George's Dock was a

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

, on the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, within the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed 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 ...

. It was connected to Canning Dock to the south and George's Basin to the north.

History

Construction of the dock began in 1762, and was known as North Dock prior to completion. The dock, which opened in 1771, was designed and built by Henry Berry and named after the reigning monarch,

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. The dock basin originally covered an area of slightly more than . The port built ships bound for West Africa, North America and the Caribbean delivering and returning with Black Slaves. Benefiting greatly from the endeavor with the population of Liverpool growing from seventeen thousand, to seventy seven thousand at the end of the 18th century. The Goree Warehouses were built to the east of the dock in 1793, and were severely damaged during a fire in 1802. Which caused over £320,000 of damage. The dock was rebuilt and expanded between 1822–5, after losing its American and Caribbean shipping to Prince's Dock, being expanded by John Foster, Sr. Following the rebuild and expansion, the dock was mainly used by

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s carrying perishable goods. The adjoining George's Basin was filled in 1874. In 1899-1900 the dock was filled in to create what is now the

Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...

, to provide one central place for Liverpool Docks' offices, which before were scattered across different sites. A section of the original George's Dock wall is still visible in the basement of the

Cunard Building The Cunard Building is a Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Royal Liver Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's ''Three Graces'', which line the ...

which stands on the site. The Goree Warehouses, which had been named after a slave market in West Africa, were destroyed by bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. By March 2009, work was completed on a £22 million extension of the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

on the site of the former basin. The canal extension provides a further 1.4 miles of navigable waterway. Aa GeorgesDockGates

References

Sources

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External links

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Site of Georges's Dock aerial photo
{{Port of Liverpool docks Liverpool docks Former buildings and structures in Liverpool