North Docks, Liverpool

[ChrisGeorge]

"Buildings of Liverpool" had so many

mistakes.
Treat yourself to "Liverpool" by Joseph Sharples (2004, Yale University Press).
It's only £9.99 and is one of the "Pevsner Architectural

Guides".
BTW, 6 sides to the Stanley clock tower.

Thanks for the tips, Philip. I have Peter Fleetwood-Hesketh's Lancashire

Architectural Guide published in 1955 when Liverpool used to be part of Lancs. (!), and I have got endless pleasure out of that book. For some reason it

doesn't mention the Stanley or Victoria clock but hits all the other major Liverpool architectural wonders.

Chris

[Motorhemp]

LOL!

me dumb (hangs

head in shame)

[scouserdave]

Thank you for using a "Disgust" smilie.
I don't know why you have to be so objectionable.
It it obvious that you

don't know the difference between the Meeting Room which was built in the 1930s, and the Ancient Chapel which is next door (and anything uo to 300 years

older).
The photo you link to shows the Meeting Room on the left, and the Ancient Chapel to the right.
The drawing in "Buildings of Liverpool" (which I

don't have to hand, but remember very well), shows the meeting room.
Which is what I said in the first place.

Phil,
you're asking me to

engage in a debate about a photo you've seen on a website and an image in a book which you don't have to hand. Get back to me when you find the book. I

won't hold my breath

[PhilipG]

There's a drawing of Toxteth Unitarian Chapel in the book which matches up with a photo of

"Ancient Chapel of Toxteth" at http://www.toxteth.net/places/liverp...chapel%201.htm

There's no mention whatsoever

in the book, describing it as "the Ancient Chapel" It would help if you have the book at hand like I have, rather than recalling from your

memory.

Dave.
I'm referring to this photo that you use to reinforce your mistaken belief.
What's with

all these "disgust" smilies.
This site isn't supposed to be about battles.
Or is it that Dave always has to be right?

[Fergie]

Hi all

I wrote a poem about this clock as shown below. I have to

admit though that when I worked at the docks, for a summer job as a clerk in 1966, I never actually saw the clock because I was working in the southern

docks, at Wapping Dock. There seems to be some confusion as to whether the clock has six sides or eight sides, with at least two websites at variance.



The Docker's Clock

Tick tock. The Dockers' Clock
-- with its six clock faces that faced
the points of the compass, the

drunken
sailors' rolling gait, their brawling wake
-- plotted my time during the summer hols,
a few quid in a paypacket, my first job,


clocking me in and out as I plotted
the comings and goings of the ships
in and out of the Liverpool docks:
stalwart-named docks like the

strong
Assam tea I sipped as I munched
on my greasy Dock Road bacon butties:
King's and Queen's, Wapping, Salthouse,
Albert, Waterloo,

Huskisson, Princes,
Nelson, Trafalgar, Wellington. . .

Christopher T. George



The Liverpool Pictorial site on the Jesse Hartley - Victoria Tower 1848,

a.k.a. The Dockers' Clock definitely says the clock has eight sides but on the Liverpool

monuments site it says six sides. Which is it? Eight sides would more naturally match the points of the compass.

Chris

Go to the

Scottie Press Online re your poem as they have the 6 sided clock on their site and it is in the Vauxhall area Tourisim that they trying to promote
regards

the history of the area.
Peter

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks for the tip, Peter.

Chris

[scouserdave]

Dave.
I'm referring to this photo that you use to reinforce your mistaken belief.
What's with all these

"disgust" smilies.
This site isn't supposed to be about battles.
Or is it that Dave always has to be right?

The only "battles" are in your

mind Phil and because of that, I'll make a hasty retreat. Apologies for any upset.

[scouserdave]

me dumb (hangs head in shame)

I didn't know either! Thanks to AD for ejuakating us

[snappel]

After plans to go and look at the remains of Sheffield's steel industry were 'flooded' off, I decided to have a walk down the dock road, ending up at the All Aboard festival for an ice cream.

I've put together a collection of photos from the north docks - a few from today, and others from similar walks, explores and general meanders around the area. A lot of it needs more attention and a more thorough look, which hopefully I'll do in subsequent visits.

Cranes on Canada Dock. These are still used for loading/unloading cargo ships. I wanted to climb up one of them, but it wasn't possible at the time.





The remaining building of the Sandon Motor & Engineering Company Ltd, on Regent Road. It's a big shame companies like this were forced into closure. The words 'Engine Works' can be seen above a bricked up entrance, where I'm guessing huge castings and engine parts would have entered and left the works.









Most recently the buildings were used by Merseyside Food Products, who built extensions onto the original building. Inside, the place nicely defines the word 'derelict'. One part has more rubbish and debris in it than I thought possible.





At the front is a small row of toilets and what looks like a reception office or orders desk. Thankfully, not all of the old General Electric Company fuseholders had been smashed.





Across the road, a large building that was once the United Mersey Supply Company is also derelict. The adjoining warehouse is half-demolished - surely this one will follow soon.







Further along, Huskisson Dock is still in use. Part of it is a timber storage yard, and the warehouses are used for various goods, including animal feeds. Interesting signs survive, such as the one for the Mersey Dock & Harbour Company Engineers Department. I'm unsure if this is still in use.









The later warehouses were constructed from steel-reinforced concrete. This one was interesting, having a 'Ladies' toilet - a reminder that women did work here too.



Aside from visiting ships, the Mersey tugs are often berthed here when not in use around the other docks and on the river.



On many of the docks, old substations can be found rotting away. Often they still have isolators, breakers and fuse boxes still in situ. This one (on Bramley Moore Dock) also had warning signs, and some very dated health & safety information posters.





Despite the widespread decline of industry in Britain, there's still a lot of activity on Liverpool's north docks, most of which remain in use for scrap metal, grain, animal feeds or other goods.

[A.D.W]

What can I say? Mighty fine pictures, Snappel.

[Kev]

Fantastic

[Ernie]

You have an eye for detail Snappel, It makes me sad looking at your pictures.I sailed out of most of Liverpool docks,i can remember the Dockers canteens inside the docks,full life,in the mornings and the way of life outside on the road,pubs etc.We will never see the likes of it again.Great photo"s.
Ernie.

[snappel]

Thanks Ernie! I find the docks absolutely fascinating. I can only wonder what it must have been like to work down there in it's heyday. There are so many interesting buildings, places like the Harland & Wolff works, the various old engine works, warehouses. I struggle to imagine the noise, the people, the traffic, the dockside railway lines and shunting yards.

It is a shame it's nearly all gone, a big shame. I'm glad that a lot of the docks remain in use, and I'm glad I'm able to capture some of what's left. One day all of the derelict stuff will be cleared, and younger generations will have less of an idea just how significant Liverpool was for our countries economic and industrial development, and just how widespread the dockside industries were.

Still, at least some of the new developments are incorporating old buildings. I'd rather places like Stanley Dock get tastefully converted than demolished, but at the same time I just wish it could all stay exactly as it was.

There's some more dock related stuff on my website, mainly from Liverpool. There's so much more I want to photograph properly and find out about. I could seriously spend days wondering around there...

[Ernie]

Snappel,I remember the Cunard basement,we would get sent over from the pool,thats,shipping federation for a job. They had their own medical centre and their own files on us. There was no way you could get a job with Cunard until you had been through that basement,unless it was a pier head jump,
that is someone who never turned up.More great photo"s,made up.
Ernie.

[snappel]

Sounds interesting!! It's good to here stories like that, brings a bit more life to the photos. The Cunard basement was very interesting, and largely intact. A lot of the old storage rooms are now used by businesses for archives, etc, but as you can see the safes remain, as do the luggage racks. Also, quite a lot of old shipping documents remain there. I assume they're now the property of the building owners.