Spencer Dock ( ga, Duga Spencer) is a former

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...

area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Ri ...

, in the North Wall area of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with occupants of the Spencer Dock development including the Convention Centre Dublin,

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four account ...

' Irish headquarters, Credit Suisse and TMF Group. The Central Bank of Ireland and

NTMA The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) ( ga, Gníomhaireacht Bainistíochta an Chisteáin Náisiúnta) is the agency that manages the assets and liabilities of the Government of Ireland. It was established on 1 December 1990 to borrow for ...

have offices in the nearby Dublin Landings development. The main building in the area was previously the former North Wall railway station which formed the terminus bringing goods and passengers to the quays.

History

London and North Western Hotel, Dublin (1884)

The dockland area was originally part of the end of the Royal Canal, which still reaches the

here.

1873 docks complex

The dock was constructed in 1873 to accommodate the coal ships and other barges primarily of the Midland Great Western Railway Company and served as both a railway and canal depot. The original Sheriff Street Drawbridge was constructed in 1873 but replaced by the Sheriff Street Lifting Bridge in 1941. The name relates to

John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer, KG, KP, PC (27 October 1835 – 13 August 1910), known as Viscount Althorp from 1845 to 1857 (and also known as the "Red Earl" because of his distinctive long red beard), was a British Liberal Party poli ...

and

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

; who opened the docks complex in 1873; conferring a knighthood on MGWR chairman Ralph Cusack at the same time.

Modern Spencer Dock development

Most of the 206,000 m² (51 acre) site now known as ''Spencer Dock'' was owned by Córas Iompair Éireann for much of the 20th century. With increasing land values in the early 2000s and as the freight yards became surplus to requirements, it sold the land on to Treasury Holdings while retaining a 17.5% interest in the freehold. CIÉ later also sold its minority holding to a property fund managed by Davy Group. All 614 apartments in the development were sold to private buyers. Following the appointment of receivers over the office property, the office complex was sold in its entirety for €242m in 2016.

Geography

The original area was Spencer Dock area was defined by a ribbon of development from the Liffey along the Royal Canal up to about the Main Dublin to Belfast railway line, the two parts of Spencer Dock being separated by the bridge at Sheriff Street and separated from the Liffey by a

sea lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

. The modern development is defined as being part of the North Wall area of Dublin Docklands. The Point Village area lies to the east with Dublin Docklands claiming to be a small area between the two. One focal point of the area is the Luas tram stop and the adjacent park.

Infrastructure

Luas bridge at Spencer Dock - panoramio (9)

Rail

Spencer Dock is served by the Docklands railway station on Sheriff Street, at the north end of the site. Commuter services to the Dublin Docklands area on the Western Commuter line began in March 2007. Under the Transport 21 initiative, at one time due for completion by 2018, the station was to move south to a permanent location along New Wapping Street. This station, proposed to connect to an extended Luas Red line, was deferred due to the Post-2008 Irish economic downturn.

Luas

The Luas Red Line which runs from Tallaght or Saggart to The Point (via

Busáras Busáras (; from ''bus'' + '' áras'' "building") is the central bus station in Dublin, Ireland for Intercity and regional bus services operated by Bus Éireann. Designed in the International Modern style, Busáras is also a stop on the Red L ...

and Heuston Railway station) has a Spencer Dock stop.

Dublin Bikes

In 2014, two Dublin Bikes stations were opened, one at Guild Street and another at the convention centre.

Bridges

The Sheriff Street Lifting Bridge was installed between 1939 and 1941. A single-span bascule bridge, it replaces the earlier James Price designed swivel bridge of 1873 which was the first mechanical crossing of Spencer Dock, and separated its inner and outer portions. The Spencer Dock Bridge carries road, LUAS and pedestrian traffic from Dublin over the Royal Canal into the Spencer Dock area. The Spencer Dock Luas stop is some 200m to the east. The bridge 200m north of where the Royal Canal meets the Liffey, while the Sheriff Street Lifting bridge carrying the R101 road is a further 160m north. The bridge has a shallow desk of just thick while the width varies from to .

References

Sources

* *

External links

Luas Spencer Dock Live information websiteIrish Rail Docklands Railway station website
Dublin Docklands North Wall, Dublin Places in Dublin (city)