12]
  • Kathleen and May, the last working three masted, wooden hulled topsail schooner. Laid up in the docks awaiting restoration.[13]

References

edit
  1. ↑ "Historic Docks - Historic Site in Gloucester, Gloucester - Visit Gloucester". www.visitgloucester.co.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 The Docks Conservation Area (Conservation Area No. 3) Appraisal & Management Proposals. Gloucester City Council, Gloucester, 2007. Archived here.
  3. ↑ "Gloucester Tall Ships Festival returns to 'rock the docks'". www.soglos.com. 14 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Conway-Jones 2009, p. 3.
  5. ↑ Conway Jones 2009, p. 3.
  6. ↑ Rolt, L T C (1985). Thomas Telford. London: Penguin Books. pp. 157–159. ISBN 0-14-008125-9.
  7. ↑ Conway-Jones 2009, p. 31.
  8. ↑ Historic England (12 March 1973). "Mariners Chapel (Grade II) (1245609)". National Heritage List for England.
  9. ↑ "History of the chapel". Mariners Chapel. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "PORT OF GLOUCESTER ~ HERITAGE HARBOUR". Maritime Heritage. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Conway-Jones, Hugh. "Gloucester Waterways Museum Boats". Gloucester Docks and the Sharpness Canal.
  12. ↑ "Sula". LV14 SULA. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Garcia, Carmelo. "Campaign launched to save 'national treasure' ship". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2026.

Bibliography

edit
  • Conway-Jones, Hugh (2009). Gloucester Docks, An Historical Guide. Lydney: Black Dwarf Lightmore. p. 3. ISBN 9781903599 15 0.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gloucester_Docks&oldid=1359311830"