Morpeth Dock

2024-08-19T15:54:04Z

2.122.170.254:

{{Short description|Landlocked dock in Birkenhead, Wirral, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox docks
| name = Morpeth Dock
| image = Wirral - Morpeth Dock - 20220415185711.jpg
| caption = Morpeth Dock in 2022
| location = [[Birkenhead]], [[United Kingdom]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|53.3989|-3.0121|source:geograph.co.uk_region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}
| grid_ref_UK = SJ324895
| opened = 1847
| owner = [[Peel Holdings]]
| joins = {{ubl|[[Egerton Dock]]|[[River Mersey]] (former)|Morpeth Branch Dock (former)}}
}}

'''Morpeth Dock''' is a [[Dock (maritime)|dock]] at [[Birkenhead]], [[Wirral Peninsula]], [[England]]. The dock is situated between the [[River Mersey]] and [[Egerton Dock]].

==History==
Built between 1844 and 1847,<ref name="McCarron1992-65">{{harvnb|McCarron|Jarvis|1992|pp=65–66}}</ref> it is named after [[George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle|Lord Morpeth, the 7th Earl of Carlisle]], who was the [[First Commissioner of Woods and Forests]].<ref name="McCarron1992-65" /> The dock was opened in 1847, and the [[branch dock]] was built between 1866 and 1868.<ref>{{harvnb|Ashmore|1982|p=155}}</ref> By 1872, the dock had been significantly remodelled with the branch dock and a canal basin for the [[Great Western Railway|GWR]]'s goods station.<ref name="McCarron1992-65" /> [[Morpeth Dock Goods railway station|Morpeth Dock Goods station]] was used by the GWR as the Birkenhead end of cross-river traffic to the [[Manchester Dock (Liverpool)|Manchester Dock]]. Morpeth Dock provided berths for the [[Bibby Line]], the [[Brocklebank Line]], Holt and the [[Pacific Steam Navigation Company]], all of which worked to the [[Far East]].<ref name="McCarron1992-65" /> The branch dock was too small for ships, and was used to site one of the [[Queensway Tunnel]] ventilation towers in 1934, along with a water pumping station in 1955.<ref name="McCarron1992-65" /> The pumping station later became a [[water treatment]] plant, now replacing the entire basin of the branch dock.

Originally, the dock connected directly to the [[River Mersey]] via the [[locks (water transport)|locks]] of the Morpeth River Entrance, although the entrance channel has since been partially infilled and the locks removed after being disused for some years. Access to the [[Great Float]] via [[Egerton Dock]] has also been removed, making both docks effectively [[landlocked]].<ref>{{citation|title=Birkenhead Docks|first=Ian|last=Collard|publisher=Tempus Publishing|date=2007|page=73|isbn=978-0-7524-4259-4}}</ref>

The dockside sheds of the former Morpeth Branch Dock were restored around 1992,<ref name="McCarron1992-65" /> and contain the Pacific Road Business Centre.

==One O'Clock Gun==
[[File:One O'Clock Gun, Birkenhead - geograph.org.uk - 272272.jpg|thumb|left|150px|The One O'Clock Gun.]]
Situated close to the dock and overlooking the river, the One O'Clock Gun provided a time signal to shipping on the Mersey. It was fired electrically from [[Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory|Bidston Observatory]] for the first time on 21 September 1867 and the original cannon was a relic of the [[Crimean War]]. Due to the advent of [[radio]] and increasing maintenance costs, by 1932 it was proposed to discontinue the One O'Clock Gun. Although this did not occur, firing was suspended during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. The tradition ceased altogether on 18 July 1969.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.pol.ac.uk/home/history/gun.html|title=The Time Ball & The One O'Clock Gun|publisher=Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory|access-date=12 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202715/http://www.pol.ac.uk/home/history/gun.html|archive-date=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

A One O'Clock Gun is still fired at [[Edinburgh Castle]]. {{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

==Bomb discovery==
Birkenhead docks, as well as the surrounding area, were heavily bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]] during the [[Second World War]]. In May 2006, a 60-year-old, 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb was discovered by the [[Royal Navy]]'s Northern Diving Group and disposed of by the [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] [[HMS Atherstone (M38)|HMS ''Atherstone'']].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server?show=ConWebDoc.5833&outputFormat=html|title=Atherstone Sails Around Britain and Finds A Bomb!|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=12 October 2007}}</ref> It was found embedded in mud in the river, near to the former entrance to Morpeth Dock and may have been disturbed during [[dredging]] work at the [[Twelve Quays]] ferry terminal. The bomb was later detonated in [[Liverpool Bay]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/secondworldwar/story/0,,1776452,00.html|title=Bomb disrupts Mersey shipping|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|date=17 May 2006|access-date=12 April 2007 | location=London | first=David | last=Ward}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Birkenhead]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book|title=The Industrial Archaeology of North-west England|first=Owen|last=Ashmore|date=1982|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719008207|oclc=8555887}}
*{{cite book|title=Give a Dock a Good Name?|first1=Ken|last1=McCarron|first2=Adrian|last2=Jarvis|publisher=Merseyside Port Folios|location=Birkenhead|year=1992|isbn=9780951612941|oclc=27770301}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Morpeth Dock}}
*[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1218312 Entry on Historic England]

{{Birkenhead docks}}

[[Category:Birkenhead docks]]
[[Category:Maritime transport in Merseyside]]

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Morpeth Dock