Alexandra Dock, Liverpool

Alexandra Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. Alexandra Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and three branch docks to the east, with the southern branch mostly filled in.

Alexandra Dock, April 2017.

Loading steel scrap at Alexandra Dock, April 2017.

Alexandra Dock
"Go Pegasus" in Alexandra Dock, seen from across the River Mersey
Location
Location	Bootle, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Coordinates	53.4474°N 3.0120°W / 53.4474; -3.0120
OS grid	SJ328849
Details
Owner	Peel Holdings
Operator	Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
Opened	1881
Type	Wet dock
Joins	Hornby Dock Langton Dock
Area	44 acres (18 ha)[1]
Transport links	Canada Dock Branch (rail)

History

Northern docks of Liverpool

The dock was built by George Fosbery Lyster between 1874 and 1882.^[1] During its construction, the dock was known as Atlantic Dock for about a year.^[2] Opened in 1881 and named in honour of Queen Alexandra,^[2] the dock has three branch docks and is connected to Hornby Dock to the north and Langton Dock to the south.^[3] Initially, access was through Langton Dock and the problematic Canada Basin.^[2]

Prior to the construction of Seaforth Dock, Alexandra Dock was involved in the grain trade.^[4] The grain silos had a 110,000 ton capacity, with floor space for a further 20,000 tons.^[2] The dock also had refrigeration facilities, which were provided by Union Cold Storage,^[4] for imported frozen meat. When built, the cold store was the largest in Europe with a capacity of 2,668,000 cu ft (75,500 m³).^[2] The facility was built at the end of No. 3 Branch Dock, and allowed direct transfer to ships in No. 2 Branch Dock.^[2]

The dock was served by LNWR Alexandra Dock railway station and the Liverpool Overhead Railway's Alexandra Dock (LOR) railway station.

Latterly, its main export is recycled scrap metal.^[5]